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Steve Aoki Shocks EDM Community By Admitting He Is Not An Actual DJ
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Steve Aoki Shocks EDM Community By Admitting He Is Not An Actual DJ

Fans of US “DJ” Steve Aoki are in a state of shock after it emerged that Mr. Aoki is in fact a performance artist who has been engaged in a finely orchestrated and prolonged performance art piece that has encapsulated every aspect of his life.

The news emerged after it was revealed that Mr. Aoki has been awarded with a Special Achievement Award from the American Council of Performing Arts (A.C.P.A.) for the project which has taken up almost the entirety of Mr. Aoki’s adult life.

Speaking for the first time about the revelations, Mr. Aoki, pictured receiving his award from professional egoist, Kanye West, sought to explain the motivation behind the project.

“I wanted to explore the fickle nature of popular music fads by devising a public and onstage persona that could push the bounds of ridiculous behaviour to an extreme and still manage to get away with it.”

“For me it’s about trying to be as absurd and laughable as possible without any of the audience being aware of, or being willfully ignorant of, the sheer absurdity of what they’re witnessing. The EDM explosion for me was the perfect vehicle to explore that idea because it seemed like that audience were capable of mindlessly accepting the most crass gimmicks and personalities,” explained Aoki.

“The show and my life as “DJ” Steve Aoki has evolved over the years, ” he explained. “I’ve had to live every waking moment as this guy without ever breaking character. That’s always been the toughest part, seeing myself become this clown and never being able to say ‘Hey guys, it’s not real’.”

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“I kept adding more and more unnecessary vulgarity to the show, bright flashing lights, topless performances, silly hair, Indian headdresses, trampolines. I kept thinking that at any moment people would realise that this was no longer dance music but that it was an absurdist pantomine and the game would be up. But no-one has ever even suspected.”

“Even when I started throwing cake into the audience, which I intended as a not-so-subtle reference to the circus that my show had become, the audience just lapped it up. No-one thought to themselves ‘Oh look, he’s started throwing cakes into people’s faces like a fucking clown, surely this can’t be legitimate dance music?’.”

Spokesman for the A.C.P.A., Arnold Trumball, described his admiration for Aoki’s project, “It’s a tour-de-force in method acting. He’s been living as this consciously asinine DJ for the last 15 years without ever breaking character. Can you imagine living every waking moment as the DJ character Steve Aoki? Churning out shit track after shit track. Attending shit gig after shit gig?” questioned Trumball. “Not being able to hold your hands up to even your closest friends and admit ‘my career as a DJ is an absurd joke’. That’s real dedication to your art.”

View Comments (127)

  • I have only cought a few clips of Aoki performances and for good reason. He sucked in every sense of the word. He may think he had everybody fooled but when he played at those shows no matter how rediculous he acted. He only had creditabilaty because of that. If you ask any self respecting dj or old school purist they will all tell youthesame thing. That he was a joke,and his music sucked.
    He may have fooled the masses but come on do you really think he had us all fooled.
    Sincerely
    a fellow self respecting dj

    • Well, after you’ve “cought” a few clips of “Aoki performances,” I’d suggest working on your god awful grammar.

      Sincerely,

      A fellow self respecting person that understands basic grammar.

    • And just saying that’s only your opinion and that’s respectable but guess what he’s the one playing at festivals and for thousands of people to go see *Him* so just because you don’t like his music doesn’t mean everyone else doesn’t either he pushed himself enough to get this far why haven’t you?

    • Actually i met Aoki long before he was a household name, He has History with DJ AM, and is an amazing producer and the man who started one of the most groundbreaking record labels responsible for groups such as the bloody beetroots, hes opened new doors with his rafting and cake tossing antics, and hes an icon because of everything hes done to create the shows he has, the only people who have shit to spew are the no talent hack CDJ’s who have no right to say shit anyway because theyve never touched a physical record, I picked up “Im in the house” om 12″ and got it signed at Ezoo a few years back, and to see the massive crowds he manages now, compared to then, is nothing short of mastery of the art, People just be jelly

    • All of you are fucking jackasses. There is no self respecting DJ. You lost respect for yourself when you decided you were too much of a talentless loser to ever pick up a instrument. Just like all of your idols. They are pill popping jukeboxes who would still be in there moms basement jacking off to porn and some piece of shit beat machine if it wasn’t for these 14 drug attic shit stain of the world kids spending there parents money on drugs and tickets to their concerts.

