The writing of a book is very much like the collaborative effort that goes into a song. It takes many hands, many minds, many moods … a whole lot of coming together before you can step back and see what you’ve got. I didn’t know this going in, but I know it now, and I am indebted to family, friends, and fans who helped me revisit the stories of my life and set them down here. It’s amazing the shit you forget, when you’re busy living your best life—and even when things aren’t going so great. The power of collective memory is just as amazing.
First and foremost, got to call out my family: my dad, rest in peace; my mom; my siblings—Kevin, Grace, Echo, Devon, Kyle, and Jennifer; my cousin Taku and his wife, Cheryl; my brother-in-law Brent; my nieces and nephews—Olivia, Natalie, Noa, Hunter, Alessandra, Eleanor, and Bella. I love you all, wouldn’t be me without you … wouldn’t have anything to write about, really. So, thank you. Like, a ton.
I am grateful as well to Dan Paisner, who worked with me to synthesize the stories of my life and find my voice as a writer. It’s one thing to write a song lyric, you know—a book is a whole other animal, and here I think we tamed the beast.
Sylvan Creekmore, our editor at St. Martin’s, also rates a nod here, together with her creative, hard-charging colleagues at St. Martin’s Press, including Gabrielle Gantz, Steven Seighman, Young Lim, and Ryan Jenkins, and the copy editor, Janet Byrne.
Thanks to Eve Attermann of William Morris Endeavor who was able to persuade the good people at St. Martin’s that I could (and should!) write a book. (This was before she persuaded me, by the way.) Thanks as well to my music agents at WME: Joel Zimmerman, Kirk Sommer, Kyle Bandler, and Marc Geiger.
Of course, I couldn’t do what I do without the support of Matt and Dougie at Deckstar, who put up with my shit every single day of my life—as well as Andre and LV at Deckstar, and Michael at Seminal Management, who help with the heavy lifting. They take care of business, so I can bounce around the planet making beautiful noise.
At Dim Mak, shout-out to Lee, Bryan, and Lorne; to Brandon at my Dim Mak Collection fashion label; and to Patrick and David from Ultra. Oh, and can’t forget my Aoki Foundation and Pizza Aoki teams … they are on it!
At home and on the road, I’m supported by my personal assistant and trainer Martin, who keeps me fit and fed and (somewhat) organized; by my tour manager Dillon Anderson (can’t imagine life on the road without him); and by Mike The Connect, who lives up to his name every day. And, by my talented and tireless road crew: Sam, Caesar, Alex, Crazy Chris, Jim and Mike from Film Tank, and Jay and Cam at Nightride … I’m indebted to you all.
To all the futurists and visionaries who have challenged me, inspired me, and helped to shape my thinking—J. J. Abrams, Ray Kurzweil, Bill Nye, Aubrey de Grey, Tom Bilyeu, Jim Qwik, Yuval Harari, Elon Musk, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Bryson, and Daymond John—thanks for lighting a path and stoking my spirit.
To all the artists, producers, songwriters, DJs, and musicians who’ve lit every kind of fire in me … to all the promoters who keep putting me on their stages … to all the people who believed in me when they didn’t have to … and, to all the people who shit on me and made me fight harder to do better … thank you, thank you, thank you.
And finally, to my love Nicole, my poofish, who has added all kinds of new colors to my life. I’m so glad you’re here on this journey with me—let’s keep enjoying the fucking ride.