Akira the Don explained

Akira The Don
Birth Name:Adam Jan Narkiewicz[1]
Origin:UK
Years Active:2004–present
Label:Living in the Future (2009–2016)
Something in Construction (2004–2009)
Interscope (2005–2006)
Website:www.akirathedon.com

Akira the Don (real name Adam Jan Narkiewicz) is a British musician, DJ, producer, and YouTuber.

His music and production traverses the boundaries between pop, hip-hop, indie, and dance. He lists influences including Ice Cube, Adam Ant, Morrissey, Big Bang, Leonard Cohen, David Bowie and the Wu-Tang Clan. His debut album When We Were Young was produced by Danny Saber. In 2017, Akira the Don released mixtapes in the form of a new genre he created, referred to as "Meaningwave"[2] – a fusion of wave music with meaningful lyrical content and lo-fi hip-hop.

Career

Rapper

Prior to launching a solo career, Akira the Don was a member of hip-hop group Crack Village, another member being Lois Winstone.[3] [4] In 2006, Akira rapped on Brave Captain's album Distractions.[5] He released his first album When We Were Young the same year.[6]

In May 2011, he released his second LP, The Life Equation. The album is co-produced with Stephen Hague and features collaborations with Gruff Rhys (of Super Furry Animals) and Envy.[7] Akira often produced his own videos.[8] In 2013, Akira performed at Grant Morrison's MorrisonCon.[9]

In March 2014, Akira released A.T.D.R.I.P.. He played his final gig as a traditional rap artist in London on 19 May,.[10]

Producer

Akira has produced songs for a number of artists including two top forty hits for Lethal Bizzle[11] along with songs for Newham Generals' Footsie, Big Narstie, Envy, G-Mane, Littles, Marvin The Martian, Issue, and Time.

In 2011, Akira collaborated with Chilly Gonzales on mixtape.

In 2015, Akira produced a cover of Adamski's "Killer" featuring Grant Morrison.[12]

In 2016, he released a remix of the Stranger Things theme.[13]

Since 2017, Akira the Don has been integrating philosophically inspired lyrical content into his music. He created and developed the Meaningwave Universe which is aimed at inspiring people to find wholesomeness in their lives, and promotes the ideas of peak performance or flow consciousness.[14] He's sampled soundbites from Jordan Peterson, Alan Watts, Joe Rogan, Elon Musk, Fred Rogers,[15] Anthony Bourdain, and others.[16] In 2019, he released dozens of albums during a period of "hyper productivity" [17]

In September 2021, Meaningwave and Akira the Don were covered on the Fox News Channel talk show Gutfeld!. [18]

In 2022, Akira was featured on Jordan Peterson's podcast. [19]

DJ

In October 2014 Akira relocated to Los Angeles, where he formed the party rap duo MIDNITEMEN with long time collaborator and nightclub organiser Wade Crescent, and began DJing every week in Hollywood nightspots like The Roosevelt Hotel, Blind Dragon, Hooray Henrys and Bootsy Bellows. The latter is co-owned by David Arquette, for whom Akira provided accent coaching for the actor's role in a stage production of Sherlock Holmes.[20]

As resident DJ at Blind Dragon, he DJed parties for the likes of The Weeknd, Nylon Magazine[21] and Harry Styles.[22] He DJed for Justin Bieber at Hooray Henrys following his VMA's performance.

YouTube

In 2020, Akira started to live-stream daily DJs sets on his YouTube channel, at times doing two sets per day.

Personal life

Born in West Bromwich and raised in North Wales, for most of his career he lived in London.[23] In 2014, he moved to Los Angeles. In 2020, he moved to Texas in order "to secure the future of Meaningwave, his son's childhood, and the very Don Dynasty itself."[24] Since 2021, he has been residing in Mexico.

Discography

Albums

EPs

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: A LOFI CHRISTMAS SONG . ASCAP . American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers . November 9, 2023.
  2. News: The Rise of Meaningwave Music. Joseph Parrish. Medium. 11 May 2019. 5 June 2020. Parrish. Joseph.
  3. News: New music: Akira the Don and Chilly Gonzales – Don't Need a Weatherman . The Guardian . 22 February 2011 . Cragg . Michael .
  4. Web site: BBC Wales - Music - Akira the Don - Biography.
  5. Web site: Martin Carr - Ye Gods (And Little Fishes). Pitchfork. 23 February 2019.
  6. Web site: Interview: Akira The Don. Oxford Student. 3 November 2010. 3 June 2020.
  7. Web site: Akira the Don - The Life Equation review. 20 February 2012 . 23 February 2019. The Quietus.
  8. Web site: Watch Akira The Don's Halloween Ready Video For 'Spooky Scary Skeletons'. NME. 23 February 2019. 26 October 2016.
  9. Web site: Akira The Don's Second Day At MorrisonCon. 3 October 2012. Bleeding Cool.
  10. Web site: The final A.T.D. Music video: Akira the Don – LATELY | Akira the Don . 4 May 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140504071439/http://akirathedon.com/blog/akirathedonlately/ . 4 May 2014 .
  11. Web site: New music: Akira the Don and Chilly Gonzales – Don't Need a Weatherman. The Guardian. 22 February 2011. 23 February 2018.
  12. Web site: Grant Morrison Appears In Akira The Don's New Music Video For Killer. 2 June 2015. Bleeding Cool. 23 February 2019.
  13. Web site: Akira the Don's Remix of the Stranger Things theme. 13 September 2016. NME. 17 March 2023.
  14. Web site: Evolution Of The DJ: An Interview With Akira The Don. prosoundweb.com. 29 July 2019. 5 June 2020.
  15. Web site: Akira the Don's Mr. Rogers-themed vaporwave mixtape is exactly what the world needs right now . CL Tampa. 23 February 2019 .
  16. Byebstaff (9 December 2016). "The Top 10 Most Important Music Memes of 2016". Electronic Beats. Archived from the original on 1 April 2017. Both vaporwave and its offshoot hardvapor are genres as well as memes
  17. Web site: Akira the Don: The DJ of the Intellectual Dark Web. High Existence. 26 April 2019. 3 June 2020.
  18. 15 September . Gutfeld! . . 15 September 2021 . 1 . en.
  19. Web site: S2 E4: Akira the Don: Music and Meaning . 15 April 2019 .
  20. Web site: David Arquette bringing a zany Sherlock Holmes to the stage. Toronto Sun.
  21. Web site: NYLON Magazine's Spring Fas... | Photo | firstlook celebrity photos . 20 July 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160816130935/http://getfirstlook.com/photo/w5CdES . 16 August 2016 .
  22. Web site: Harry Styles birthday party DJ politest millionaire ever. Sugarscape.com.
  23. Web site: Akira the Don. BBC Wales. 23 February 2019.
  24. Web site: TEXODUS. Meaningwave. 13 July 2020.

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