      • Jody Casper, you are the ultimate jackass for posting your pompous comment you fucking cunt! Do you know how many rockstars have died from drug overdoses, over-consumption of alcohol, and a reckless lifestyle? Don’t spew your bullshit like that and not expect to get lit up you tool. I’d like you to post your BEST guitar playing so I can hear if you’re actually talented. Otherwise SHUT THE FUCK UP! I’ll bet that I can play guitar better than you, and guess what? I can play drums, cello, violin, and bass very well. Oh and I’m also an electronic dance music producer and DJ. I consider myself to be a true music lover and audiophile with a very eclectic taste in sounds. In my opinion, you are disgrace to music! I’ve never been this annoyed by somebody on the internet!

      • YO JODY C….DJ’s are responsible for sharing new and old music that creates half of the record sale in the industry. How many records have you sold mr. rockstar?? Should focus more on real life and hisstory of music instead of looking like a fagot in all your profile pictures before you talk stupid shit!!

  • I’m going to assume this article is written in satire, correct? I mean… i feel foolish even asking. Maybe they should say that somewhere to avoid some kind of slander lawsuit?

  • This article just makes me hate him more. It shows that music and live performance has turned to mindless stupidity and who can do the most “amusing/interesting” thing (at least for the mass of the general public). Its dumb. Eventually the entire surfacing part of the scene will be a bunch of idiots running around with bottles of champagne. I really slowed down going to shows solely because I do not want to see an ENTERTAINER, I want to see an ARTIST. Even if the article is fake I still see exactly what he is doing and wonder why people go to see that. Whatever, one is responsible for their own actions. If you want to spend money to see someone like that then be my guest.

    • James Saricopulas, I understand your anger. Mindless stupidity is indeed in the air.
      However, I have to disagree when you say you want an ARTIST vs ENTERTAINER. Every artist has to have two personas/personalities/sides. An artist has to be a good ARTIST regardless of where/how often they perform. But when they do perform they also have to be a good ENTERTAINER.
      I think for mainstage DJs in particular – their ENTERTAINER value is more demanded at performances. Their ARTIST value is more demanded on people’s ipods, or when they out out new tracks.
      It would be nice to see some skill turntabling/djing at performances once in a while – of which there is less now. The actual mixing is pretty plain these days.
      I still like Steve Aoki’s tracks – even though he doesn’t show the ARTIST in him at his concerts.

  • I love you Steve Aoki… this is what’s needed with the insane world of EDM, it’s all absurd and mindless drabble. Thank God someone was able to make fun of the EDM people right in front of their faces! Standing Ovation.

    • hahahahaha Michael Colunga, you sir, have a point. Just read other articles (or at least the titles).. such as “Whistleblower Edward Snowden Admits To Being Dubstep Legend Burial”, or “Diplo Quits Music & Cancels All Upcoming Gigs To Join Church Of Scientology”.. I mean seriously… or better yet, “Native Instruments Announce Plans To Buy Technics In Bid To Stop Manual Beat Matching Forever”
      Entertainment. Not news. Period.

  • Seriously guys, this is coming from the same website that said that Diplo is quitting EDM to join the church of scientology and that Snowden admits to being Burial all along. Haven’t any of you heard of the Onion?

  • You guys realize that wunderground is fake right? Just go to the home page and see for yourself. All these news articles are just fake. It’s kinda like the news website “The Onion.” It’s just for fun! lol

  • Fake or not fake either or people still love the fact that going to the show is all about being wild n out and partying … To have a good time and be ridiculous anyways. That’s what some Edm music is for to dance to go wild to have fun. Aoki threw a fun party even if it was a joke to him. He still made everyone else have fun.

