Akira the Don


Akira the Don is a British musician, DJ, producer, and YouTuber.
His music and production traverses the boundaries between pop, hip-hop, indie, and dance. He lists influences including Ice Cube, Adam Ant, Morrissey, Leonard Cohen, David Bowie and the Wu-Tang Clan. His debut album When We Were Young was co-produced by James Brown, Emile Haynie and Danny Saber. In 2017, Akira the Don released mixtapes in the form of a new genre he created, referred to as "Meaningwave" – a fusion of wave music with meaningful lyrical content and lo-fi hip-hop.
Akira The Don can be found at :

WWW akirathedon.com𝕏 akirathedonFB akirathedonIG akirathedonTHR akirathedon

Career

Rapper

Prior to launching a solo career, Akira the Don was a member of hip-hop group Crack Village, another member being Lois Winstone. In 2006, Akira rapped on Brave Captain's album Distractions. He released his first album When We Were Young the same year.
In May 2011, he released his second LP, The Life Equation. The album is co-produced with Stephen Hague and features collaborations with Gruff Rhys and Envy. Akira often produced his own videos. In 2012, Akira performed and hosted panels at Grant Morrison’s MorrisonCon alongside My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way. Grant had said that Akira was his favourite artist.
In March 2014, Akira released A.T.D.R.I.P.. He played his final gig as a traditional rap artist in London on 19 May,.

Producer

Akira has produced songs for a number of artists including two top forty hits for Lethal Bizzle along with songs for Newham Generals' Footsie, Big Narstie, Envy, G-Mane, Littles, Marvin The Martian, Issue, and Time.
In 2011, Akira collaborated with Chilly Gonzales on mixtape.
In 2015, Akira produced a cover of Adamski's "Killer" featuring Grant Morrison.
In 2016, he released a remix of the Stranger Things theme.
Since 2017, Akira the Don has been integrating philosophically inspired lyrical content into his music. He created and developed the Meaningwave Universe which is aimed at inspiring people to find wholesomeness in their lives, and promotes the ideas of peak performance or flow consciousness. He's sampled soundbites from Jordan Peterson, Alan Watts, Joe Rogan, Elon Musk, Fred Rogers, Anthony Bourdain, and others. In February 2018, Akira entered what he deemed a new era of "hyper productivity", and has since released 109 albums.
In September 2021, Scott Adams appeared as a guest on the Fox News Channel talk show Gutfeld! to promote his album with Akira The Don, The Basket Case Theory.
In 2021, Jordan Peterson appeared on Akira's podcast, an experience he went on to discuss with numerous podcasters.

Performances

In October 2014 Akira relocated to Los Angeles, where he formed the party rap duo MIDNITEMEN with long time collaborator and nightclub organizer Wade Crescent, and began DJing every week in Hollywood nightspots like The Roosevelt Hotel, Blind Dragon, Hooray Henrys and Bootsy Bellows. The latter is co-owned by David Arquette, for whom Akira provided accent coaching for the actor's role in a stage production of Sherlock Holmes.
In December 2015, MIDNITEMEN produced an official remix of the song "Sunrise" The Kooks, featured in their album Hello, What's Your Name?
As resident DJ at Blind Dragon, he DJed parties for the likes of The Weeknd, Nylon Magazine and Harry Styles. He DJed for Justin Bieber at Hooray Henrys following his VMAs performance.
In November 2022, Akira performed at Decentraland's Metaverse Music Festival, sharing the virtual stage with renowned artists such as Björk, Ozzy Osbourne, Dillon Francis, Soulja Boy, Izzy Bizu, Megadeth, and many more. The event brought together a diverse lineup of global talent, showcasing Akira’s music in the immersive, cutting-edge environment of the metaverse.
In early October 2023, Akira performed the entire ANTHEM EP—a commissioned piece by the Atlas Society at the Atlas Society's 7th Annual Fundraising Gala, an event that brought together prominent figures from the worlds of business and philosophy. Notable attendees included Jennifer Grossman, CEO of the Atlas Society, billionaire entrepreneur Ricardo Salinas, and tech visionary Michael Saylor. Akira’s performance added a unique musical touch to the prestigious evening, celebrating the intersection of art, philosophy, and innovation.

Appearances

In October 2023, Akira appeared as a guest on Blaze TV's "The Normal World Show." During the episode, Akira performed a special set near the end, featuring a song that incorporated the words of Ayn Rand, blending his unique musical style with philosophical themes.
In February 2024, Akira appeared as a guest on the "Nights with Chris Boyle segment of OANN TV. He discussed the creation, cultural impact, and creative process of Meaningwave, highlighting its blend of music, motivational speeches, and philosophical ideas. The interview showcased Meaningwave’s growing influence on music and internet culture.
In March 2024, Akira made a return appearance on Blaze TV's "The Normal World Show." This time, he performed a song with lyrics adapted from The Meditations Of Marcus Aurelius, taken from his album MEDITATIONS VOL II, that adapts Book 3 of the Meditations into an album, MEDITATIONS VOL II. This was the follow up to MEDITATIONS VOL 1, which was described as “excellent” by Robin Warterfield in his Annotated Edition.

