DJ Smokey

Early career and hiatus (2011–2018)

DJ Smokey was raised in Ontario, Canada and received classical piano training in his youth. Inspired by Soulja Boy's use of FL Studio^[11] in his productions, he switched his focus from piano to producing in the software in high school.^[7][12] His early work, beginning in 2011 on SoundCloud and YouTube, was inspired by phonk and Memphis rap production, especially SpaceGhostPurrp and Lil Ugly Mane,^[7] sampling 90s Memphis rappers like Playa Fly and Kingpin Skinny Pimp.^[3][2]

His Memphis rap and phonk-inspired mixtape, Evil Wayz, published in 2013, was referred to by Bandcamp Daily as a "cult classic" and "one of the best albums of the 'cloud rap' era." In particular, they mentioned the song "Evil Wayz Intro" as "the track that introduced him to the world."^[2]

His involvement on SoundCloud, especially with Evil Wayz, led to his first collaborations with the rap collective Raider Klan, facilitated by direct-messaging rappers on the platform.^[7][2] DJ Smokey credited these early collaborations as a contributing factor to producing for other established rappers like Yung Lean.^[12]

Several publications have described his early releases as influential within phonk, with comparisons to Lil Ugly Mane.^{[3][13][14][15]} Dazed noted that his early work "played an often overlooked role in the early careers of Yung Lean and Lil Peep."^[8]

In a 2025 interview with the online music magazine Sabukaru, DJ Smokey named his 2014 mixtape Smoked Out Dance Party as a turning point away from melancholic phonk-influenced production and towards what he described as more "positive" beats, attributing the more melancholic production in earlier releases as a reflection of ongoing drug abuse issues.^[12] He formed the Positive Squad music collective with KirbLaGoop, Smokeasac and Ruben Slik the following year in 2015.^[16] After participating in a drug rehabilitation program in 2018, he took two years away from music. He later described his recovery from drug addiction as a primary influence on his subsequent mixtapes and collaborations.^[12]

Return and online virality (2020–present)

In 2022, DJ Smokey's producer tags, described by The Needle Drop as "very gravely voiced announcements . . . some of which [are] deeply ridiculous"^[9] became viral online. Influenced by collaborator Shaq France, he created the "Nuke" imprint used in his album art and producer tags.^[7][10] The satirical Trapaholics-influenced tags — for example, "legalize nuclear bombs" and "call the fire department, we just nuked the building" — were popularized and parodied in memes.^[10][17]

In addition, the "Shadow Wizard Money Gang" producer tag, originally made by fellow Shadow Wizard Money Gang member Louka Tessier, was popularized by DJ Smokey initially in its use on the song "Gout" by Joeyy.^[10][12][18] The tag's viral spread on TikTok brought DJ Smokey wider online attention, and provoked fan-created merchandise and lore that sometimes developed independently of the Shadow Wizards and DJ Smokey himself.^[10][18]

Following DJ Smokey's rise in online popularity, collaborator Varg2™ introduced Skrillex to DJ Smokey. This led to him and Skrillex meeting in Los Angeles and collaborating, culminating in DJ Smokey hosting his 2025 album Fuck U Skrillex You Think Ur Andy Warhol but Ur Not!! <3.^[7] His contributions to the album received positive coverage in Rolling Stone, The Needle Drop and Dazed.^[9][19][7]

Mixtapes

Compilations

Hosted