Steve Aoki

Infobox actor


imagesize =
caption = Steve Aoki at the HiFi Nightclub in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
birthdate = Birth date and age|1977|11|30
occupation = Record producer, club DJ
genre = ?

Steve Aoki, also known as his stage name DJ Steve Aoki Kid Millionaire, (born November 30, 1977) is an American club DJ, record producer and the founder of Dim Mak Records.

Biography

Steve Aoki was born in Miami and grew up in Newport Beach,California.He is the third son of Rocky Aoki and Chizuru Kobayashi [ [http://nymag.com/guides/money/2006/23465/index1.html Aoki family tree from NY mag] Nymag.com. Retrieved on July 9, 2008] .Rocky Aoki was a former Japanese Olympic wrestler and the founder of the Benihana (restaurant). His siblings are: older sister Kanaa (now called Grace), older brother Kevin (restaurant owner Doraku Sushi), younger half siblings Kyle, sister Echo, and model sister Devon Aoki. As of January 15, 2008, Steve Aoki became an uncle to Sky Ai Aoki, daughter of brother Kevin and sister-in-law Nai-Wen Hu. He is also uncle to Noa Aoki, daughter of Kevin Aoki. As a child Steve lived with his grandfatherFact|date=March 2008,mother, and his two siblings. His father was on the other side of the country, a businessman whom Aoki saw only on vacations.

Aoki attended the University of California, Santa Barbara graduated with two B.A.'s in Women's Studies and Sociology. In college Aoki produced do-it-yourself records and ran underground concerts out of the living room of his apartment in Isla Vista he and his roommates called The Pickle Patch, a section of residential land adjacent to UCSB. By his early 20s, he had his own record company, named Dim Mak - in honor of Bruce Lee, his childhood hero [ [http://thelookrightnow.com/ftl/steve Steve Aoki profile] ] . He was also in numerous bands at the time - This Machine Kills, which released an album on Ebullition Records, Esperanza, and The Fire Next Time.

His father, Rocky, once admitted that he had 'three kids from three different women at exactly the same time'. In 2005 Rocky sued four of his six children (Grace, Kevin, Kyle,and Echo) for an alleged attempt to take control of the companies he founded, which have an estimated value between 60 and 100 million dollars. Steve and his younger half-sister Devon are the two exceptions. Of Devon, Rocky has said ::" . . this because she is not involved in the family business:"...she is my favorite and very smart and I'm proud of her [http://www.asianpopcorn.com/default.asp?display=931 Rocky Aoki says Devon is his fav kid] [http://nymag.com/guides/money/2006/23465/index3.html Rocky Aoki sues 4 of his 6 kids] .

Personal life

Aoki is currently living in Los Angeles.

On the night of July 10th, 2008, his father, Rocky, died. He was 69. No cause was given, but in the past, he had suffered from diabetes and cirrhosis of the liver, as well as hepatitis C. [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aILiynvr85rY&refer=japan Aoki's father died] .

Career

Aoki runs Dim Mak Records, the small indie label that jump-started the careers of the British neo-pop sensation Bloc Party. The label has more recently imported rising stars such as MSTRKRFT, The Bloody Beetroots, Klaxons, Scanners, Whitey and Mystery Jets. By night he is a wildly popular club promoter and DJ whose venues range from hole-in-the-wall Hollywood after-parties to massive Tokyo "superclubs" and $10,000-a-gig corporate events. He has also teamed up with Blake Miller of the LA -based band Moving Units to produce remixes. The duo of Miller and Aoki work under the moniker Weird Science. As of 2008. Aoki has started producing on his own and started with a Duran Duran remix for their second single in the UK.

The Dim Mak Collection clothing line was launched in 2006. [ [http://dimmakcollection.com/ Official Dim Mak Collection website] ] "A new line called "Magic" is coming out in February 2008. "We've been putting it together for two years, from the very early stages. We've been progressing and fulfilling our demands and it's been really good," Aoki told. [ [http://dancemusic.about.com/od/djs/a/SteveAokiInt_2.htm Steve Aoki interview - 2008] ]

Aoki and friend Greger, the owner of WESC, came up with the idea together to do the "Aoki headphones." They used different shades of green, because that was Aoki's favorite color at the time [ [http://www.clubplanet.com/Articles/1984/Win-DJ-Steve-Aoki-Headphones DJ Steve Aoki headphones] ] . Each season Aoki plans to design new headphones for WESC.

Aoki also is endorsed by KR3W Apparel and Supra Footwear, where he develops and designs an entire range of clothing and shoes for both companies under his name.

Aoki was featured in the video game "NBA 2K8" as a special celebrity player, even though he admits to be horrible at basketball.

Aoki's debut album, "Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles" was released on Jan 2008 [ [http://www.thrivemusic.com/ecards/SteveAoki/ Steve Aoki's debut mix album profile] Retrieved on July 9, 2008] .

Aoki had an Essential Mix that aired on BBC Radio 1 on August 2, 2008. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/essentialmix/tracklistingarchive.shtml?20080802 ¹⁰]

Media attention

"If you go out in Los Angeles at all, you know about Steve Aoki," says longtime Los Angeles public relations consultant Susan Mainzer, who has been involved with dance music for 15 years. "He has the hip factor—he has that following," agrees Janine Blain, West Coast director of the "Doneger Group", a fashion industry trend and business consulting firm whose members, when asked, knew all about him.

Aoki, who is friends with photographer Mark Hunter, often appears on Hunter's website The Cobrasnake. His other celebrity friends include Benji Madden, Joel Madden, Cory Kennedy, DJ AM, Lindsay Lohan and Danny Masterson.

Discography

Albums

*"Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles" (2008)

References

External links

* [http://www.steveaoki.com/splash.php Steve Aoki Official Site]
* [http://www.latimes.com/features/magazine/west/la-tm-aoki17apr29,1,6506772.story?coll=la-headlines-west The LA Times article]
* [http://www.dimmak.com Dim Mak Records website]
* [http://www.dimmakcollection.com Dim Mak Collection website]
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* [http://www.independent.com/news/2008/mar/13/kid-millionaire-cashes/ The Santa Barbara Independent article]