We were in 8th grade. His parents let us do whatever we wanted in the basement. He introduced me to graffiti, skating and music. Three artist came from him that are still with me: Steve Aoki, Justice and Yacht.
We drifted apart once we got to high school and it’s cool, friends come and go. But the music I brought with me.
Steve Aoki was one of the first electronic groups I ever got into. He has always had a soft spot in my heart because of this. So I was always a little bit tortured when the internet gave Steve shit for being a plug and play dj. And I get it, people are all core and shit and want “real” music, whatever that is anymore.
From his documentary you get the impression that he is very conscious of what people think about him and I think Steve took this criticism to heart. Here he is performing “Just Hold On” live with modified midis. While Louis sounds like shit, Steve is on one and I think it’s really cool that he is starting to employ ‘playing’ into his pop edm.