Steve Aoki

Steven Hiroyuki "Steve" Aoki (born November 30, 1977) is an American electro house musician, record producer, and music executive. In 2012 Pollstar designated Aoki as the highest grossing dance artist in North America from tours. He has collaborated with producers and vocalists such as will.i.am, Afrojack, LMFAO, Iggy Azalea, Lil Jon, and Laidback Luke, and is known for his remixes of artists such as Kid Cudi.

Aoki has released several Billboard-charting studio albums as well, notably Wonderland, which was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronica Album in 2013. The first part of Aoki's two-part album, Neon Future I, was released on September 30, 2014, and reached No. 1 on Dance/Electronic Albums in the United States. The second album, Neon Future II, features artists such as Snoop Lion and Rivers Cuomo, and in Belgium it reached No. 93 on the Ultratop 200 Albums chart.

The 2015 horror film The Hive features tracks from the album Neon Future by Aoki, who created the soundtrack and also serves as an executive producer. Aoki is also the central character in the upcoming documentary I'll Sleep When I'm Dead. He is the founder of the Steve Aoki Charitable Fund, which raises money for global humanitarian relief organizations.

Ultra Music

Ultra Music is an electronic music record label in North America, comprising Ultra Records, Ultra Music Publishing, and Empire Artist Management. The label was formed in New York City in 1995 by former Polygram and Virgin Records executive Patrick Moxey, who is the owner. As of January 23, 2013, Ultra merged its operations with Sony Music in a deal that brought all of Ultra's artists, music catalogs and licensing rights into the Sony fold in exchange for Sony's investment in Ultra and promoting Moxey (who will retain ownership) to the newly established role as president of Sony's Dance/Electronic Music division under CEO Doug Morris. As of January 2013, the label's physical releases are distributed by RED Distribution in the United States.

Ultra's roster includes, among others, Rosette, Axwell, Steve Aoki, David Guetta, Kaskade, Pitbull, Calvin Harris, The Bloody Beetroots, Wolfgang Gartner, Benny Benassi, Edward Maya, Headhunterz, Congorock, Rebecca & Fiona, TOKiMONSTA, Mt Eden, Adrian Lux, Mysto & Pizzi, Mayra Verónica, Inna, Fedde le Grand, Basshunter, Kerli, Margaret Berger, Alexandra Stan, Brass Knuckles, John de Sohn, Bynon, and Project 46. Ultra has featured releases from the aforementioned artists and many others such as The Crystal Method, Timo Maas, Sasha & John Digweed, 4 Strings, Panjabi MC, Despina Vandi, and Junkie XL. Ultra Music is No. 11 on YouTube for Most Viewed Channels of all time.

Lil Jon

Jonathan Smith (born January 17, 1971), better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, DJ and actor. He was the frontman of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz, which he formed in 1997, and they released several albums until 2004. He then went solo and released a new album in 2010 titled Crunk Rock. He was also featured on Celebrity Apprentice during its 11th and 13th seasons.

Life and career

Beginnings

Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Smith graduated from Frederick Douglass High School in Atlanta. After working as a DJ for Atlanta night clubs, he started working for So So Def Recordings between 1993 and 2000.

Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz

Smith took the stage name Lil Jon and formed musical group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz with rappers Big Sam (born Sammie Dernard Norris) and Lil' Bo (born Wendell Maurice Neal). The group signed to the Atlanta-based Mirror Image Records and were distributed by Ichiban Records. In 1997, Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz debuted with Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album. It included singles "Who U Wit?" and "Shawty Freak a Lil' Sumthin'", the latter of which came out in 1998. Both singles charted on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at No. 70 and No. 62 respectively. In 2000, Jon took part in starting up his own label BME Recordings and signed a distribution agreement with Norcross, Georgia-based Southern Music Distribution. There he released his breakthrough album titled We Still Crunk!. Among the tracks on that project was the hit single "I Like Those Girls", which reached No. 55 on the R&B chart and No. 3 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart.

Stephen

Stephen or Steven /ˈstiːvən/ is a masculine first name, derived from the Greek name Στέφανος (Stéfanos), in turn from the Greek word "στέφανος", meaning "wreath, crown, honour, reward", literally "that which surrounds or encompasses". In ancient Greece, a wreath was given to the winner of a contest (from which the crown, symbol of rulers derived). The use of the noun was first recorded in Homer's Iliad. The name is significant to Christians: according to the Book of Acts in the New Testament, Saint Stephen was a deacon who was stoned to death and is regarded as the first Christian martyr. The name has many variants, which include Stephan, Stevan, Stefan and Stevon.

In Middle English, the name Stephen or Stephan was pronounced as a bi-syllabic word — Step-hen or Step-han — much like a Scandinavian surname. Steve was pronounced as it is in Modern English. This etymological usage began a decline in the mid-19th century.

Steve is the common short form, while various diminutives such as Stevie and Ste are also used. Many family names are derived from Stephen: the most common are Stephens/Stevens and Stephenson/Stevenson (others include Stephen, Stephan, Staphan, Stefan, Stevin and Stever).

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. There are also cases where songs are used in tie in marketing campaigns that allow them to become more than just a song. Tie ins and merchandising could be used in toys are marketing campaigns for food and other products. Although the origins of music videos date back to musical short films that first appeared in the 1920s, they came into prominence in the 1980s when MTV based their format around the medium. Prior to the 1980s, these works were described by various terms including "illustrated song", "filmed insert", "promotional (promo) film", "promotional clip", "promotional video", "song video", "song clip" or "film clip". Since the creation and increased popularity of YouTube, mainstream artists now promote new music videos by releasing trailers of short promos on the site for their upcoming song and music video. Consequentially, YouTube has been converted into a social media platform for celebrities and artists to market themselves to their fans and audiences.