Makj
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = MAKJ
| image = File:MAKJpressretouch-8.jpg
| image_size =
| landscape = yes
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Mackenzie Alexander Johnson
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| alias =
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1990}}
| birth_place =
| origin = San Luis Obispo, California
| genre = {{hlist|House music|Dance music|Electro house}}
| occupation = producer, DJ
| instrument =
| years_active = 2011–present
| label = Kenz Records, Universal Records
| associated_acts = Timmy Trumpet, Lil Jon, DJ AM, Showtek
| website =
}}
Mackenzie Johnson, Mackenzie Johnson, professionally known as MAKJ, is an American DJ and producer who’s been a driving force in electronic music since 2012. Breaking into the scene with solo releases and standout collaborations with artists like Hardwell, Tinashe, Steve Aoki, Timmy Trumpet, Lil Jon, and Deorr. MAKJ quickly became a festival favorite, performing at Electric Zoo, EDC, Coachella, and Tomorrow Lands main stage. In 2014, Billboard named him one of the “Top 10 Artists to Watch” at Ultra Music Festival, and he earned a spot on DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs list. Beyond the stage, MAKJ hosts Revolution Radio on Clear Channel’s Evolution channel, where he continues to showcase new talent and sounds shaping the future of dance music.
Biography
Mackenzie Johnson was born in 1990 in San Luis Obispo, California. By his teens, he was living in China while pursuing a career as a professional race car driver. At age fifteen, he became interested in DJing, and he purchased a set of Technics 1200 Turntables. By age 17, he had returned to the United States, where he found himself invited to perform at local events in his hometown. He had a number of lessons with DJ AM, who trained MAKJ on scratching.
In late 2013, MAKJ embarked on his first major US tour, traveling the country with Bingo Players and Bassjackers. After a time playing small venues, he began to attend festivals as well. Since 2013, he has performed at festivals such as Electric Zoo Festival, Voodoo Experience, Coachella, a main stage slot at TomorrowWorld, Northern Lights Festival, Euphoria Festival, Webster Hall, and Ruby Skye. In March 2014, Billboard named him one of the Top 10 Artists to Watch at Ultra Music Festival. He toured Europe in 2014 with his "Let’s Get Fucked Up Tour," then traveled North America with his "Peyote Tour." Plans for an Asian tour were also announced.
He has released a number of singles as a solo artist since 2012, as well as a large number of collaborative singles. He has collaborated with artists such as Showtek, Lil Jon, and DJ Kura. In 2013, he released a collaborative single with Hardwell entitled "Countdown" which peaked at No. 1 on Beatport within three days. He has also released music on Hysteria Records, Doorn Records, Diffused Records, and Juicy Music, among others. In late 2014, he released his track "Generic," which had earlier debuted at the Ultra Festival in Miami. Several of his original songs have charted in the Beatport Top 10.
MAKJ has been a guest judge for the Campus DJ contest, and he is the host of a radio show on Clear Channel’s Evolution channel, with the show also streaming at iHeartRadio.
