Wednesday, January 24, 2007

"PopoZao" producer commits suicide

Pour one out for Dave "Disco D" Shayman. Disco D, the producer who introduced Kevin Federline to baile funk and crafted K-Fed's infamous debut single "PopoZao," commnitted suicide on Monday at the age of 26. Catchdubs, the Urb, and the Hollertronix board give him thoughtful eulogies. According to a post by a friend on Hollerboard, a funeral service in Michigan and a memorial service in Washington, DC, are planned for later this week. Shayman was a regular poster to the Low-Bee board, which was where the news of his work with Federline and, later, snippets of "PopoZao" first leaked. Although the song was received by the world as a weird joke, D had long since earned his street cred, first as a teenage DJ who helped to popularize ghetto-tech -- the raunchy, uptempo sound of Detroit strip clubs in the late '90s -- with his album A Night at the Booty Bar. And later, in his career-defining moment, producing the track "Ski Mask Way" on 50 Cent's The Massacre. He'd also produced numerous tracks for artists from Princess Superstar to Trick Daddy. D had reportedly been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and according to Allhiphop.com, was "distraught over breaking up with his fiancee" at the time of his death. An old interview with D posted on the Hollerboard yesterday quoted him thusly: "Shit, I ran around Detroit since I was 15, I ran around Kingston. I mean, dude, I’m bipolar, I tried to commit suicide twice, like, I’m not scared of anything, know what I’m sayin’? I don’t give a fuck, dude—to me, life’s a big video game."

DOWNLOAD: Cabal feat. DG and Mr. Bomba, "Cabana" (from Disco D's Gringo Louco: Welcome To Brazil) (mp3)
SEND REGARDS: RIPs and tributes at Disco D's MySpace