DJ Alok Shares His Passion for Philanthropy & Dream Collabs

You are technically the number four DJ in the world. Do you ever just sit back and think about that?

Yeah, you know, um, to be very honest with you, um, it doesn't really matter if I'm number four. What matters is to do things that matters. So, for me, it only makes sense to be number four if I can really, you know, there's something to bring awareness or questions about stuff and I think that this position is important. Because as Brazilian, it's always so hard to cross the frontiers, you know? We all have this, we always had this mindset that, like, what, like we are inferiors and what comes from outside is better. So, we need this kind of representativity outside, you know, on music, on the football, on sport, whatever. So I think that I have a this responsibility that whatever I am at in the globe, make success or not, I'm always with my roots in my country and to inspire them. So I think that's the most important thing to be the number four. But, um, it only makes sense if I can do things that matters.

Yes. And you take a lot of pride in that. So like, online, like, everyone knows you've give back a lot. You're just actually like a really good guy.

Oh, thanks.

Where do you think that really like roots and comes from?

So I didn't had this kind of, you know, philanthropy, um, feeling in my life beforehand. Actually, I've every month I had really to fight hard to survive. So I didn't have like time to think about, you know, sharing with others. And I had something in my mind, which was like, okay, if I have money, I will buy a Ferrari. I'll be happy and I'll show everyone that I'm successful. But at certain moment in my life, I was 24 and I had success. I had money, I had everything that people like told me that that was a success, you know, the meaning of life. But I felt a huge emptiness inside myself, like, if this is the reason of life, for me life has no reason, like meaning anymore. So I was looking for answers and then first of all, I went to a very isolated indigenous tribe in the middle of Amazon, like, 13 hours in a road, nine hours in a very small canoe. I spent 10 days with them, just looking for inspiration. It was like a life-changing experience. Then after that, I went to a trip in Africa, uh, also looking, you know, for inspirations, and I had a very kind of, I was atheist because, um, I thought that if God exists, why would exist so much poverty and stuff? Right. So I found out like, um, old lady with a very bad situation where she was tying her stomach to not to feel hungry and she was blind of two eyes. And she was saying that she was praying to God, someone to help her. And I told the translator, translate to her that God doesn't exist, because if he exists, why would be, why would she be suffering? And then she answered me like, no, no, I was praying to him and I heard him and I was connected with him. So I understood that I was the biggest miserable there. And I had everything. I was complaining about this, but she was way more connected with divine than I was. And I realized that God never abandoned her. Who abandoned her was us, just look back in the history, you know? And um, I knew that I couldn't change the world, but I could change their world. So, uh, I wouldn't abandoned anymore. I had to do what I had to. So I just started this project. We had 300 kids. Now we have two, 20,000. That's crazy. And it's just like, it gave me the meaning of my life. So, I know that, um, I helped a lot the women, the lady, everyone there, but they transform me way more because I don't feel that emptiness anymore when I do the philanthropy work. So that's why I do what I do just to give a reason to my life.

Yeah. What an experience!

Yeah. Just because like, I had to be honest, like I didn't have this feeling beforehand and I just then why I had. I can't just say like, you know, I'm like that. It's not true at all.

Yeah. Okay. So you have a song out with James Arthur. Is there any, and obviously you've had some Ellie Goulding, so many different artists that you've had made songs with. But is there one artist that you have yet to work with that you want to?

Um, I had, um, I had the dream to work with the indigenous people in Brazil, and I'm doing this. So, um, we're co-creating an album together. So, I'm living this dream. And of course, I have a lot of artists that I'm fan of, you know, that I really enjoy. But, uh, it's not something that I'm manifesting like, it's just, I would like to actually do a song with Coldplay. That'd be sick. Cuz I I really like them as artists, their science stuff. I would love to do a song with so many artists that, you know, something to offer, but I'm not aiming this, you know? Yeah, we'll see. We'll see. Yeah, because, you know, maybe it's because we have this mindset that it's just like too far away. Mmm. Sometimes. Live in the moment. See what happens. Yeah. You know, my dad, the my dad is very into another kind of world. And, um, he was, he called me those days. He's like, listen, son, um, you should do a collab with a woman that I just saw. She's doing a fantastic work in Africa as well and stuff. I said, sure, Dad, who is it? And he said like, ah, he sent me the link. And when I saw it, it was Beyoncé. So I said, yeah, Dad. Sure. Can you help me? Can you help me? But I know why, I know why he said this. It's cuz I already did two collabs with Mick Jagger and one with Rolling Stones. And for him, Rolling Stones is just the biggest ever. Thing ever. So for him, it I did everything what was impossible, you know? Yeah. So Beyoncé, no-brainer, like easy-peasy. But we we'll wait for that. That would be sick. Yeah. I will tell Dad.

Okay. Speaking of manifesting, do you manifest a lot? And what is next for you? Um, what's one big goal?

Yes. I I think that, um, everything you plan for your life or everything that we create, first you have to imagine it, you know, you have to try to manifest it. And, um, what's next now is this, um, album that we are I'm releasing together with the indigenous cuz I think it's a very important project because actually it's not a project. It's a movement. And it's kind of to create awareness about it because we are talking about, you know, protecting the forest and stuff, but we don't understand it really. We're really disconnected with the nature, right? And I feel that once you don't have consciousness about something, it's very common that you make mistake, that you do a mistake, right? But once you have consciousness about it, it's not a mistake anymore. It's a choice, right? So this project is really to bring consciousness. So this is the next thing. For sure. We're going to release this year and together with a documentary. So this is yeah, of course. But but of course, um, also I'm releasing other songs, which is more pop. To work on radio, Spotify, platform. And this album is actually, I'm not worried about if it's going to trend or not.

It's something you're passionate about. Like it's a passion project.

It's just about doing stuff that are timeless and in the end it is it is timeless cuz one of the songs when I first heard it, like the vision were singing it to me, I was like, okay, this song is amazing. I got very emotional about it. But when did you guys create this song cuz I went when I was in your tribe 80 years ago, I don't remember about it. And they said like, as we remember, this one has 500 years old. Cuz they don't write. It's everything via oral. Yeah. They so the culture like the music is about the story, the culture that for the new generation. So it's a lot of responsibility and I can't do a work where I lose the essence of it. So I'm worried about like doing something that's still timeless. Yeah. Like I get a song 500 years old and I release it and after two months and no one wants to hear it. You know what I mean?