YouTube

In 2020, Akira started to live-stream daily DJs sets on his YouTube channel, at times doing two sets per day.

Personal life

Born in West Bromwich and raised in North Wales, for most of his career he lived in London. In 2014, he moved to Los Angeles. In 2020, he moved to Texas in order "to secure the future of Meaningwave, his son's childhood, and the very Don Dynasty itself." Since 2021, he has been residing in Mexico.

Discography

Albums

2006When We Were Young
2010
  • The Kidnapping Of Akira The Don Akira -The Don, Joey2tits’ - By Joey2tits
2011Living In The FutureThe Life Equation
2016GOLDTRON
2017GOLDTRON IITHEMESBLISS POINT
201812 Rules For Life: The Album featuring Jordan PetersonTimewave featuring Terence McKennaGOLDTRON IIIIV: DREAMS featuring Alan WattsJBPWAVE: Genesis featuring Jordan PetersonSTOP THINKING IV JBPWAVE: GENESIS InstrumentalELON: A Space Odyssey featuring Elon MuskTHIS IS WATERWAVE featuring David Foster WallaceSPACEWAVE: The Elon Instrumental Vol. 1GOLDTRON IVTHE IMMORTAL STAN LEE featuring Stan LeeMEANINGWAVE CHRISTMAS
2019THE PATH featuring Jocko WillinkWATTSWAVE V featuring Alan WattsCLOCKWORK ELVES featuring Terence McKennaJBPWAVE: Paradise featuring Jordan PetersonGET AFTER IT: Motivational InstrumentalsSTOP THINKING V: Transcendent InstrumentalCLEAN UP YOUR ROOM 8MEANINGWAVE MASTERPIECESGOGGINS featuring David GogginsHOW TO GET RICH VOL. 1 featuring Naval RavikantPHONK BEATS: Trappin In The Dungeon PRESENT: Calm JBPWAVE: Father featuring Jordan PetersonCLEAN UP YOUR ROOM 9
2020SONGS OF MYTHOLOGY featuring Joseph CampbellMYTHICAL BEATS MEDITATIONS VOL. 1 featuring Marcus AureliusTHE GARY VEE SHOW featuring Gary VaynerchukSTOIC BEATS - The Marcus Aurelius InstrumentalsWATTSWAVE VI featuring Alan WattsSTOP THINKING VITHE USER INTERFACE FOR REALITY ITSELF featuring Scott AdamsPERSUASIVE BEATS EXPERIENCE featuring Joe RoganGREAT & POWERFUL BEATS: The Rogan InstrumentalsMEANINGWAVE MASTERPIECES IIWATTSWAVE II: HOW TO BE A BETTER PERSON featuring Alan WattsMEANINGWAVE MASTERPIECES II INSTRUMENTALSSTOP THINKING II - The Alan Watts Instrumentals
2021JBPWAVE: Aesthetic featuring Jordan PetersonCLEAN UP YOUR ROOM X - The Jordan Peterson InstrumentalTHE WAR ON CONSCIOUSNESS featuring Graham HancockAYAHUASCA BEATS HOW TO GET RICH VOL. 2 featuring Naval RavikantPRESENT II: The Naval InstrumentalsTELLING STORIES featuring Theo VonHITTERS - The Theo Von InstrumentalsBASKET CASE THEORY featuring Scott AdamsPERSUASIVE BEATS II FREEDOM TO CHAINS featuring Paul HarveyLOFI CHRISTMAS IVTHE CALL TO ADVENTURE featuring Jordan Peterson
2022TRUTH & DRAGONS featuring Jordan PetersonTRUTH & DRAGONS featuring Jordan PetersonCLEAN UP YOUR ROOM XI MEANINGWAVE MASTERPIECES IIIMYTHOS featuring Joseph CampbellGET SOME featuring Jocko WillinkGET AFTER IT IIMASTERPIECE INSTRUMENTALS IIILOFI CHRISTMAS VTHE WOLF featuring Alan Watts x Carl Jung
2023MEANINGWAVE MASTERPIECES IVMASTERPIECE INSTRUMENTALS IVHOW TO GET RICH VOL. 3 featuring Naval RavikantPRESENT 3: The Naval Instrumentals
  • DUNEWAVE: ODYSSEY featuring DanikaXIXSONGS OF ARRAKIS: DUNEWAVE INSTRUMENTALSLOFI CHRISTMAS VI
2024
2025MAYBE featuring Alan WattsWEIRDER AND WEIRDER featuring Terence McKennaMEANINGWAVE MASTERPIECES VINFINITE featuring Earl NightingaleAGE OF THE MIND featuring Earl NightingaleTHE WRONG PROBLEMS featuring Earl NightingaleTHE MIRACLE OF YOUR MIND featuring Earl NightingaleASSUME YOU HAVE IT featuring Neville GoddardTHAT GOLDEN SOUNDFEELING IS THE SECRET featuring Neville GoddardEVERYTHING YOU WANT featuring Neville GoddardCOMFORT ZONES ARE POISON featuring Michael ChandlerASSUME TO BE TRUE featuring Neville GoddardSTOP TRYING featuring Neville GoddardALL THAT YOU CAN featuring Fulton J. SheenGOD MADE A FARMER feat Paul HarveySTOP TRYING THE ANSWER’S NO feat Naval RavikantPORUS feat Marshall McLuhan SOCCER featuring Scott AdamsHAVING TO BE ALONE featuring David Foster WallaceDON’T STOP ASKING QUESTIONS featuring Naval Ravikant BE WATER Bruce LeeDON’T THINK Bruce LeeTHE PAYOFF Scott AdamsME IS A DISEASE Naval Ravikant

