DJing legend and producer extraordinaire A-Trak returns to Soundcheck on May 25 as he celebrates his 20th professional year. Alongside names including Diplo and Skrillex, the Canadian turntablist born Alain Macklovitch is easily one of the most visible modern North American electronic music superstars. However, when it comes to understanding just how important of an icon he is, it’s oftentimes difficult to truly understand what makes him such a superstar of the present age without understanding how impressive his rise to excellence actually was. Therefore, here’s a list of “five things you might not know about A-Trak,” and why these facts are important.

1. A-Trak was the first DJ to win all three major DJ competition titles (DMC, ITF and Vestax)

Winning either the DMC, ITF, or Vestax competitive turntablism competitions just once is a highlight of break-adoring a scratch-loving DJ’s career. Impressively, A-Trak won all three by the time he was 17 years old. Even more impressive is the fact that in 2000, he paired with Craze, another exemplary scratch master, and won the tag-team DJing championship, too.

2. A-Trak inspired Kanye West’s “Stronger”

In 2004, A-Trak took a job as Kanye West’s touring DJ. For the next five years, the two soon-to-be icons extensively worked together offstage as well. Intriguingly enough, while attempting to find unique samples for his 2007 album Graduation, A-Trak suggest to Kanye that he listen to Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.” 75 mixes by eight different audio engineers and eleven different mix engineers around the world later, and Mr. West had a breakthrough single that went seven times platinum, selling five million plus copies worldwide.

3. A-Trak has been running labels for 20 years

Impressively, while holding down a well regarded DJ and production career, A-Trak has also co-run the labels Audio Research (until 2007) and currently Fool’s Gold. Between those labels and over 20 years, A-Trak has had a hand in the rise of artists including Danny Brown, Kid Sister, Kid Cudi, Crookers, Little Brother and more.

4. Just how important of a track was A-Trak’s remix of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs 2009 single “Heads Will Roll?”

If there were a list of tracks that defined the blog-driven era of indie-to-mainstream EDM, A-Trak’s hard-driving electro remix of this track would absolutely make the list. A-Trak was already a star on the rise before this mix was released, but this one inarguably put him over the top. In 2009 Pitchfork noted, “A-Trak’s take turns the original riff into a rave clarion call and blows the track out to six-and-a-half dizzy minutes. It seems custom-built to ensure general dancefloor insanity,” while Discobelle noted that then BBC Radio 1 and current Apple Music DJ Annie Mac called it “[A-Trak’s] best work to date.”

5. He and Armand van Helden combined to create the “Duck Sauce” tandem of “Barbra Streisand” fame. Who’s Armand van Helden and why is that important?

Before the age of Diplo, Skrillex, and A-Trak, Armand van Helden was one of the DJs responsible for the underground-to-mainstream emergence of house music. 13 top ten singles worldwide including Dizzee Rascal collaboration “Bonkers,” and groundbreaking solo hits “Witchdoktor,” “Funk Phenomena,” “My My My,” and his 1996 remix of Tori Amos’ “Professional Widow” made him a superstar extraordinaire, and Duck Sauce’s smash “Barbra Streisand,” cemented his modern era status.