Craig De Shan Adams (born October 19, 1977), better known as DJ Assault or Craig Diamonds, is an electronic musician and producer known for pioneering Detroit booty music and the

ghettotech Ghettotech (also known as Detroit club) is a genre of electronic music originating from Detroit. It combines elements of Chicago's ghetto house with electro, Detroit techno, and Miami bass. Overview Former Detroit music journalist for the ...

genre.

Adams was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

and relocated to the suburbs as a child. Growing up he would listen to

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

and

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

stations on the radio, such as the Electrifying Mojo on WMXD, which would highly influence his sound. He started DJing at age 12 at local high school parties. He later moved for college to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, he was a member of rap duo Assault-n-Battery that pulled from Atlanta's bass scene. His love for hip hop and songwriting would be incorporated into his later electronic work. Upon returning to Detroit in the '90s, Adams released a series of singles under the name DJ Assault with producer Mr. De' on Electrofunk Records and Assault Rifle Records. The success of the tracks "Sex on the Beach" and "Ass and Titties" in the mid-'90s lifted him to fame. In the mid-2000s, he founded the label Jefferson Ave. In 2023, Berlin club and radio station HÖR Berlin cancelled DJ Assault performances due to unspecified social media posts of the artist. This was met with push back from some music goers. Adams is known for his comedic and explicit lyrics. He has rejected the categorization of his music as "ghettotech." Adams has cited The Wizard, Farley Jackmaster Funk, Bad Boy Bill, Mike Hitman Wilson, and Julian “Jumpin” Perez as influences.

References

{{reflist 1977 births Living people Musicians from Detroit Record producers from Michigan African-American DJs American electronic musicians American electronic dance music DJs