Steven Hiroyuki Aoki (/eɪˈoʊki/ay-OH-kee, Japanese:[çiɾoꜜjɯkiaoki]; born November 30, 1977) is an American DJ and record producer. In 2012, Pollstar designated Aoki as the highest-grossing electronic dance music artist in North America from tours.[5][6] In 2024, Gold House recognized him as one of the Most Impactful Asians.[7]
In 2019, Aoki published a memoir, Blue: The Color of Noise.[8][9]
He is the founder of the Steve Aoki Charitable Fund, which raises money for global humanitarian relief organizations.[10]
Early life and education
Aoki was born in Miami, Florida, but grew up in Newport Beach, California. He is of Japanese descent, the third child of Rocky Aoki and Chizuru Kobayashi.[11] His father was a former wrestler who also founded the restaurant chain Benihana. His elder siblings are sister Kana Grace and brother Kevin (owner of Doraku Sushi restaurant).[12] The siblings have a half-sister, model and actress Devon Aoki.[13]
During college, Aoki produced DIY records and ran underground concerts out of his Biko room in the Santa Barbara Student Housing Cooperative,[15] which was located in Isla Vista, a section of residential land adjacent to UCSB. As a concert venue, the apartment became known as The Pickle Patch.[16][17] Aoki was also involved in student activism at UCSB, being the founder of a Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist League chapter on campus.[18]
By his early 20s, Aoki had built his own record label, which he named Dim Mak – a reference to his childhood hero, Bruce Lee.[19][20][21]
Aoki founded his label, Dim Mak Records, in 1996. The label has released music by other electro house artists such as MSTRKRFT, The Bloody Beetroots, Felix Cartal, and Mustard Pimp, as well as Bloc Party, The Rakes, The Kills, Klaxons, Infected Mushroom, Scanners, Whitey, and Mystery Jets.[22] Aoki teamed up with Blake Miller of the Los Angeles–based band Moving Units to produce remixes. The duo of Miller and Aoki work under the moniker Weird Science. Aoki has also been in numerous bands, including This Machine Kills, which released an album on Ebullition Records, Esperanza, and The Fire Next Time.
Through relentless touring, he gained huge support from colleges. He is widely known for his acrobatic crowd surfing stunts, throwing cake at fans,[29] spraying champagne bottles, and riding rafts on the dance floor.[citation needed] Performing an average of 250 shows a year, he started touring with production via bus tours, like the spring 2012 Deadmeat Tour, when he headlined more than 55 cities in 60 dates across the United States and Canada. Many of the artists Aoki collaborates with make appearances on tour with him.[30] He has played lesser-traveled regions – in 2009 he played a show in Beijing, China, with Diplo organized by promoters Split Works.[31] In July 2012, Aoki was added to the Pollstar Top 100 North American Tours in their 2012 Mid-Year Report.[6] The list designated Aoki as the highest grossing dance artist in North America for the first half of the year.[5]
There was overcrowding during Aoki's set in the Halloween electronic music festival Thriller Music Park at Madrid Arena, Madrid, Spain. As an extension, there was a stampede, which resulted in three young women crushing to death (two died weeks later), and a further 29 people were injured.[34] Aoki released message showing his devastation and that had he known what was happening, he would have stopped the show. He canceled his next show in Bilbao, Spain, out of respect for those who died as a result of the tragedy.[35]
On October 11, 2013, Aoki collaborated with Linkin Park on the song "A Light That Never Comes"[38][39] that was included on the remix album, Recharged, 18 days later.[40] Several remixes of the song were added on the January 2014 digital download EP A Light That Never Comes (Remixes).[41] "A Light That Never Comes" was used in films such as The Expendables 3. Aoki finished in 6th place in the 2013 America's Best DJ competition-a vote and promotion to find out the country's most popular DJ conducted by DJ Times magazine and Pioneer DJ.[42]
From 2011 to 2014, he had several other tracks included in television shows, commercials, and films. This included "I'm In the House", used in the music festival documentary Electric Daisy Carnival in 2011, which in 2014 was used in a trailer for the comedy Think Like A Man Too as well. In 2012, his track "Beat Down", featuring Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, was used in a promo for the reality show Bad Girls All-Star Battle. From 2013 to 2014 his track "Boneless" was used in many commercials, with companies including Scion, Budweiser, and Sol Republic. His track "Get Me Outta Here" was used in a Scion commercial in 2014 as well, while "Free the Madness" was used in a 2014 Bud Light commercial. His track "Flight" in 2014 was used in a commercial for Sol Republic. Aoki's song "Back to Earth", featuring Fall Out Boy, was used in the 2014 film Step Up: All In, while his collaborative single "Freak" with Diplo and Deorro, featuring Steve Bays, was used in the 2014 film 22 Jump Street.
