Posted Date: November 2006
Diplo Gets Random. Onbeat Gets The Scoop On This Real-Deal DJ

Wesley Pentz is far from your average DJ-producer hybrid. Better know as Diplo, a name he came up with from his childhood fascination with the Diplodocus dinosaurs, he has introduced the third-world sound of Brazilian baile funk to American dance floors. He also created one of Philadelphia’s biggest party nights the last few years, Hollertronix, with fellow DJ Low B. His sound, although mixed with South American beats, is clearly Southern. Crunk, Miami bass and dirty south are all mixed to make a dirtier kind of dance music – an unpolished, what-you-see-is-what-you-get type of sound.

In 2004, Diplo released his first proper album, Florida, named after his home state, and the mixtape Piracy Funds Terrorism Vol. 1 that helped launched the career of a then unknown Sri Lankan artist M.I.A. The mixtape featured several of the tracks that would appear on M.I.A.’s debut album Arular, mashed-up with popular hip-hop, American swagger and ‘80s.

Recently, Diplo started the Mad Decent record label, in which he signed baile funk group Bonde do Role. Additionally, he’s helping M.I.A. with her follow-up to Arular, giving very little details about what to expect, except that it changes everyday. He also proclaims his Philly party night Hollertronix isn’t dead; it’s just sticking to its home turf from now on.

Having just wrapped up his Mad Decent North American Tour, Diplo took time to answer some questions for Onbeat. His answers may provide some insight to the man behind the new sound taking over America. He definitely bounces all over the place, with a mix of ghetto boy attitude, Southern pride and a child with ADD. But in the end, that’s Diplo – virtually indescribable.

Are there any plans for a new LP? Is it going to have the same Brazilian baile funk influence as Florida?

Diplo: It’s gonna have everything. A mess this one will be.

Having done official remixes for artists such as M.I.A., Gwen Stefani and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, what artist would you love to do a remix for?

Diplo: TV on the Radio, but their manager hates me. Hot Chip; rock bands like that. For hip-hop, there’s plenty of kids right off the street that are interested in the music and rapping just ain’t hard. So rappers are dime-a-dozen. I’d like to work with Bun B. He’s been around my work a lot, [he] did Hollertronix once even in Philly. But rap is easy man. Anyone coming out of the box is where I’m at.

Are there any artists you would love to work with in general?

Diplo: Vybz Kartel is one of my favorite dudes to work with. He’s just weird and quick and very innovative. But like I said above.

As a DJ, producer and artist, do you prefer one over the other?

Diplo: [DJing] is easy. You know it’s just an hour or two. Producing is something you leave your stamp on forever. Just getting to the point where you can absorb all the things going on like a DJ and put it down yourself in a new way or making something that lasts is where I’m trying to be. 

Who or what inspired you to become a DJ?

Diplo: Either be a DJ or be in a metal band coming from Florida or an emo band.

What is your involvement with M.I.A.’s new LP? What can we anticipate?

Diplo: Just giving her some ideas, doing some production. I don’t know what to expect. It changes everyday. She gets mad offers from Timbaland-type producers and things change daily, and [it changes] the shape of the record.

Any plans to do a Piracy Funds Terrorism Vol. 2?

Diplo: Yeah, of course.

"Mixtapes serve a purpose though. It’s usually to leak music into the crowd you want, cause labels are all pretty dumb when you get down to it. It’s just guerilla marketing. I’m not sure she needs it now, but I will make a way to keep her on the edge then."

What’s your opinion on the rise of M.I.A. as an internet superstar, which led to record companies fighting over her, that didn’t translate well into chart sales? With all the hype surrounding M.I.A.’s debut, and the superb reviews, why didn’t she become the superstar everyone predicted she would be?

Diplo: I think 100,000 is pretty good for an artist this [non-major label]. But I’ll tell you what, she lives in NYC now off-time, and she only gets recognized in the hood (besides the fashion crowd, I guess). Like all the little 15-year-old black girls freak out when they see her on Nostrand [Avenue]. That’s when you know you’re gonna make it. White kids just follow anyway.

It’s hard to classify your music as strictly coming from a particular kind of genre (probably because of the crazy mash-ups). If you had to call it something, what would you call it?

Diplo: Random.

On the Mad Decent Tour with Bonde Do Role and Cansei De Ser Sexy, what were some of the highlights—any particularly favorite stops on the tour?

Diplo: Montreal was mad. We did a 1,200-plus crowd in San Francisco. But coming home to Florida was kind of special for me.

Where do you hope to take Mad Decent?

Diplo: To the bank.

Any new artists we should watch out for coming to the Mad Decent label?

Diplo: Yes a few. Most [are a] secret. But big releases from the mid-Atlantic soon and some stuff in Africa.

What are some of your favorite records right now?

Diplo: Sixties garage and underground soul [compilations]. My boy Dave Brown has a label in Philly. All those old dudes that put out ‘60s music [compilations] from their 45 collections, I’m digging it. Even new stuff like Black Lips, that garage sound. And I like hip-hop like Nas and [A Tribe Called Quest] from early ‘90s. Ghetto Boys, been listening a lot to that. I like when a DJ plays hip-hop or dancehall all night; its refreshing cause all these DJs are just mad with the club version of everything.
 
"I think most DJs lost their sense of rhythm, but yeah, Brazil and Jamaica are still the heart for innovation for me."

What has been your most memorable experience DJing?

Diplo: The Guggenheim [Museum in Manhattan] was crazy last January. But some shows just go off like you never could expect. Tel Aviv and Stockholm are mad.

How did Hollertronix come to be? When did you realize the night had become a success?

Diplo: Just landed in Philadelphia from a piece of meteor. It exists of out necessity.

Are Low B and you as Hollertronix over? Do you have the time to keep Hollertronix alive?

Diplo: The party will only happen in Philly anymore. That’s where it belongs. But I still keep putting out the12-inches. We got number 6 (“Roletronix” out next month) and number 7 (the Definite Club Mixes Version from Unruly and Sssssay Wut and Diplo). Plus it’s my publishing company Holler. Mad Decent for life.

By: J. Daniel Duran