Kris Barman (born December 20, 1984), known professionally as Wuki, is an American musician, DJ, and record producer. He was a member of the electronic rock band

Innerpartysystem Innerpartysystem (often stylized as InnerPartySystem) is an American electronic rock band. The group consists of Patrick Nissley, Jared Piccone and Wuki, Kris Barman. The band is well known for their live performance lighting largely by Andrew ...

from 2007 to 2011 where he sang back up vocals, played the guitar and synthesizer, and helped with programming. He was nominated for a 2020 Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording for

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...

's " Mother's Daughter". His debut album, ''WukiWorld'', was released in 2021.

Early life

In a 2018 article with marijuana.com, Barman recalls how he got his start in music. "I started playing instruments when I was like 13 — I started playing guitar. Started making beats when I was 16 on Fruity Loops. Between 19 and 20, a buddy of mine that was always a huge fan of our local scene started a band, an electro-rock band. I dropped out of school to go do that. I dropped out of college to go pursue this band." In an interview with Nest HQ, a self-described "culture-garnering media platform" conceived by the dance music superstar

Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ, record producer, musician, singer. Raised in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he began his career in 2004 as the lead vocalist of the ...

, Barman reflects on his earliest influences the initial spark of interest in

electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

. "I played guitar growing up so I definitely listened to a lot of punk / alt music. But when I heard

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...

's “ Smack My Bitch Up" things changed."

Career

On August 3, 2011, after touring extensively for many years as guitarist and synth player in electronic rock band

, the band announced that they were to be going on an indefinite hiatus; the band has not performed since. Barman moved to Denver, Colorado, and began producing and performing under the moniker Wuki. One of his first gigs as Wuki was hosting the late night radio show E-Lven on Denver's 93.3 FM. Wuki has since gone on to grow his solo project into a globally recognizable name, racking up over 121 million streams across all platforms through 2023. Delivering his first-ever self release as Wuki in 2012 with a four-track EP called ''Something For Everyone Vol. 1'', he released the singles "Diwali", "Buffalo Bass", "Jungle Funk" and "That’s Right". In 2015, Wuki gained recognition for his remix of

RL Grime Henry Alfred Steinway (born February 8, 1991), better known by his stage name RL Grime, (previously known as Clockwork) is an American record producer and DJ. RL Grime specializes in trap and bass music and is a member of the Los Angeles electr ...

and

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. He met Kanye West as a teenager, and signed with his record label GOOD Music, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2007. He gained popul ...

's 2015 hit "Kingpin". After releasing music on imprints such as

Owsla Owsla (stylized in all caps) is an American record label and creative collective. It was founded by Skrillex, Tim Smith, Kathryn Frazier, and Clayton Blaha in 2011. Skrillex announced the label on August 17, 2011. The label's first release was ...

, Main Course,

Mad Decent Mad Decent is an American record label founded by Diplo. The label has helped introduce Brazilian baile funk and Angolan kuduro to clubs around the world. In the early 2010s, it popularized moombahton, a genre of electronic dance music create ...

, Fool's Gold, and Ultra, in 2018n Wuki set up his own record label, Wukileaks. Wuki's hit remixes and bootleg edits caught the eyes of artists including

, Miley Cyrus,

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...

The Chainsmokers The Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alex Pall and Drew Taggart. They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists. The electronic dance music, EDM-Pop music, pop duo achieved a breakth ...

, Anna Lunoe,

Zeds Dead Zeds Dead is a Canadian electronic music duo from Toronto consisting of Dylan Mamid, also known as DC, and Zachary Rapp-Rovan, also known as Hooks. The duo rose to prominence releasing original music and remixes from 2009 to 2010 before becoming ...

, and

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...

