John "Jammin" Collins worked across the parts of Detroit techno that remain after a flyer comes down: DJ booths, radio, label offices, museum tours, mentorship, and advocacy. Detroit Techno Militia confirmed his death on July 26, 2026.
No cause of death has been disclosed. DJ Mag, EDM Identity, CDM, and Mixmag instead document the span of his work: roots in the late 1970s, a Cheeks residency in the early 1980s, and later radio work through WJLB FM 98, WDRQ FM 93.1, and Red Bull Radio.
The work around the record
Collins' connection to Underground Resistance and Submerge went beyond DJing. The four outlets describe administrative, booking, and guide work that helped the Detroit institution operate.
Detroit techno history is not only a discography. Records need rooms, distribution, bookings, and people who remember how each part connects. Collins' Yeah EP, released by Underground Resistance in 2009 as UR-080, is one object in that wider body of work.
Memory with a front door
At Exhibit 3000, Submerge's Detroit techno museum, Collins served as a guide. The role turned heritage into conversation, giving visitors a way to see techno through equipment, paperwork, records, people, and routes through the city.
Detroit's famous names matter, but the scene also depends on people who maintain and explain its lineage. Collins carried that work from Cheeks and radio into Underground Resistance, Submerge, and Exhibit 3000. His record is not one title or one set. It is the continuity between them.