In May 2015, it was announced that Relativity Productions had acquired the rights to distribute the documentary I'll Sleep When I'm Dead in the United States. Filmed during the making of his Neon Future double album, the film is focused on Aoki and delves into his family history, lifestyle, music, and business.[45] It is co-produced by Matthew Weaver and David Gelb, who together had previously worked on the 2011 documentary Jiro Dreams Of Sushi.[45] Among the executive producers are Ryan Kavanaugh and Tucker Tooley.[45]
As with the first in the series, Aoki released promo singles leading up to the release of Neon Future II. The second of those singles, "Darker Than Blood", came out on April 14, 2015, and features vocals from Linkin Park.[49] According to Aoki, the song had been a work in progress since 2012. Mike Shinoda rewrote Aoki's original lyrics to make them darker, because Shinoda thought Aoki's original lyrics were "too happy".[50]Neon Future II was released on May 12, 2015, through Dim Mak.[51] Among other artists, the second Neon Future featured Snoop Lion and Rivers Cuomo.[45] It peaked at No. 2 on the US Dance/Electronic Albums chart,[44] among other placements in the United States.[47] In Belgium it reached No. 93 on the Ultratop 200 Albums chart.[48]
The 2015 science fiction thriller film The Hive features tracks from the album Neon Future by Aoki,'[52] who created the soundtrack[53] and also served as an executive producer.[52][53] Aoki is also the central character in the documentary I'll Sleep When I'm Dead.[45]
In February 2018, Aoki announced the release of his five-track EP titled 5OKI, the follow-up to his 2016 EP 4OKI. The EP would feature him collaborating with other producers to produce a "cross-genre" track collective.[60] "I'm really putting an emphasis on EDM and I'm putting an emphasis on cross-genre collaboration. For EDM itself I'm making a big statement of re-claiming it as something [that's] really important to me – kinda like giving back to my community,"[60] stated Aoki before the EP's release. The tracks were released at a weekly interval over five weeks from March 23 to April 20, with "Mayhem" featuring Quintino releasing on March 23, 2018,[61] followed by "Pika Pika" with Loopers,[62] "It's Time" with Laidback Luke,[63] "Anthem" with Hardwell,[64] and concluding with "Moshi Moshi" with Vini Vici.[65]
On May 18, 2018, Aoki released the single "Pretender" featuring AJR and rapper Lil Yachty.[66] In June 2018, Aoki remixed Rita Ora's hit single "Girls" featuring Charli XCX, Bebe Rexha and Cardi B.[67] Later that month, alongside Italian DJ Marnik, they released their version of "Bella Ciao", which garnered controversy. Many deemed the new dance music version of the track inappropriate and insulting.[68] On July 20, 2018, Aoki released the single "Lie to Me" featuring singer-songwriter Ina Wroldsen.
In an interview on August 6, 2018, he announced the release of his new album Neon Future III. It included collaborations with Ira Wroldsen, Nicki Minaj, Maluma, Blink-182, and BTS.[69][70]
On October 25, 2018, Aoki released "Waste It on Me" which features BTS members, RM, Jimin (with backup vocals), and Jungkook.[71] The single, which was also included on Aoki's album, Neon Future III, marked Aoki and BTS' third collaboration as well as BTS' first all-English single. Neon Future III was released on October 9, 2018. In an interview with EDM.com, Aoki announced that his next album, Neon Future IV, would be released in 2019;[72] it was later released in April 2020.[73]
On September 9, 2019, Aoki released "Let It Be Me", a collaboration with Backstreet Boys, which came about after Aoki met Nick Carter at his Vegas show.[74]
On June 24, 2020, he co-released "Ninja Re Bang Bang Steve Aoki Remix" with Japanese artist Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. This is a remix of Kyary's 2013 hit song of the same name. The song is a theme song for the free-to-play video game Ninjala, released the same day.[75]
On August 21, 2020, Aoki remixed several songs by the anarcho-punk band Crass under a 12" single "normal never was III" with all purchases going towards domestic abuse charity "refuge".[76]
Aoki released several non-album singles in early 2022, including "Welcome to the Playhouse" (featuring vocals by Shaquille O'Neal) on January 7, and "Da Homies" on February 4. He then began to release singles which later appeared on his upcoming seventh studio album, Hiroquest: Genesis. These included "Kult" (with Grandson featuring Jasiah), "Ultimate" (featuring Santa Fe Klan and Snow Tha Product), and "The Whistle" (featuring Timmy Trumpet and DJ Aligator).
On September 16, 2022, Aoki released his seventh studio album, Hiroquest: Genesis. The album features many notable collaborators including Mod Sun, PnB Rock, Taking Back Sunday, Lil Xan, Bryce Vine, and many more.