Awards and nominations
class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
!Year !Award !Nominated work !Category !Result |
rowspan="1"|2014
|rowspan="1"|DJ Magazine Awards |Makj | Top 100 DJs (63rd) |{{Nom}} |
Singles
=As lead artist=
=Other singles=
- 2011: Parallax (with Kura and dBerrie)
- 2012: Crunch
- 2012: Croche
- 2012: Galaxy / Old Memories (with Kura)
- 2013: Conchy
- 2013: Hold Up
- 2013: Springen
- 2013: Hakaka
- 2013: Revolution (with M35)
- 2014: GO (Showtek Edit) (with M35)
- 2014: Generic
- 2014: Ready (with Deorro)
- 2015: Lose Your Mind (with Deorro)
- 2015: Ante Up (with Deorro)
- 2015: Get Whoa (featuring Fly Boi Keno)
- 2015: On & On (with Kenze)
- 2017: Knock Me Down (with Max Styler featuring Elayna Boynton)
- 2017: Space Jam (with Michael Sparks featuring Fatman Scoop)
- 2017: Too Far Gone (featuring Matthew Santos)
=Remixes=
- 2012: Nari & Milani featuring Maurizio Gubellini - Unbelievable (with Robbie Rivera)
- 2012: Drop the Lime - No Sleep For The Wicked
- 2013: Trinidad James - All Gold Everything
- 2013: Nervo and Ivan Gough featuring Beverley Knight - Not Taking This No More
- 2013: Federico Scavo and Robbie Rivera - Jump
- 2013: Sound of Stereo - Zipper
- 2013: Sandro Silva featuring Jack Miz - Let Go Tonight
- 2014: Benny Benassi featuring Gary Go - Let This Last Forever
- 2015: O.T. Genasis - CoCo
- 2016: Rae Sremmurd - Black Beatles
- 2016: Madly - Work Me
- 2017: Ed Sheeran - Shape of You
- 2017: Future - Mask Off
- 2017: Steve Aoki featuring Lil Yachty and Migos - Night Call (with Steve Aoki)
- 2019: Goody Grace featuring Blink-182 - Scumbag{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/scumbag-feat-blink-182-makj-remix-single/1489234859 |title=Scumbag (feat. blink-182) [MAKJ Remix] - Single by Goody Grace on Apple Music |website=iTunes Store |accessdate=26 December 2019}}
- 2020: Winona Oak - He Don't Love Me{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/he-dont-love-me-makj-remix-single/1505668020 |title=He Don't Love Me (MAKJ Remix) - Single by Winona Oak on Apple Music |website=Apple Music |accessdate=12 May 2020}}
- 2020: Rat City - I Just Wanna Dance{{Cite web |last=Tam |first=Michael |date=29 June 2020 |title=Rat City – 'I Just Wanna Dance' (MAKJ Remix) |url=https://www.edmtunes.com/2020/06/rat-city-i-just-wanna-dance-makj-remix/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707053708/https://www.edmtunes.com/2020/06/rat-city-i-just-wanna-dance-makj-remix/ |archive-date=7 July 2020 |accessdate=7 July 2020 |website=EDM Tunes}}
Further reading
- {{cite news
| title =Makj Makes a Beatport Hit with Pee Sample, Unleashes His Latest Track "Generic"
| url =https://www.vice.com/en/article/makj-makes-a-beatport-hit-with-pee-sample-unleashes-his-latest-track-generic/
| publisher =Vice Media
| date =December 4, 2014
| access-date =February 17, 2015
| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150212235807/http://thump.vice.com/words/makj-makes-a-beatport-hit-with-pee-sample-unleashes-his-latest-track-generic
| archive-date =February 12, 2015
| url-status =live
}}
References
{{reflist| refs =
| title =MAKJ Makes a Beatport Hit with Pee Sample, Unleashes His Latest Track "Generic"
| first =Michelle
| last =Lhooq
| url =https://www.vice.com/en/article/makj-makes-a-beatport-hit-with-pee-sample-unleashes-his-latest-track-generic/
| newspaper =
| publisher =Vice Media
| date =December 4, 2014
| access-date =2015-02-02
| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150212235807/http://thump.vice.com/words/makj-makes-a-beatport-hit-with-pee-sample-unleashes-his-latest-track-generic
| archive-date =February 12, 2015
| url-status =live
}}
{{cite news
| title =Ultra Music Festival 2014: The Top 10 Artists To Watch
| first =Zel
| last =McCarthy
| url =http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/code/6029148/ultra-music-festival-2014-the-top-10-artists-to-watch
|newspaper =Billboard
| publisher =
| date =March 28, 2014
| accessdate = 2015-02-02
}}
{{cite news
| title =About MAKJ
| url =https://www.facebook.com/MAKJOfficial/info?tab=page_info
| publisher =Facebook
| date =
| accessdate = 2015-02-02
}}
}}