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Afrojack

Nick Leonardus van de Wall[a] (Dutch: [ˈnɪk leːjoːˈnɑrdʏs fɑn də ˈʋɑl];[b] born 9 September 1987), known professionally as Afrojack (stylized in all caps),[1] is a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer. In 2007, he founded the record label Wall Recordings; his debut album Forget the World was released in 2014. Afrojack regularly features as one of the ten best artists in the Top 100 DJs published by DJ Mag.[2] He is also the CEO of LDH Europe.[3]

Afrojack
Afrojack in 2021
Born
Nick Leonardus van de Wall

(1987-09-09) 9 September 1987 (age 37)
Spijkenisse, South Holland, Netherlands
Other names
  • NLW
  • Kapuchon
Occupations
  • DJ
  • record producer
  • remixer
Years active2007–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2020)​
AwardsFull list
Musical career
Genres
Labels
Websiteafrojack.com
Signature

Early life

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Nick Leonardus Van de Wall was born in Spijkenisse, South Holland to a Dutch mother and a Surinamese father.[4] He developed an interest in music at an early age and learned to play the piano at the age of five.[5] From a single-parent household, his mother Debbie owned a local gym. After leaving school, Van de Wall studied graphic design at the Grafisch Lyceum in Rotterdam for a year before embarking on a career as a DJ/producer.[5] At the age of 11, he started producing his own tracks from home for "five hours a day," and it took him a good seven years to produce his first release, "In Your Face."[6]

Musical career

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Afrojack in 2011

At the age of 14, Van de Wall started DJing at local pubs and clubs and earning additional income by designing websites for fellow musicians.[5] In 2007, he released "In Your Face", the first recording under the Afrojack name. He received international success with the song "Take Over Control" featuring Eva Simons, which charted in 10 countries.[7] He took part in Episode 2 of 'Behind The Speedo', which is a comedy series by Redfoo.

His 2010 entry into the poll at number 19 was the highest new entry of that year's list.[8] Afrojack was listed as number 7 on the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs of 2011.[9] He ranked at number 9 on DJ Mag's Top 100 DJs of 2012.[10] In 2013, he ranked at number 9 again.[2]

In July 2010, Afrojack created an Essential Mix for BBC Radio 1.[11] He released the Lost & Found EP on 22 December 2010. In 2011, he was featured on Pitbull's number 1 hit single "Give Me Everything" along with Ne-Yo and Nayer. He also contributed to the single "Run the World (Girls)" by Beyoncé.[12] In January 2012 Afrojack received a European Border Breakers Award.[13] Afrojack's newest single "The Spark" featuring Spree Wilson has so far hit number 3 in Australia and New Zealand, and top 10 in over 7 more countries. In 2013, Afrojack was the 7th highest-earning DJ in the world, according to Forbes magazine.[14]

In 2011, Afrojack co-produced music with many artists including David Guetta, Mike Brown and Madonna. In 2012, he was a headliner at a number of electronic dance music festivals, including Tomorrowland, Ultra Music Festival, and Coachella.[15]

His debut album, Forget the World, was released on 19 May 2014 to mixed reviews.[16]

On 17 March 2015, Afrojack was featured in David Guetta's single "Hey Mama" in which he co-produced with Guetta. The song featured him along with Nicki Minaj and Bebe Rexha.[17] On 27 July 2017, he released the NLW EP[18] under the alias NLW.[19] This marked the launch of his new alias NLW under which he would go on to produce more underground style tracks.

In 2016, one of his songs, "Braver", was featured on the game Final Fantasy XV. He appeared in the 2016 documentary film about American DJ and producer Steve Aoki, titled I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, which was subsequently nominated for a Grammy Award.[20]

On 28 April 2017, he released a new single "Another Life" collaborating with fellow DJ David Guetta featuring Ester Dean. On 7 September 2017, he released the single "No Tomorrow" featuring Belly, O.T. Genasis, and Ricky Breaker.[21]

On 14 February 2018, he released his track "Bed of Roses" featuring Stanaj, which was played as an ID during his set at Ultra Music Festival 2017 in Miami. In July 2018, at Tomorrowland in Boom, Belgium, he debuted many of his new tracks such as "Bassride", "Step Back", which are all included in his Press Play EP, releasing on 31 August 2018.

In March 2020, Afrojack announced that he would perform at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, in Rotterdam alongside Glennis Grace, however, the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He performed at the contest the following year, in the same city.

In March 2022, Afrojack released a new track along with David Guetta called "Trampoline."[22] The song also features Missy Elliott, Bia and Doechii.[23]

In September 2022, Afrojack announced "Jack to the Future" US tour.[24] The tour includes fifteen cities.[25]

Wall Recordings

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Since 2007, Afrojack runs his own label, Wall Recordings, which represents producers including KIIDA, Apster, D-Wayne, D.O.D, Karim Mika, and others.[26] The label used to operate as a sub-label to Spinnin' Records until late January 2016. Tom & Jame's Burn Down marked the last release of Wall Recordings as a sub-label. After going independent for a while, it became a sub-label to Armada Music in 2017, until it became independent again in 2019.