, with the latter offering Wuki his own monthly radio show, Wukileaks Wednesdays, on Diplo's Revolution. Wuki was nominated for Best Remixed Recording at the

62nd Annual Grammy Awards The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Ali ...

for his remix of

's " Mother's Daughter". His 2019 single "Better" with

Valentino Khan Valentino Khan (born February 15, 1987) is an American DJ and producer born and raised in Los Angeles. He is best known for releasing material through Diplo, Skrillex and Steve Aoki. His singles "Deep Down Low" and "Make Some Noise" peaked at num ...

and Roxanne was a top trend on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

in 2020. His single "Throw It" was featured in the 2020

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

film '' Work It'', starring

Sabrina Carpenter Sabrina Annlynn Carpenter (born May 11, 1999) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She first gained prominence starring on the Disney Channel series ''Girl Meets World'' (2014–2017). She signed with the Disney Music Group, Disney ...

. On January 24, 2020, he and

Nitti Gritti Richard Cook Mears IV (born May 10, 1994), better known as Nitti Gritti is a Miami based record producer, DJ and vocalist. His collaboration with Party Favor as ''Sidepiece'', a music duo group, was nominated for a Grammy in 2021 under Best Danc ...

released the EP ''Ro Sham Bo''. He started off the year with a 16-date North American tour, also called ‘Ro Sham Bo’. On March 12, 2021, he released his debut album, ''WukiWorld'', on HARD Recs. It features appearances from Diplo,

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

, Juvenile,

Yung Baby Tate Tate Sequoya Farris (born May 13, 1996), known professionally as Baby Tate (formerly known as Yung Baby Tate), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. The daughter of singer Dionne Farris, she released her debut project, ...

, and

Smokepurpp Omar Jeffery Pineiro (born May 15, 1997), known professionally as Smokepurpp, is an American rapper. He first became known in the SoundCloud rap scene for his 2017 single "Audi (song), Audi", which received RIAA certification, platinum certificat ...

. In 2023, Wuki teamed up with

Lee Foss Lee Foss is a record producer and DJ from DeKalb, Illinois. In addition to a number of releases on labels such as Culprit, Wolf+Lamb and No. 19, he co-founded the dance music label Hot Creations and is a member of the house music band Hot Natured ...

to remix

Cheryl Lynn Cheryl Lynn (born Lynda Cheryl Smith; March 11, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is best known for her songs during the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, including the 1978 R&B/disco song " Got to Be Real" from her albu ...

's 1978 disco single "

Got to Be Real "Got to Be Real" is a song by American singer Cheryl Lynn from her 1978 self-titled debut studio album. The song, which was released in August 1978 as Lynn's debut single, was written by Lynn, David Paich and David Foster. Composition Sheet mus ...

". This followed his 2022 remix of

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasing the album ...

' 1981 single "

Edge of Seventeen "Edge of Seventeen" is a song by American singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks from her debut solo studio album '' Bella Donna'' (1981), released as the third single from the album on February 4, 1982. The lyrics were written by Nicks to express the ...

", which reached number 1 on the UK Shazam Dance Charts. His 2023 single "Sunshine (My Girl)" incorporates elements of " My Girl" by

The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

. This was followed by his 2023 Sunshine Tour across North America. He also performed that year at Red Rocks, Sunset, Shambhala, and HARD Summer.

Awards

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

* "Diwali" (2013) * "Buffalo Bass" (2013) * "Jungle Funk" (2013) * "Git Loose" (feat. Curtis B) (2014) * "That's Right" (feat. Jesse Slayter) (2014) * "Lip Pop" (2015) * "Front2Back" (feat.

DJ Funk Charles Chambers (Jan 25th, 1971 – March 4th, 2025), better known by his stage name DJ Funk, was an American DJ who pioneered the ghetto house subgenre of house music. Through the 1990s, he built a regional reputation in the Chicago-Detroit r ...

) (2015) * "Make It Clap" (feat. Dances with White Girls) (2016) * "Let Me Go" (feat. PRXZM) (2017) * "Bullseye" (feat.

) (2017) * "Popcorn Man" (2017) * "Catch Ya Breath" (2017) * "Go Deep" (feat. Nicky da B) (2018) * "Bed Squeak" (feat.

