Letter From The Editor

Screen Shot 2017-02-06 at 1.55.18 PMSteve Aoki shows are the stuff of legend. Throwing cakes in people’s faces and crowd surfing atop a raft are just a couple of the antics that the popular EDM DJ has become known for.

It’s the kind of thing where if you’ve never even heard Aoki’s music, it still makes you want to check out one of his performances.

And now you have the chance: Aoki is coming to Honolulu Feb. 18 as a part of POW! WOW! Hawaii’s closeout event in Kakaako. (He also makes a stop on Maui before coming here.) It’s also in celebration of the 20th birthday of his record label, Dim Mak.

Staff writer Jaimie Kim recently got the chance to chat with Aoki. And for all of Aoki’s antics, the conversation got pretty serious. He reflected on his career, being Asian in an industry where Asians are underrepresented, and how it feels to have a record company that is 20 years old (awesome on the one hand, and like you’re getting old, on the other).

But although he and Dim Mak might be getting up there, they seem to be having something of a moment right now. Just recently, as Jaimie details in her story, Aoki has been working on a number of new collaborations — and even has a Netflix documentary on his life.

For more on Aoki and details on his upcoming show, see page 6.