Shayman was born on September 21, 1980 in St. Louis, Missouri, United States to Deborah and James Shayman. He had one sister Becky, and four step-siblings. At age 6, Shayman moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan. His family was involved with the temple Beth Emet, where he attended Hebrew school until his bar mitzvah.\n', '

Shayman\'s career began in 1995 while a student at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, when he purchased his first set of belt driven turntables, with pitch control. He mastered the art of DJing almost immediately. In the beginning he was heavily influenced by "booty" elecktro. He quickly became a regular customer at the local Ann Arbor vinyl stores, where he began to network with many of the local DJ\'s, this led to the release of his first mix CD collaborated with D.J. Marquis. He DJ\'d at many local college house parties, at The University of Michigan as well as at The Blind Pig, while also studying jazz saxophone for two years at Ann Arbor\'s alternative Community High School. By 1997, he was performing nationally as a DJ, had established his first production company, and released his first 12-inch single.\n', '

In 1998, Shayman began studying at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. While he outwardly pursued management studies, he remained interested by the sciences. As a teenager he worked in a genetics lab at the University of Michigan. He also aspired to make a trip to the North Pole. In 1999, Shayman was a key player in the founding of Ghostly International, having co-produced the record label\'s first single, "Hands Up for Detroit" in October 1999 (billed with Matthew Dear as Daisha, a Shayman alias). In addition to finding his own GTI Recordings ("Ghetto Tech Institute" Recordings), he eventually began releasing music on the Bad Boy Bill\'s Muzik/Mixconnection label and the Tommy Boy label. During this period, he also became known for his turntable skills and multi-genre sets.\n', '

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