Biography of Steve Aoki

Steven Hiroyuki Aoki (born November 30, 1977) is a DJ and EDM producer. He is known for tracks such as “Cudi The Kid,” “Hit Yor Heart,” “Freak,” “Pursuit Happiness,” “Free the Madness,” and “Delirious.” He began to gain recognition in the late 1990s through his label, Dim Mak (1996). In 2009, he rose to fame with “I’m in the House” and a few years later debuted with “Wonderland” (2012). This was followed by successful albums such as “Recharged” (2013), “Neon Future I” (2014), and “4OKI” (2016). Aoki has collaborated with numerous artists such as Afrojack, Kid Cudi, Angger Dimas, Linkin Park, BTS, Daddy Yankee, and Iggy Azalea, among others.

Family and beginnings

He is the son of Kobayashi Chizuru and former wrestler and now businessman Hiroaki Aoki. He has two older brothers, Kevin and Kana, and three half-siblings, Echo, Kyle and Devon, among them his sister Devon is a renowned model and actress. As a child, he lived in Newport Beach with his mother, grandparents and two older brothers. He studied at Newport Harbor High School and played football at the University of California. He graduated with two degrees, one in Sociology and another in Women’s Studies.

It was during his time in college that he became interested in music. He had several performances at the Biko of the Santa Barbara Student Housing Cooperative with some rock bands. In the late nineties, he founded his own record label, Dim Mak (1996). Initially, the label focused on the rock scene, publishing singles and albums of hardcore, punk and indie rock style. At that time, Aoki was a member of different bands, among them “This machine kills.”

Over time, Aoki’s record label, Dim Mak, moved away from rock and ventured into the EDM music scene, that’s why in 2005, the single “Brrrat!” appeared, one of his first collaborations with Armand Van Helden. A few years later, he rose to fame with “I’m in the House” (2009), a single in which he collaborated with Angger Dimas and will.i.am.

The following year, he was trend again with “Wake up Call” and “New Noise”. A few months later, he collaborated with Tiësto in the track “Tornado”.

Steve Aoki’s career trajectory

After several years of career, Steve Aoki debuted with the album “Wonderland” in 2012, which included great hits such as “Cudi the Kid” with Kid Cudi, “Steve Jobs” with Angger Dimas, “No Beef” with Miss Palmer and Afrojack, and “Emergency” with Lil Jon. That same year he also released the singles “Phat Brahms” and “It’s the End of the World as We Know It”.

Later, he returned with “Bring You to Life (Transcend)” and in 2014, he released the first part of “Neon Future I”, an album that currently has two more parts, “Neon Future II” (2015) and “III” (2018). In these three albums appeared great hits like “Delirious” (with Kid Ink), “Free the Madness” (with Machine Gun Kelly), “I Love It When You Cry” (with Moxie), “Darker Than Blood” (with Linkin Park), “Waste It on Me” (with BTS) and “Azukita” (with Daddy Yankee

).

During that time, he released the singles “Melody”, “Back 2 U”, “Can’t Go Home”, “How Else” and the EP “4OKI” (2016). The following year, he released the remix of “Mi gente” (by J.Balvin), along with the remixes of “Kolony”. In addition to collaborating with Kiiara in “Be Somebody” and with BTS in “Mic Drop”, in 2018, he released the EP “5OKI”.

In 2019, he released the collaborations “Are you Lonely” with Alan Walker, “Play It Cool” with Monsta X and “Let It Be Me” with Backstreet Boys. His most recent work is the single “Send it”.

Other businesses

Steve Aoki has delved into both the fashion and restaurant industries. In 2008, he opened his own Korean-style barbecue restaurant called “Shin,” and in 2009 he released his first clothing line in collaboration with his sister Devon. Aoki also works as a designer with the brands “KR3W” and “Supra,” and has his own line in both companies.