EPs

GOTHWAVE Litmas Harrison Bergeron featuring Kurt Vonnegut BORN featuring Charles Bukowski NEW GODS featuring Jack Kirby WAITSWAVE featuring Tom Waits Dunewave EP featuring DanikaXIX >Be Me featuring Internet Historian Intellectual Dark Wave featuring Eric Weinstein ANTHEM EP featuring Ayn Rand
MIXES/MIXTAPESATD28: Unkillable ThunderchristJBPWAVE 1JBPWAVE 2HYPERNORMALISATIONJBPWAVE 3LOFI CHRISTMASL A S T C H R I S T M A STRAPPIN AT C H R I S T M A SLOFI 2018TRUE LOFI ROMANCELUSH LOFI VIBESJBPWAVE: A Glitch In The MatrixExtreme OwnershipJBPWAVE 4CLEAN UP YOUR ROOM 4MOZWAVE Rainy Lofi VibesLOFI SPRINGWATTSWAVEHSTWAVESTOP THINKINGJBPWAVE 5Tay A.I.: The People's ChatbotClean Up Your Room 5WATTSWAVE II: Timesteamed hams but it's lofi hip hopSTOP THINKING 2NAVALWAVEHappinessJBPWAVE 6Clean Up Your Room 6WATTSWAVE IIISTOP THINKING IIILofi Summer The Bare Necessities Lofi Hip Hop RemixNeighborWave Midsummer Madness Wholesome VibesBound 2ADVENTURE WAVERUNNING - A Meaningwave MixRUNNING 2 - A Meaningwave MixLOFI CHRISTMAS 2LOFI BEATSLOFI BEATS 2LOFI CHRISTMAS 3KEEP CALM AND LISTEN TO MEANINGWAVEThis Is A Mysterious Planet And We Are Mysterious BeingsLOFI BEATS IMMORTALA LOFI CHRISTMAS MIRACLETHE CHAD FORMULATHE CHAD FORMULA 2THE NEW PSYCHEDELIC WAVETHE CHAD FORMULA 3THE SHADOW | A Berserk Meaningwave MixtapeTHE BEST OF MEANINGWAVE VOL.1LOFI BEATS ALPHADECENTRALAND 2SONGS ABOUT DISCIPLINECOFFEE & MEANINGWAVETHE CHAD FORMULA STOICWAVE: Reject ModernityCOFFEE & MEANINGWAVE 3THANK YOUDOOMERDOOMER TO BLOOMERBLOOMER MUSICDOOMER TO BLOOMER: NIRVANATHE MEANING OF CHRISTMASTHE BEST OF ALAN WATTS VOL. 1MEANING PILL VOL. 1: ESCAPE THE MATRIXMOTIVATION OVER 9000Lofi Spring Has Sprung MixSONGS ABOUT FREEDOMTHE HERO'S STORYHONOUR THY FATHERHOPECORE MUSIC VOL. 1
  • HOPECORE VOL. 2THE BEST OF ALAN WATTS LOFI VOL. 2HOPECORE VOL. 3LOFI CHRISTMAS: THE KING OF LOFI CHRISTMASSTOICWAVE 2: MEMENTO MORINEW LIFE VOL. 1STOICWAVE 3: CITY OF MARBLEOCEAN VIEWI TOSS AND TURN AT NIGHT
  • ''LOFI CHRISTMAS 100''