Personal life

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In 2019, Afrojack and Italian heiress, singer, socialite Elettra Lamborghini made their engagement public.[27] The two were married on 26 September 2020 at Lake Como, Italy.[28]

Discography

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Main article: Afrojack discography


Awards and nominations

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Grammy Awards

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Year Category Nominee / work Result Ref.
2011 Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical "Revolver (David Guetta's One Love Club Remix)" Won [29]
2012 "Collide (Afrojack Remix)" Nominated
Best Rap Song "Look at Me Now" Nominated
2021 Best Dance/Electronic Recording "Hero" Nominated [citation needed]

MTV Europe Music Awards

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Year Category Nominee / work Result Ref.
2011 Best Dutch Act Afrojack Nominated [30]
2012 Won [31]
Best European Act Nominated
2013 Best Electronic Nominated [32]
Best Dutch Act Nominated
2014 Best Electronic Nominated [33]
Best World Stage Performance WS Live in Amsterdam 2013 Nominated
2015 WS Live in Amsterdam 2015 Nominated [34]
2016 Best Electronic Afrojack Nominated [35]

DJ Magazine top 100 DJs

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Year Position Notes Ref.
2010 19 New Entry [36]
2011 7 Up 12
2012 9 Down 2
2013 9 No Change
2014 12 Down 3
2015 8 Up 4
2016 10 Down 2
2017 8 Up 2
2018 8 No Change
2019 9 Down 1
2020 7 Up 2
2021 6 Up 1
2022 6 No Change
2023 7 Down 1
2024 7 No Change

Notes

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  1. ^ In this Dutch name, the surname is van de Wall, not Wall.
  2. ^ In isolation, van is pronounced [vɑn].

References

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  1. ^ RA: Afrojack. Residentadvisor.net. Retrieved on 6 January 2011.
  2. ^ a b Top 100 DJs 2013 search Archived 8 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine. DJ Mag. Retrieved on 20 October 2013.
  3. ^ "LDH EUROPE | LDH - LOVE + DREAM + HAPPINESS TO THE WORLD -". LDH - LOVE + DREAM + HAPPINESS TO THE WORLD - (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  4. ^ "A Spin With Afrojack: Inside The Dutch DJ's Car Collection". Forbes. 20 October 2014.
  5. ^ a b c van Rossum, Maarten (19 February 2013). "Interview: Afrojack". Maarten! (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 29 November 2014.
  6. ^ Lim, Blanche; Nambiar, Rohini (22 June 2018). "Grammy Award winner Afrojack reveals what it takes to be a DJ". CNBC. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Afrojack Bio, Music, News & Shows". DJZ.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  8. ^ Music Interview: DJ Afrojack. Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved on 6 January 2011.
  9. ^ Top 100 DJs 2011 search Archived 8 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine. DJ Mag. Retrieved on 6 January 2011.
  10. ^ Top 100 DJs 2012 search Archived 8 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine. DJ Mag. Retrieved on 6 January 2013.
  11. ^ Radio 1 Programmes – BBC Radio 1's Essential Mix, Afrojack. BBC (10 July 2010). Retrieved on 2011-01-06.
  12. ^ IMO Records. "Afrojack Biography", IMO Records, London, Retrieved on 25 January 2012.
  13. ^ "Dutch dj Afrojack wins EBBA" Archived 2 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Sica.nl. Retrieved 7 October 2011
  14. ^ "7. Afrojack - $18 million". Forbes.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013.
  15. ^ "Biography". afrojak.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014.
  16. ^ Forget the World by Afrojack, metacritic.com, retrieved 27 September 2022
  17. ^ "Bebe Rexha Explains Why She Isn't (Officially) Featured on David Guetta's 'Hey Mama'". Billboard. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  18. ^ "NLW EP from Wall Recordings". Beatport.com. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  19. ^ Lisander (24 August 2015). "NLW, the new alias of the DJ Afrojack". Miami Global Radio. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  20. ^ "Steve Aoki 'I'll Sleep When I'm Dead' Documentary Hits Netflix | The Nocturnal Times". thenocturnaltimes.com. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  21. ^ Billboard. "Afrojack's 'No Tomorrow' With Belly, O.T. Genasis, & Ricky Breaker: Listen". Billboard. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  22. ^ "Listen to David Guetta and Afrojack's New Song "Trampoline" f/ Missy Elliott, BIA, and Doechii". Complex. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  23. ^ Kupfer, Rachel (4 March 2022). "Spring Into Spring With David Guetta and Afrojack's "Trampoline" Featuring Missy Elliott". EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  24. ^ Gilmore, Grant (22 September 2022). "Afrojack Announces 'Jack To The Future' US Tour". EDM Identity. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  25. ^ "AFROJACK Announces 15-show "Jack to the Future" US Tour". Across America, US Patch. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  26. ^ "Wall Recordings Releases & Artists on Beatport". Beatport.com.
  27. ^ "Elettra Lamborghini, Sanremo e il matrimonio. "Io e la mia canzone non vi deluderemo"". Il Resto del Carlino (in Italian). 2 January 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  28. ^ "Elettra Lamborghini tutto pronto le nozze Afrojack pomeriggio lago di Como" (in Italian). corriere.it. 26 September 2020.
  29. ^ "Afrojack". Grammy.com. The Recording Academy. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  30. ^ "Voor het eerst Dutch MTV Award in Amsterdam". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  31. ^ "Afrojack wint MTV Best Dutch Act Award 2012". NPO 3FM (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  32. ^ "MTV EMA 2012 :: 11.11.2012 :: Frankfurt :: The 2013 MTV EMA Host City Is…AMSTERDAM!". 26 January 2013. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  33. ^ Billboard (9 November 2014). "MTV EMA 2014: See the Full Winners List". Billboard. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  34. ^ "MTV EMAs 2015: Beste momenten" (in Dutch). 26 October 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  35. ^ "Justin Bieber & Beyoncé Lead The 2016 MTV EMA Nominations – See The Full List!". Mtv.co.uk. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  36. ^ "Poll 2021: Afrojack". DJMag.com!. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
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