Mackenzie Johnson was born in 1990 in
San Luis Obispo, California. By his teens, he was living in
China while pursuing a career as a professional race car driver. At age fifteen, he became interested in DJing, and he purchased a set of
Technics 1200 Turntables. By age 17, he had returned to the United States, where he found himself invited to perform at local events in his hometown. He had a number of lessons with
DJ AM, who trained MAKJ on
scratching. In late 2013, MAKJ embarked on his first major US tour, traveling the country with
Bingo Players and
Bassjackers. After a time playing small venues, he began to attend festivals as well. Since 2013, he has performed at festivals such as
Electric Zoo Festival,
Voodoo Experience,
Coachella, a main stage slot at
TomorrowWorld, Northern Lights Festival,
Euphoria Festival,
Webster Hall, and
Ruby Skye. In March 2014,
Billboard named him one of the Top 10 Artists to Watch at
Ultra Music Festival. He toured Europe in 2014 with his "Let’s Get Fucked Up Tour," then traveled North America with his "Peyote Tour." Plans for an Asian tour were also announced. He has released a number of singles as a solo artist since 2012, as well as a large number of collaborative singles. He has collaborated with artists such as
Showtek,
Lil Jon, and
DJ Kura. In 2013, he released a collaborative single with
Hardwell entitled "Countdown" which peaked at No. 1 on Beatport within three days. He has also released music on Hysteria Records, Doorn Records, Diffused Records, and
Juicy Music, among others. In late 2014, he released his track "Generic," which had earlier debuted at the Ultra Festival in
Miami. Several of his original songs have charted in the Beatport Top 10. MAKJ has been a guest judge for the
Campus DJ contest, and he is the host of a radio show on
Clear Channel’s
Evolution channel, with the show also streaming at
iHeartRadio. ==Awards and nominations==