    • If you go to the front lines… it hurts. If people need to get hurts to be alive, that’s something wrong with it. I don’t know what or why, i’m not an expert, but i think with this, Aoki is revealin it. i start likin him now, also if i listened all the music he was into, but never him don’t know why, but maybe was this. peace

  • As someone who has loved Steve Aoki for years, I was so excited to see him live for the first time in January 2012. I bought tickets for my best friend and I for Christmas and we went expecting a great time. Unfortunately, this was the beginning of the cake in the face days, and as the tallest person in the front row, I took a gigantic sheet cake covered in frosting to the face, shortly followed by an entire bottle of cranberry juice. At first, I loved it, I mean hey, it’s Steve freakin Aoki, but by the time the show ended, I had an iPhone broken and full of frosting (so did my friend), a ruined dress, ruined shoes, a ruined purse and my scalp/parts of my hair was dyed red from the frosting for nearly two weeks. Yes, I knew what I was getting into, I’ve heard his shows are wild and trust me, I can do wild, but this was a whole different animal. It was extremely disappointing to pay $60 only to see him press a button and then run around on stage, especially after leaving with all my shit ruined. I’m glad he finally came out and said he isn’t a DJ because after that show, it was too obvious. Still love you and the party, Steve, appreciate the honesty. Next time, I’ll stand a few rows back!

    • Well you’re fucking dumb for not complaining and getting a new phone. Also, you are fucking RETARDED for believing this article. Look at the website some more, it’s all satire.

      • Do you think she is serious?! Actually, are you serious? Shit… am I serious? Satire is destroying my mind!

    • Seriously? It seems some people can become so fanatic that “artists” might as well poop straight into their audience’s mouths, and destroy their valuables and they will continue to pay money for it and not complain.

      • It’s possible to take advantage of little old ladies good nature but most people know that that is wrong. Aoki knows he is taking advantage of his fans’ adoration but doesn’t seem at all phased by his conscience. Maybe he doesn’t have one. Maybe he sees himself as above his fans. That would not be surprising given the fact his is in the cult of triangles, all seeing eyes, black & white checkerboards, etc.

  • Don’t worry people there were some of us aware. We just didn’t know also Aoki was. But we don’y think in “words”. You don’t think “he’s doing that, than it means bla bla boa”. Your heart suddenly tell you if it’s absurd or it’s about the music. that’s true for me not for everyone, it’s not mandatory, but that’s what i think.

  • Like this little bitch is the only one…. come on the whole EDM scene is fake as fuck.

    Dj’s are no longer dj’s but producers who act like dj’s but don’t know how the fuck they beat match without there sync button or sync programs…and if they beatmatch they cant hold it longer then 10 seconds or it will go out of sync.

    Thanks for fucking up the EDM

    ps… don’t start about grammar if I made a mistake iam dutch so suck my balls 😛

    • AHAHHAHHA this is great. I agree. There are some dudes who put on bad ass live sets still but you’re right the market is saturated with macbook dj’s

  • if you like steve aoki its probably because you shovel bath salts into your air filled heads in your blinding neon tank tops while on trips to florida that mommy and daddy paid for…sprinnnngggg breaaaakkkkk for eveerrrrrr….you losers.

  • smh…. obviously this is a satirical article….. dumb asses ….. and im a nigga with basic high school education from a horribly ran, all-black highschool placed on the side of my dirty ass projects…..

  • I love that his ego was so Big that he thought no one suspected he was a fraud LOLOLOLO , I always said his music sux and he’s the worst dj Steve you’ve never fooled anyone you have always been a sad joke

  • ok to you grammar person and person before that, Adam Wickerson, and Eric Pferman, well i see you like grammar, but what about spelling? its not “cought” its “caught”, so before you go correcting people’s grammar because you don’t like their opinion, i’d suggest not fucking up your grammar or spelling. i’m not bashing you, but from what it looks like is you had no idea you spelled it wrong, and that doesn’t help your argument. Unless you put “cought” in the ” ” to recognize he spelled it wrong, then ill give you credit. Im terrible with grammar, but I’m jus pointing out the other flaws I’m seeing lol. Point is, don’t get upset over one persons opinion. Jus have fun, negativity is not the way to go… even know this post is kinda negative, but more or less just rambling and making a observation, ok I’m done.

    • it just looks like it to me, just the fact you didn’t actually correct the persons spelling, because he probably has no idea that you are correcting his spelling, just looks like you were trying to be sarcastic and both of you didnt know how to spell the word. idk im being a hypocrite because i hate it when people attack people on stupid shit cause they didn’t agree on the actual point of the post. But my actual point on this post is in fact that.