On 12 January 2023, Argentine singer Tini released "Muñecas", a collaboration featuring Aoki and singer La Joaqui, as the ninth single from her fourth studio album Cupido.[77]
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Appearances
Aoki on stage during day three of Collision conference in 2019
Aoki has appeared in the media, notably in video games, television, and music videos. His interest in gaming led him to co-owning the esports company Rogue.[79] He was featured in the video games NBA 2K8 and NBA 2K9 as a special celebrity player, even though he admits to being terrible at basketball. He makes cameos in the videos for Cobra Starship's 2007 single "Send My Love to the Dancefloor, I'll See You in Hell (Hey Mister DJ)" and The Sounds' single "Tony the Beat". Aoki made a cameo appearance in rapper Kid Cudi's video "Just What I Am".[80] On July 1, 2016, it was announced that Aoki would make an appearance as both a musical contributor and non-playable character in the video game Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2.[81]
In January 2012, Aoki released new tracks on Turntable.fm in conjunction with SOL REPUBLIC Headphones,[82] making him the first established artist to orchestrate a listening session using the platform fully.[83] Aoki appeared in an episode of The CW's superhero series Arrow that was first aired on March 20, 2013. He played himself, spinning at the grand opening of Oliver Queen's fictional nightclub.[84] He also appeared in an anti-fur ad for PETA, an organization he says he's supported since he was 14 years old.[85] Aoki appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks in December 2014.[86] He currently resides in Henderson, Nevada.[87]
On May 8, 2020, he performed in the Fortnite Party Royale Premiere with Dillon Francis and Deadmau5.[88]
In 2013, during his North American tour, Aoki donated a dollar of every ticket sale to four charities: the Brain Preservation Foundation, the University of Rochester Medical Center – Memory Care Program, the American Brain Foundation, and Infusio.[93][94][95] Aoki fans were invited to vote for their favorite charity, with the Brain Preservation taking the grand prize.[93] A total of $65,000 was donated,[93][94] with $33,000 going to the Brain Preservation Foundation.[96]
Personal life
Aoki and Australian model Tiernan Cowling were engaged in 2010. They later married on the Hawaiian island of Maui in 2015 and resided in Las Vegas, Nevada.[97] The couple amicably split in 2018, citing Aoki's rigorous tour schedule putting a strain on the relationship.[98]
Actress and fashion model Devon Aoki is Steve Aoki's half-sister. Model and singer-songwriter Yumi Nu is Aoki's niece.[99]
After applying in 2022, Aoki was selected to participate in a lunar spaceflight as part of the dearMoon project crew.[100][101] The mission was slated to occur in the 2023 aboard a SpaceX Starship. Following delays with the Starship program, the dearMoon project was canceled in 2024.[102]
Aoki is signed up for cryopreservation, discussing plans with Peter Diamandis in a 2022 interview A DJ's Crazy Schedule, Cryonics, and the Making of Pursuit of Happiness.[103]
Awards and nominations
Aoki has won or been nominated for various industry awards in annual competitions and magazine rankings. In 2007, he was named Best Party Rocker DJ by BPM Magazine, Best DJ of the Year by Paper Magazine, and Best Set of the Season at the Ibiza Awards. In 2012, he was named No. 15 in the Top 100 DJs in DJ Magazine and America's #2 Best DJ. Also in 2012, he won an EDM Effect Woodie Award by MTVu, and the following year he was nominated for his first Grammy.[104]
Aoki finished 6th place in the 2013 America's Best DJ competition conducted by DJ Times magazine,[42] and finished 8th place in 2013 and 2016. He finished 10th in 2014, 2015, and 2017 in DJ Mag's Top 100 DJs competition. In 2014, Aoki received two Guinness World Records, one for the "longest crowd cheer", and also for the "most amount of glow sticks for thirty seconds."[105] Aoki performed at the 2015 Ultra Music Festival in Miami Beach on May 21.[106] He also earned the Guinness record for "most traveled musician in one year", with 161 shows in 41 countries in 2014.[107]
Aoki has been involved with various charities. EDM.com named him No. 1 on their list of the 11 most charitable EDM producers.[108] He founded the Steve Aoki Charitable Fund, which raises money for global humanitarian relief organizations and medical research. Among the organization's fundraising methods are Aoki's touring events, "memorabilia auctions", and collaborations with other artists.[10] In early 2015 he was named a Global Ambassador for the Best Buddies program, a non-profit devoted to young people with developmental and intellectual disabilities.[109] Around that time, MTV Latin America gave Aoki the Chiuku Award for humanitarian work at the International Dance Music Awards.[110]
^Aoki performed at the 2015 Ultra Music Festival in Miami Beach on May 21.
"Steve Aoki Holds Two Guinness World Records". Do Androids Dance. January 5, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
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