Most people barely know what they want to eat for lunch, not to mention what they want to do for the rest of their lives, sitting in their college apartment at the age of 21. With all of the options on Grubhub and career choices, it's not an easy choice to swallow when you barely have any real life experience. But for a select handful of people, that choice comes easier than ordering a large pizza from Domino's online. California based producer, DJ, and pizza connoisseur Ookay belongs to that handful. His good fortune of transforming his varied music tastes into a unique form of Trap early in his career has helped him secure releases on Ultra Records, Dim Mak, and Republic. Now, the meme creating, video game dominating, and music making DJ is traveling the world to fulfill his desired legacy:
“[Be] the guy that made that sick song that made people throw up. [And] I want to pioneer a new genre and eventually do movie scores that eventually win an Oscar. Hell, let’s even win a Grammy while we’re at it."
As more and more people become fans of music that vibes with them instead of paying attention to genres, you're bound to have more artists who pop up and borrow elements across the board, like Ookay. But not all of them are meant for the bright lights. At first, he was into Metal and Rock but then discovered an interest in Electronic music around 2009/2010. And when a friend got him into DJing, he found an outlet for his creative energy. Ookay started out with Dutch House, then Progressive House, and then stuck with Trap once he heard Flosstradamus' remix of "Original Don" ("Shout-outs to them for killin’ the game.") But don't tell his mom about his first DJ gig: "It was in a perfume factory warehouse and it was illegal. It wasn’t a lot of people – no more than 30 or 40."
The creation of his name may have been the most blase part of his relatively short and super successful music career. When he signed up for Soundcloud, there were no algorithms nor list of names that he came up with. He simply thought, “Uhhh…..Ookay”. On the flipside, his decision to get into production was an undeniably strong gut reaction after he ditched his high school prom to attend EDC in Las Vegas. Up to that point, he had been surrounded by instruments in his church and was part of multiple bands throughout middle school.
Once he's in the studio, Ookay may come out as Leisure or Coaster, or any of his other aliases that allow him to expand beyond his Trap sound. But regardless of the name under the Artist column for the song, each trip to the studio is an adventure that influences and is influenced by his hectic tour schedule. "They go hand in hand for me. I think going on the road gives me a lot of inspiration. All the events that take place and what the crowds react to really go into play when I’m in the studio. And when I make music, it only gets me excited to go back out again. Songs can go in any direction at any given time while I’m working on them. Sometimes a mistake can even make the song what it needed to be all along." And if it's a collaborative effort with another artist, you may notice a hint of embarrassment, since he commonly starts songs by humming or beatboxing to get a skeleton:
"I would have to make stupid noises into a mic around other artists, and it’s embarrassing. Thug Life. Hey, it’s for the result of a good song, so I’ll take it."
If you listen to any Ookay track you'll immediately feel the heavy weight that each song imbues. You may feel like you're fighting mermen in slow motion, underwater. Or you may feel like you're being launched into space for the first time, experiencing all of the G's as you leave the atmosphere. Not only is his style of Trap gritty, it's melodic so it has the potential to appeal to a wide range of Dance music fans. Although he's sharpened this sound for a while now, he's sure not to become predictable while delivering what his fans come to witness: "I feel as if you have to learn to blend and stitch different sounds and genres together as an artist. I feel like Diplo and GTA have done a really good job at pushing their sound to be versatile. I would hate to see an artist, expecting a certain set, and being given the complete opposite. Even if it’s a different type of music at every set, it should still have the personality of that particular artist to me." If you haven't seen him live, this is what you're missing out on: "Dank memes. There are no minions at my shows either. I want to play the best music all the time, so my song selection is really precise. Luckily, I have a lot of really fucking good music that I find from all over, as well as stuff I make. Also, a lot of crowd participation."
Speaking of memes, we had Ookay rank the following things on a scale of 1-5 Lit emojis. See how your rankings compare to his:
- Pizza - 5
- Donald Trump running for president - 0 ("He called my people rapists.")
- Summer time - 4 ("I’m bad with the sun.")
- Los Angeles traffic - 0 ("I make sure to Uber when I’m in town.")
- Being in a meme - 5
- Creating a meme - 4
- This Twitter - 5
After trying his hand at a Dubstep track and alternative subgenres through his aliases, he still has a few genres on his bucket list to cross off: "Drum and Bass? Maybe Deep House or Trap-ical house? IDK, who knows? IDK, maybe John Cena-ton." Besides his face melting tracks and dedication to interacting with his fans, on and off the stage, you may have heard of Ookay from his expert level trolling towards Hardwell. He's been on a mission to work on music with the Dutch DJ but has been met with several dead ends. But he won't give up:
"Hopefully he opens my snaps. Or maybe one of those planes that writes shit in the clouds. I might use that during his set to get his attention at a festival."
Even with world tours booked throughout the year and shout outs from the likes of Tiesto, Ookay recognizes the importance of longevity in the game. It's this foresight that has us excited for the next set of releases from the young talent: "I think I’m keeping myself at a steady pace. I’m planning on being around for a long, long time. I’m not going anywhere but up. That’s the mentality I’m keeping on this journey as a producer/DJ. I want to make better music and put together better live sets. I want to creatively explore new genres and visual arts. Like DJ Khaled would say, 'We Da Best.' And I love the Ookay team and how we’re growing at a constant rate. Especially the fans."
Last Call
1. What is your favorite movie of all time?Shrek 2
2. As a young DJ, who was the one DJ you looked up to?Laidback Luke. I still do.
3. As a DJ, what's your biggest pet peeve?Easy - requests.
4. What is your current DJ set up at home?I have 2 Pioneer CDJ 2000 Nexus and 1 Pioneer DJM 900 Nexus mixer. I have 2 Adam A7X monitors and an Alesis QX49 MIDI keyboard. And a Focusrite Saffire Pro 14. I also have an Audio Technica AT2020 P48 mic with pop filter. Pretty simple home set-up.
5. What's your favorite record of all time?Earth, Wind & Fire - September
Keep up with Ookay on his Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram. His upcoming shows are as follows:
- 7/18 - The Voyage with Dada Life - San Bernardino, CA
- 7/24 - Tomorrowland - Boom, Belgium
- 7/27 - Pacha - Ibiza, Spain
- 8/1 - Bass Boat - Boston, MA
- 8/9 - Moonrise Festival- Baltimore, MD
- 8/15 - ILESONIQ - Montreal, Canada
- 8/20 - Lake Festival- Unterpremstatten, Austria
- 8/24 - Pacha - Ibiza, Spain
Bryan Hahn is currently handling a lituation. He's on Twitter: @notupstate.