  • Yeah, right… And DJ Micro died in a boating accident after leaving the state palace theater in New Orleans 13 years ago.. Lol

    Since I’ve started DJing and producing in 2000, I’ve seen my fair share of “Dj hoax”. This one by far is the most creative though. Kudos. Lol

  • aoki is admitting that his stage show is a show. uh, ya steve. that’s why they call it “show” businesses. believe it or not, no one thinks that you sit around at home and throw cake at your family and friends. no duh. that doesn’t make it any less entertaining. also, i noticed that there’s no mention of his music being contrived. seems like self-absorbed b.s. to me.

  • So Aoki set off on an adventure to explore just how far he could push the boundaries of acceptance among his audience.
    The more crass he got, the more he wondered when the audience would realize it was all a ‘joke’.

    Aoki, my man, I urge you to examine another perspective before you throw your hands up at the absurdity of your audience accepting your continued absurdity:

    Look at the dadaism … Théâtre de l’Absurde … hell, ANY type of performance that has pushed the boundaries of the times it was born into. Audiences CRAVE the new, the fresh, the extreme!!

    What may have started out as a joke to you, Steve, was soon accepted by your audience. Isn’t that the dream of EVERY performance artist? Would you prefer the alternative — rejection by your audience?

    It started out as an absurd idea, but let’s get real, man … your comical mind has carved out a niche in the electronic music scene. You’ve created a band of loyal followers that eat your shit up just as much as Elizabethans would eat up the clowns of Shakespeare.

    To you and all the crazy DJs pushing the boundaries of ‘acceptable performance’ … take what you do more seriously. But not really.

    But really.

  • This is hilarious>I love the truth weaved within the satire! An intelligent human being gets it, those that lack there of will be offended regardless so fuck them & keep these hilarious articles coming!!!

  • I have no idea who this is nor I have ever seen anything he has done but i think he is missing the point. His “fans” are fans of the ridiculous, fans of what he was putting forward. It doesn’t make him better or them less that it was fake. What he put forward is what they enjoyed. Who is he to judge them? The only person made to look like an idiot here is him.

  • EDM and the community is a fucking joke. Seriously its not real. For every 1 genuinely unique “EDM musician” with actual credible musical talents, theres 1,000 try hard net-book weekend warriors that pander to the stereotypical rich college lazy kid. Literally 99% of anyone who takes this EDM community bullshit seriously I just want to smack them in the fucking face and tell them to grow up. Cool, your mom paid for $2500 worth of equipment for you to sit in the basement for a week so you can tell everyone your a DJ, get a real fuckin job.

  • Shocking…..no not really. What an ass clown. I have only seen video of him and a live feed from Ultra. He SUCKED behind the decks. Hope he’s done being whatever he was.

  • Whether this is satire or not, Steve Aoki is a joke. His music is boring and predictable and his stage antics are cheap and as uneventful as his music. Fuck him for doing this (doesn’t matter if it is an act or not). Just because he can prey on a bunch of uneducated and mindless kids does not make it okay. It’s basically ignorance profiteering. He’s creating mindless people with the help of his friend MDMA, which, is almost harmless if used responsibly and in moderation, but these kids get sucked into that world and fry their brains out before they’re even mature enough to make adult decisions. Don’t get me wrong, I like party drugs on occasion but from experience, I know how damaging they can be to the psyche. Okay, rant is over. Oh, I love the grammar Nazis, keep it up guys, it’s about time people learn how to properly use the language they know, otherwise we’ll end up with some ridiculous hybrid language consisting of redneck english, ebonics and spanish. Have a good day!

  • Does he really think we didn’t know he wasn’t a real DJ.. I’m pissed the fans dont get credit for just being fans rather than seen as bamboozled idiots watching a circus show! Steve Aoki not being a DJ isnt a surprise .. The girls wanted cake on their face, we liked the long faced/hair character you made for us, someone had to do it. Now it just seems like a slap in the face to think he thought he had anyone with a First semester college course credit fooled.. Just bring back Aoki at least we know he didnt give a fcuk and the people I stand for dont give any either. Besides all that congrats to him big ups to the accomplishment…. I guess?

  • This article features brilliant satire… and a Grammar Nazi circle-jerk in the commentary?! As many terrible satire sites have popped up recently, this is one of the few that I absolutely love.