Ape Drums Eric Alberto-Lopez (born June 28, 1990), known professionally as Ape Drums, is a Mexican-American DJ and record producer. Ape Drums is known for fusing electronic dance music with Caribbean sounds, described by Vice Media, ''Thump'' as "modern da ...

and Nicky da B) (2019) * "IGD" (2019) * "What You Need" (feat. Anna Lunoe) (2019) * "NYC 2 LA" (feat. Roxanna) (2019) * "Old School Sound" (feat.

Cesqeaux Daniël Francesco Tuparia (born 24 July 1993), better known by his stage name Cesqeaux ( ), is a Dutch record producer and DJ. Cesqeaux has released original tracks, but has been featured in tracks on Dim Mak Records, Mixmash Records, Max Recor ...

) (2019) * "Better" (feat. Valentino Khan and Roxanna) (2019) * "Throw It" (feat. YehMe2) (2019) * "Chicken Wang" (feat.

and Snappy Jit) (2020) * "Bad Girl Drumma" (feat. Juvenile) (2020) * "I See You" (feat. Stoppa) (2020) * "Hey Ladies" (feat. Baby Tate and Stoppa) (2020) * "SHUTUP" (feat. Scrilla King and

) (2020) * "Birdz" (with

) (2021) * "Family" (feat. Softest Hard) (2021) * "We Like to Wuki" (feat.

Vengaboys Vengaboys ( ) is a Dutch Eurodance music group based in Rotterdam consisting of lead and female vocalist Kim Sasabone, female vocalist Denise van Rijswijk and male vocalists Robin Pors and Donny Latupeirissa. Created by Dutch producers Wessel va ...

and Yo Majesty) (2022) * "Sunshine (My Girl)" (2023) * "Shake It" (feat. Trace) (2024)

Remixes

feat.

– "Kingpin" (2015) * Lip Pop – "Eyes Everywhere" (2015) *

feat. Halsey – " Closer" (2016) *

Lost Kings Lost Kings are an American DJ duo consisting of Robert Abisi and Nick Shanholtz, based in Los Angeles. The duo gained popularity beginning in 2014 through their official remixes for artists such as Imagine Dragons, Krewella, Halsey, Vance Joy ...

feat.

Tinashe Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe ( ; born February 6, 1993), known mononymously as Tinashe, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Tinashe moved to Pasadena, California, as a child, where she pursued w ...

– "Quit You" (2017) *

Black Caviar Caviar or caviare is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a Garnish (food), garnish or Spread (food), spread. Traditionally, the term caviar refers only to roe from w ...

– "Coco" (2018) *

– " Mother's Daughter" (2019) *

Slayyyter Catherine Grace Garner (born September 17, 1996), known professionally as Slayyyter, is an American singer and songwriter. She started her career independently releasing songs through SoundCloud. She released one of her first musical projects " ...

– "Daddy AF" (2020) *

NCT U NCT U (; ) is the first sub-unit from the South Korean boy band NCT. They debuted on April 9, 2016, with the double digital single "The 7th Sense" and "Without You" under the label SM Entertainment. The member line of NCT U is rotational, chan ...

– "Make a Wish (Birthday Song)" (2020) *

Andy Mineo Andrew Aaron Mineo (born April 17, 1988), is an American Christian hip hop artist, producer, music executive, and video director based in New York City. He was signed to Reach Records until leaving in September 2024 to pursue his creative ...

with

Lecrae Lecrae Devaughn Moore (born October 9, 1979) is an American Christian rapper, singer-songwriter, actor, and Record producer, recording producer and Music executive, executive. Since having begun his career in 2004, he has released ten studio alb ...

– "

Coming In Hot "Coming in Hot" is a song by American rappers Lecrae and Andy Mineo. It was originally released as a standalone track and was later included on the Reach Records collaborative album ''Summer Eighteen''..It was produced by record producer and recor ...

" (2021) * Sarah Cothran – "As the World Caves In" (2021) *

– "

" (2022) *

– " To Be Real" (2023)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wuki Musicians from Denver Owsla artists Living people 1984 births American electronic dance music DJs