Ask producers and vocalists including will.i.am, Afrojack, LMFAO, Iggy Azalea, Lil Jon, and Laidback Luke – it doesn’t hurt to have Steven Hiroyuki “Steve” Aoki by your side. The superstar American electro house musician, record producer and music executive has worked with all of them on chart-topping hits, and he’s also known for his remixes of artists such as Kid Cudi.
One person who’s benefited from Aoki’s generosity that you may not have heard of is cancer fighter Darwin Brodt. The high school social studies teacher and wrestling coach of thirty years is battling Multiple Myeloma, an incurable blood disease. His daughter Brianna Brodt started a crowd funding campaign to raise money for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, and was astounded when a $100 donation came in from perhaps an unlikely source – superstar musician Steve Aoki.
Or perhaps this quiet act of generosity is not so out of character for Aoki. In fact, Aoki is the founder of the Steve Aoki Charitable Fund, born out of his passion for taking a proactive stance on social and humanitarian issues. The fund uses money raised from his own touring events (In 2012 Pollstar designated Aoki as the highest grossing dance artist in North America from tours), memorabilia auctions and partnerships with like-minded artists to contribute to areas where immediate humanitarian relief and essential medical research are needed to help with crises and newfound health issues that arise around the world every year. Aoki had already been involved with various charities prior to starting the Steve Aoki Charitable Fund – notably as a spokesperson for Peta2 and supporter of Music for Relief – but decided to move forward with his own fund to use his global influence by taking issues into his own hands.
It’s not that he doesn’t have enough to do without saving the world at the same time. Aoki has released several Billboard-charting studio albums under his own name, including Wonderland, which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronica album in 2013. The first part of Aoki’s two-part follow-up album, Neon Future I, was released in September 2014 and reached number one on Dance/Electronic Albums in the United States. The second album, Neon Future II, was also a huge success for Aoki. The central character in the upcoming documentary I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, Aoki is clearly using his waking life to make a major impact on the music scene – and do some good in the world at the same time.
Click the image below to donate and if in NYC on November 21, 2015 become part of the team and RUN!
