NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Alok is one of the biggest DJs on the planet, but at just 32 years old, he鈥檚 learned that fortune and fame don鈥檛 equal happiness.
鈥淚 was 24. I was the No. 1 DJ in Brazil. I had financial success, popularity. And I was feeling a huge emptiness because I said if this is the meaning of life for me, life has no meaning,鈥� said the Brazilian electronic dance music star who became the first South American to reach global mainstream fame.
Alok was battling another cycle of depression which he first experienced at age 10. After embarking on a quest to find meaning in his life, Alok visited the Amazon rainforest to connect with nature and met the Indigenous Yawanawa people. He then visited Africa with the humanitarian group Friends Without Borders, which was life changing.
Alok, who didn鈥檛 believe in God at the time, partly due to rampant global poverty, had an encounter with a blind, elderly woman so starved that she had tied a rope around her stomach area to feel less hungry.
鈥淪he told me that she was praying for God, for someone to go there and help her. And then I told her, 鈥楲isten, God, doesn鈥檛 exist鈥欌�� And then her answer changed my life forever,鈥� he said, recalling the woman telling him she prayed, heard God and knew He was present. 鈥淚 had everything and I was complaining about it鈥rom that moment on, I could not abandon (God) anymore.鈥� After that, he began pursuing philanthropic endeavors and 鈥渟tarted to fill up my heart with that emptiness.鈥�
Celebrated , Alok, who released his highly anticipated 鈥淛ungle鈥� collaboration with The Chainsmokers and Mae Stephens in September, has made it a priority to make the world a better place while making it dance.
Known for collaborations and remixes with artists like , and , Alok in September for the second consecutive year. Representing his nonprofit Alok Institute, he hosted the 鈥淭he Future is Ancestral: Music, a secret technology of the Indigenous Peoples鈥� panel which highlighted how music can help preserve indigenous culture, including traditional languages.
Recently, , as a lawsuit attempted to block an Indigenous group from expanding the size of its territorial claim.
鈥淲e always have the mindset that the Indigenous, they are savage and they have a less developed culture鈥hat exists is different values and goals,鈥� said Alok, who dropped 鈥淐ar Keys鈥� with Ava Max this summer. 鈥淭hey never had the opportunity to tell their own story, or is (generally) told by another, usually a white man.鈥�
Alok, , has dedicated himself to making sure Brazilian Indigenous communities have a voice, and he鈥檚 working to literally amplify their voices with an upcoming album, called 鈥淭he Future is Ancestral.鈥� Due out next year, it will feature Indigenous musicians.
鈥淚鈥檓 not releasing the album as Alok, I鈥檓 releasing the album as a producer because I feel that who has to be in front of it? 鈥he Indigenous people. And it can鈥檛 be myself representing them 鈥� a white guy, 鈥渟aid Alok, who used the Yawanawa tribe to connect with other tribal musicians across Brazil. 鈥淲e鈥檙e always talking about protecting the forest and stuff, but we鈥檙e so disconnected with the forest... a very good way to do it is listening to the indigenous songs.鈥�
The 鈥淗ear Me Now鈥� and 鈥淎ll By Myself" artist, which have each racked up nearly 700 million and 100 million Spotify streams respectively, headlined the biggest show of his career earlier this month at Rio de Janeiro鈥檚 historic Copacabana Palace Hotel which celebrated its 100-year anniversary. Resembling Times Square on New Year's Eve, thousands partied on the beach for free, while millions more streamed online and watched on TV, .Fireworks danced in the sky as Alok spun records from the top of a giant futuristic pyramid.
But as he appears at international festivals, residences and recent U.S. performances, you won鈥檛 find the married, father of two complaining.
鈥�(I am) very tired, but very happy as well because honestly, I鈥檓 doing what I love and I鈥檓 seeing so many things going on and all the dreams being materialized鈥�(but) it seems I鈥檓 not sleeping for the last five months,鈥� said Alok, . 鈥淚t鈥檚 just more about how I can find the balance to be with my family and do all of this. But I鈥檓 very happy.鈥�
Born in Goi芒nia, located in Brazil鈥檚 agricultural heartland, he鈥檚 the son of two influential underground psytrance DJs, Swarup and DJ Ekanta. Alok and his fraternal twin brother, Bhaskar who's also a professional DJ and producer, learned how to spin records as children. Alok says his parents didn鈥檛 force them into the family business.
Despite being known in Latin America, Europe and China, he says making more headway in the U.S. is important because receiving the American seal of approval is still significant.
鈥淯.S. brings a validation鈥� we鈥檙e always taught that in our country what is best is what comes from outside America and Europe, and we are inferiors,鈥� said Alok. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 not true. But what鈥檚 true is that we just have to work a lot to cross the frontiers to be here.鈥�
He points to Brazilians seeing themselves represented on American TV, highlighting two years in a row as a point of pride 鈥� not only for the country, but for himself.
鈥淚 still think there is so much things (to accomplish). And every time you think that you鈥檙e too big, you just don鈥檛 leave space anymore to grow. And I always feel that I鈥檓 just starting.鈥�
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Gary Gerard Hamilton, The Associated Press
