Nick van de Wall, commonly known by his stage name Afrojack, is a Grammy Award-winning Dutch music producer and DJ with a net worth of $40 million, making him the 14th richest DJ in the world. In the highly popular and constantly evolving electronic music scene, Afrojack has cemented himself as a premier DJ and has headlined many of the world’s largest electronic dance music festivals, including Tomorrowland, Ultra Music Festival, Coachella, and Electric Daisy Carnival.
Born on September 9, 1987, Afrojack was raised in the Saturno suburb of Spijkenisse, Netherlands where his love of music began early in his youth when he learned to play the piano at the age of five. After getting his hands on a copy the music-sequencing program Fruity Loops, Afrojack began to experiment with samples and create his own songs.
Before traveling to the Mediterranean, where the young DJ would perform at various clubs over a five-month period, Afrojack got his start playing short DJ sets across the Rotterdam club scene. Upon returning to his native homeland, Afrojack signed to the independent Digidance label and released his debut single, “Afrojack: In Your Face.” He then went on to form his own record label, Wall Recordings, scored hit club singles with Math and Do My Dance.
Afrojack was eventually invited to remix the likes of Madonna’s “Revolver” and Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” and released his first U.K. Top 40 hit in 2010–the same year he released debut EP Lost & Found–with “Take Over Control,” a collaboration with electronic pop vocalist Eva Simons. A year later, Afrojack collaborated with Miami rapper Pitbull on the hit single “Give Me Everything,” released his own hit single “The Future,” and debuted his second EP, Lost & Found 2.
In 2012, Afrojack’s fame continued to rise with his highly popular 40-date American tour that included headlining spots at some of the country’s largest festivals. In 2013, he signed a worldwide deal with Universal and Island/Def Jam, released his third EP It’s a Matter Of…, and dropped yet another hit collaboration, “As Your Friend,” featuring Chris Brown.
Afrojack’s first full-length studio album, Forget the World, was released in May of this year and debuted at number 32 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 8,000 copies while debuting at number two on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Albums chart. The album, which received mixed reviews from critics, features guest spots from a number of famous artists and musicians, including Tyler Glenn of Neon Trees, Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, and Sting.
In 2013, Afrojack made history twice in the same week as he became the first DJ to ring the closing bell at NASDAQ Stock Market Exchange in New York and the first DJ to cement his hands into the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The 27-year-old DJ sure doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon either, with more performances and hit collaborations planned for the future.
Visit Afrojack’s website, afrojack.com, for more information on the Dutch DJ and music producer, including news, music, videos, and tour dates.
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