    • I just came across this site after a Fbf linked the article as factual reporting. I’ve not stopped smirking wickedly since. And I love that term “Grammar Nazi circle-jerk,” might have to steal it.

  • For all the haters- please stop hating on steve aoki when you dont know how to make music, if you dont like getting caked then just get the fuck out the way or don’t get close to the stage, this article is fake as hell and full of satire. For all the grammar nazi’s- please get a life.

    • Let me explain to you why your opinion is shit. First of all, I am a musician. I live to create music with harmonies and melodies that aim to evoke emotions in human beings. I love the whole premise of being able to give someone a certain feeling just through music. Ever get goosebumps while listening to a song? I live for that shit.

      However, Steve Aoki is not a musician. He is a producer. His job is to make super simple music so that someone can sing over it. However, given the recent craze for EDM, being a producer has never been so easy. It takes maybe 3 hours to write these sad excuses for songs, and that’s if you’re actually trying to make it sound good.

      Marketing-wise, Aoki knows exactly what he’s doing. The people who listen to this trash don’t care about what they’re listening to, as long as they can get drunk/high and not remember any of it later.

      He’s not making music; He’s exploiting the EDM craze and gaining huge amounts of popularity recently because his shows feature him running around doing random shit after pressing a button, It’s sad that people actually believe this is music. If you are actually a musician (not someone putting loops with synthesizers and drum machines on their laptop), you would understand that this isn’t something worth listening to. We all have a limited amount of time on this earth, so why would anyone choose to waste their time with this awful noise?

  • To be honest; I must say something about this .. Madness. Um this article and comments is the biggest troll. The article itself, even though it’s fake; and the grammar nazis here. It’s just too funny. The article is a troll. But the person who started this grammar is by far the better troll of the two. kudos!

  • I just want to fucking say that I went out of my way to make a fucking account on this stupid fucking website just to let all of you dumb fucking fucks that typing “cought” instead of “caught” was actually a goddamned spelling mistake, and not, in fact, a goddamned fucking grammar mistake. And you know what? I’m pretty sure someone may have already pointed that out. Who cares? If not, there is just more reason for stupid people like all of you shitwicks to give up on their educations and pursue a career in producing and “performing” EDM music. And if any of you self-righteous fucks plays the “Oh I must be Jesus FUCKING Christ” card and pull some self-righteous bullshit on me about how everyone should just “stop trolling and get along”, then you know what? More fucking power to you. Go ahead and have the last hundred or more laughs.

  • I hate to say it. . Clown/Act or not. whatever.

    END OF THE DAY – Steve Aoki your a genius bc not only have you seen the world and raged your ass off – you made stupid amounts of money acting like a jackass – GOOD FOR YOU!!! I’d rather hop around/dive outta a dj booth into a raft/throw cake in some candy ravers face/play with no shirt on any day of the week instead of being a corporate slave to society living day by day stuck in the two control parameters of life (fear & debt).

    Bottoms up to you Aoki.

    P.S. we all knew you weren’t really spinning bc you spent more time in your raft or throwing cake. Cheers Bro.

  • I still love Steve Aoki , whether or not hes a dj, he is a performer and it seems that he is a amazing one ,it may have been an act but i enjoyed every minute of the show. I aspire to reach his level of performance one day

    • You have extremely poor taste and even lower expectations of what a performer really is. A performer is not someone who throws cake at people. That is called a toddler.

  • Whether he saw everything as a joke or not, his fans, like the article states, fkn LOVED every minute of it! That’s all that matters, have a great time, make a bunch of money and fkn party. Aoki is the shit!

  • This is complete bullshit. He got caught with his finger in his nose and is trying to convince the entire world he was searching for buried treasure. Even if this was true, he literally wasted 15 years of his life playing a joke no one could laugh at. He’s a moron.

  • Yeah, I ran production for a few of those shows, and it was a straight joke. The crowd might not have known, but there are a ton of us who have been well aware of this type of “music” for years. When will the bass drop, bitches.

  • he’s a talentless piece of shit. and i would never invite him to a party. or any event with a cake. no manners.

  • Well fuck him. If you’re hanging out with Kayne “I am the asshole of the century so far” West, then you must be a complete jerkoff

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