Afrojack Artistfacts

September 9,1987
Born Nick Leonardus van de Wall, Afrojack is a Dutch DJ and record producer who first earned international acclaim in 2010 with "Take Over Control," an electro-house track featuring vocals from Dutch singer Eva Simons. Before issuing his debut album, Forget The World, in 2014, he filled out his discography with songwriting and production credits for other artists like Pitbull, Beyoncé, David Guetta, and Madonna. Rather than head back into the studio to record more albums, Afrojack focused on churning out standalone singles and performing around the world.
Afrojack hails from Spijkenisse, a large town in South Holland, Netherlands, that's also home to fellow DJ/producer Vato Gonzalez and singer Duncan Laurence, who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2019. Before he became famous, Afrojack was known around town because his mom owned the local gym.
Starting when he was 11 years old, he spent five hours a day producing tracks at home but it was a long road to actually get his first single, "In Your Face," off the ground. He estimates it took around seven years to produce the track, which was released in 2006.
The budding DJ was allowed to do 15-minute sets at the local pubs when he became a teenager as long as his tunes didn't drive patrons away. When he noticed the bar turnover started to wane when he spun his favorite tracks, he'd throw in a popular one to get people drinking again. The experience taught him an important lesson: "Nine out of ten people are not open to completely new things," he told Maarten magazine. "But if your unknown, innovative elements [are] wrapped up in something that is familiar, people can accept them."

Afrojack applied the concept when he started releasing music, teaming up with mainstream artists to get attention, which gave him the freedom to do whatever style of music he wanted.
Before Afrojack became a producer, he experimented with several different names, including DJ Ultimate, DJ Black, and DJ Plant in a Glass. He happened to be trying out Afrojack when a record label showed some interest in his tracks, so the name stuck. It was inspired by his hair's propensity to grow into an afro and "jacking," a house music term for energetically moving your body to the beat.
Afrojack doesn't believe his environment helps or hinders his ability to make all kinds of music. Whether he's in Amsterdam or LA, in a car or on a plane, he's constantly working on his laptop. "Some people need to travel to certain locations around the world to get their creative mind activated to make a song or an album," he conceded in an interview with Flaunt, "but I'm a firm believer of learning to control that part of your brain and just work wherever by envisioning being somewhere and capturing a moment without actually being there. You just have to allow yourself to be free."
Afrojack's first #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 was as a featured artist and producer on Pitbull's "Give Me Everything (Tonight)" in 2011. The song is an example of how quickly the DJ acts when inspiration strikes. After the idea hit him in the shower, he raced to the studio without even bothering to get dressed, spending the next few hours wrapped in a towel while he worked on the instrumentals.
Although he's not quite "Ten Feet Tall," Afrojack stands at an impressive 6'9," but his height only brought him unwanted attention as a child. He was often bullied for being the tallest kid in his class, which made him grow up to be an advocate for mental health awareness, particularly with youth, in his native country.
He married Italian singer Elettra Lamborghini, the granddaughter of the car manufacturing magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini, in 2020. The pair met two years earlier in a songwriting session, and Afrojack was smitten. "I fell in love with her," the DJ told People in 2026, "and I convinced her to also fall in love with me that same day. From that moment we've been inseparable."
The club scene has always been about the music for Afrojack rather than the party culture. Aside from indulging in a few beers now and then, he was never much of a drinker, and he pretty much gave up alcohol completely when he met his teetotaler wife.
He won his first Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical for his work on the David Guetta One Love Club Remix of Madonna's "Revolver." The DJs reunited on songs like "Hey Mama," "Another Life," and "Trampoline."
In 2017, Afrojack created the alias NLW to produce more underground tracks. He released his NLW EP under the moniker that year through his own label, Wall Recordings.

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