The impact social media has on what young people consume has led to platforms like TikTok becoming a space for music discovery and distribution. As a result, new versions of genres such as Jungle and Drum and Bass from the late nineties are emerging.
At the heart of this new wave is Grant Wood, a young and charismatic producer from Kansas, USA. In 2024, under his artistic project boy2000, he released Tape 2000, a mixtape that brings together his earlier singles, including standouts like Right Away and Savestate.
Visually, boy2000 transports us to a time when aesthetics like Y2K and Frutiger Aero dominated. Sonically, his approach is a more DIY, ambient, and atmospheric take on DnB and Jungle, one that evokes the soundtracks of video games like Wipeout and Gran Turismo on consoles like the PlayStation.
With each track on his mixtape, boy2000 transports us back to the rhythms that defined our childhood, an era when social media felt like bridges connecting us to others, and apps were vibrant spaces for creativity. It was a period that promised a brighter future for the generations growing up alongside these developments. The result is a project with an innovative, conscious sound, capable of introducing DnB and Jungle to a whole new generation.
Q: Why did you decide to make electronic music?
boy 2000: Actually, I didn’t mention this before, but my very first obsession with music, back when I was nine or ten, was electronic. I was obsessed with Daft Punk and that whole world. Honestly, I still am. I even have one of those Daft Punk-style helmets!
So I’ve always loved electronic music. In high school, I focused on guitar and indie rock, but in college I thought: you know what? I’ve always wanted to make electronic music. I’m not a great singer and, while I can play guitar, I’m not amazing at it either. That’s how boy 2000 started, around 2022, while I was in college. The idea was to make electronic music just for fun and build a small online community around similar sounds and aesthetics.
Q: So it was just a hobby, you never expected more from it?
boy 2000:
Exactly. I never expected anyone to actually listen to what I was making. It still surprises me every day that people listen at the level they do. I think a lot of it comes from the Spotify algorithm, but also from some early promotion I did on TikTok. Back in 2022 I was posting daily, which helped people discover my tracks. They’d hear a clip, click through to Spotify or Apple Music, and then the algorithms took over from there.
I feel very lucky to have the listeners I do across TikTok, Instagram, Spotify, Apple Music. Honestly, it still doesn’t feel real.
Q:Why did you choose the name boy 2000?
boy 2000:
Honestly, it was a random idea that just felt right. I wanted something that sounded futuristic. “boy 2000” has this android, robot kind of vibe. It makes you wonder: what is boy 2000? Inspired by Daft Punk and their robot personas, I liked the idea that boy 2000 could be a character, maybe even sent from the future.
I thought it was easy to say. It kind of has a ring to it. I wasn’t even born in 2000, I was born in 2001. So I mean, a lot of people think I picked the name because I was born in 2000, but I actually wasn’t.
Q: Your music and album covers are closely tied to the Y2K and Frutiger Aero era. Is that connection driven by a sense of nostalgia for that time?
boy 2000:
Yeah. So for me personally, I respond really strongly to the feeling of nostalgia. I’ve always resonated with nostalgia. It’s one of my favorite emotions.
So I love that feeling, and nostalgia definitely plays a big role in the creative direction of boy 2000. The whole mission with my music is to provide a space for people, a virtual, digital space, or even maybe a live space if I do shows, where they can experience the future that was promised to them when they were kids.
Q: Tell me about your mixtape Tape 2000. What was the creative process behind it? And also what’s your favorite song?
boy 2000:
Yeah, so tape 2000 is kind of like a mixtape. That’s actually why I ended up calling it tape 2000 because it really is just a collection of songs I’d already released as singles. Then I was like, you know what? I want to package them all together into one mixtape.
And the creative process, I mean, I make everything in my room, right here, in this chair. I produce a lot of different songs, and honestly, like 99% of them are total garbage. I just throw them on my hard drive, and they stay there. There are literally hundreds of tracks that are either unfinished or just bad ideas, and they’re all sitting right here.
But then, every once in a while, I make something I actually like. And the ones I feel strongest about, I release as singles. So that’s kind of the process: I make all these random tracks and then pick the ones that resonate the most or that were the most fun to make.
Q: Where did you get the samples you used in the mixtape?
boy 2000:
So for the song World, that’s from Sonic Adventure. It’s a voice line. I remember I found this YouTube video with a ton of Sonic voice clips, and I just wanted it to feel like, “Oh, where am I?” or whatever.I thought it was cool. I loved Sonic Adventure as a kid. It’s a great game. And honestly, I think people really resonated with that, which made me happy.
And Zero, that one has a Cowboy Bebop sample. It’s from near the end of the show, when Spike is leaving the spaceship and Faye is wondering why he’s leaving.
Q: What music have you been listening to lately?
boy 2000:
PinkPantheress, then there’s this artist yaego, the song “Hard X” is great.
Also Offshore by Chicane, Look at Me, by disctr4k, Vega by ESP, come again by m-flo.
Q: Are there any artists you’d love to collaborate with someday? Like dream collaborations?
boy 2000:
Vegyn, that’s a big one, I’m really hoping that happens at some point.
DJ Suzie, I love her voice. Feng and of course Daft Punk, but they’re retired.
Q: Last question, are you working on new music? Any releases planned?
boy 2000:
No tour yet, but I am planning to drop new music very soon.
Maybe even next month. Could be by the end of this month, actually.
I just signed with a label, it’s my first one. Everything I’ve done so far has been completely independent.Now I’m working with a team, and it’s getting more serious. It’s a lot of work, but honestly, it’s been super fun.
q: Have you done any live shows?
I did have one on July 25th in LA with Vegyn. I mainly DJ because I want to engage with people in a live setting, to actually perform. I’m not a technical DJ, but it’s still fun, and I love being able to interact with people in person. It’s nice to see real people instead of everything just happening online.
Listen to boy 2000:
