Daniel Woodis, better known by his stage name DJ Class, is an American DJ from

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. A veteran of the

Baltimore club Baltimore club, also called B'more club, B'more house or simply B'more, is a music genre that fuses breakbeat and house. It was created in Baltimore in the early 1990s by Frank Ski, Scottie B, Shawn Caesar, DJ Technics, DJ Class, DJ Patrick, K ...

scene, he started his career in the early 1990s and gained attention with his Unruly Records releases, including the local hit "Tear da Club Up". In 2009, DJ Class scored his most commercially successful single to date with "I'm the Shit", which was remixed by several artists and subsequently became a top 40 ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' chart hit upon being re-released by

Universal Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially a ...

Musical career

Early productions

Born in

, DJ Class debuted as a DJ and producer in the early 1990s and became closely associated with the emerging

scene. He released his debut single in 1991, gaining underground fame with his productions for the Baltimore club label Unruly Records. Among his notable releases at that time were "Wuz Up Baby" (1995) and "Tear da Club Up" (1999), the latter of which became a Baltimore club staple years following its release.

Hiatus and commercial success

In 2000, DJ Class produced music for the soundtrack to the film ''

Cecil B. Demented ''Cecil B. Demented'' is a 2000 black comedy film written and directed by John Waters. The film stars Melanie Griffith as a snobby A-list Hollywood actress who is kidnapped by a band of terrorist filmmakers; they force her to star in their u ...

''. After releasing the single "Next to You" in 2001, Class took a break from producing club music. During this period, he produced a gospel hip hop album entitled ''The Book of Daniel'' under the name D. Class. In November 2008, Class re-emerged with a new club single entitled "I'm the Shit" (entitled "I'm the Ish" in censored form). Prior to its release, he had e-mailed the track to Unruly Records owner Shawn Caesar, who responded favorably. The single initially gained airplay solely on Baltimore radio, but later crossed over to radio stations outside of the city. In December 2009, R&B singer

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer and songwriter. After being discovered by record producer Troy Taylor (record producer), Troy Taylor in 2003, Songz ...

and hip hop producer

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music at the age of nine. He discovered th ...

released a remix of the song. The single's success eventually led to DJ Class and Unruly Records signing a deal with

in January 2009. Rapper

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971), better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, DJ, and record producer. Regarded as a progenitor of the club-oriented hip-hop subgenre crunk, his production and voice presence were inst ...

, a fan of DJ Class, recorded a remix of the song with him in

Atlanta, Georgia 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 ...

, and another remix featuring

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

was recorded in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. Other artists who have contributed to remixes of the song include Pitbull, Estelle, Paula Campbell, Mullyman and PenDragon. In April 2009, Universal Republic Records released "I'm the Shit" digitally to the iTunes Store. The same month, the Lil Jon remix entered the ''

Hot Rap Songs Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by '' Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...

chart, where it peaked at number 22 and remained for three weeks. It also peaked at number 26 on the ''Billboard'' Rhythmic singles chart. Class was later named the Best Club Music Producer of the year by the ''

Baltimore City Paper ''Baltimore City Paper'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper published in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, founded in 1977 by Russ Smith and Alan Hirsch. The most recent owner was the Baltimore Sun Media Group, which purchased the pape ...

'' and followed "I'm the Shit" with the singles "Dance Like a Freak" and "I Don't Give a Fuck". In 2010, he produced the Pitbull single " Watagatapitusberry"; the following year, he was featured on the single "Favorite DJ" by record producer

Clinton Sparks Clinton Charls Sparks (born September 18, 1979) is an American DJ and record producer from Boston, Massachusetts. He initially started his career as a rapper, dancer, producer, and DJ who gained notoriety by making Bootleg recording, bootleg re ...

Discography

Singles

;Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Class, DJ Living people Musicians from Baltimore Record producers from Maryland African-American DJs American hip-hop record producers Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American musicians