The Phonk producer reflects on the family bond that helped shape his career.
For many young producers entering the Phonk scene today, MXZI illustrates how some producers are finding traction in the streaming era. With just under 16 million monthly listeners on Spotify and more than 1.7 billion streams across his catalog, the London-born artist has quickly become one of the most recognizable names in the genre.
Before the momentum behind the name MXZI, there was someone playing a role in its early development. The producer, born Dominic Balog, has reflected on one of the most important figures in his journey: his uncle and mentor, DKAYY.
A Bond Beyond Family
While MXZI has become widely known for helping push the high-energy wave of modern phonk, he says the earliest influence on his journey didn’t come from the music industry at all.
It came from family.
His uncle DKAYY, his mother’s brother, played a defining role long before the global streams and chart success. “Technically, he’s my uncle,” MXZI says, “but we’ve always been closer to brothers.” Growing up, the two bonded over a shared curiosity for music and creativity, developing a dynamic where guidance never felt like instruction but more like alignment.
“We grew up with the same energy,” MXZI says. “When we talked about music it wasn’t like someone teaching someone else it felt like two people figuring things out together.” That connection would eventually become a turning point in MXZI’s career.
The Moment Phonk Entered the Picture
By 2024, Phonk was expanding rapidly across streaming platforms and underground communities. The genre’s signature blend of Memphis-inspired samples, distorted basslines, and high-energy production was finding new audiences worldwide.
DKAYY had already been closely following the movement.“He understood the culture behind it,” MXZI says. “Not just the sound, the people building it.”
Rather than simply recommending the genre, DKAYY introduced him to the world around it. “He didn’t just send me tracks and say, ‘You should try this,’” MXZI explains. “He actually opened doors.”
Through DKAYY, MXZI began connecting with people within the scene, including producer ATLXS, a meeting that would later become one of the most significant creative relationships in his career.
“That introduction changed a lot,” MXZI says. “He put me in spaces where the conversations were bigger. Where the future of the sound was being discussed.”
Seeing Potential Before the World Did
Looking back, MXZI believes DKAYY recognized his potential long before the industry did.
“He saw something in me before I fully saw it myself,” he says. By bringing him into those environments early, DKAYY helped him understand that phonk was a movement with real creative opportunity.
“He explained how artists were building identities through their sound,” MXZI says. “How producers were shaping the culture.”
That perspective helped shift his mindset. “This wasn’t just music anymore,” he says. “It was a lane.”
When Mentorship Becomes Collaboration
Over time, the relationship between the two naturally evolved beyond mentorship. What began as guidance gradually turned into creative collaboration, with conversations shifting toward production, direction, and the evolving sound of phonk itself.
“Sometimes it’s late-night talks about ideas,” MXZI says. “Sometimes it’s debates about what direction something should go.”
“MONTAGEM BALANCA” released as part of the MONTAGEM BALANCA – EP in July 2025 is currently their top-performing collaboration, with the original and various speed-adjusted versions (like Sped Up) garnering nearly 1 million streams on Spotify alone.
As their creative chemistry developed, the uncle-and-nephew dynamic began to feel more like a partnership between two artists exploring the same vision.
In those moments, MXZI says, the family roles disappear.
“It just becomes two artists building something together.”
The Power Of A Mentor
By introducing him to the culture and the opportunities surrounding phonk, DKAYY helped lay the foundation for the path MXZI would eventually build on his own.
Today, as MXZI continues to grow within the phonk scene, he credits that early guidance as one of the defining forces in his story.
“People might say he’s my uncle,” he says. “But in this journey, he’s really been more like my brother.”
Their story suggests that early support from the right person can make a meaningful difference.
And for MXZI, that belief started with DKAYY.