Diplo

About

Also known as: Diplodocus

Few producers have their fingerprints on as many genres as Diplo. The man born Thomas Wesley Pentz in Tupelo, Mississippi built a reputation as one of the most restless forces in electronic music, blending EDM, dancehall, hip hop, baile funk and just about anything else that catches his ear. He co founded Major Lazer, which pioneered a whole new lane with its ReggaeEDM sound, and has turned up in supergroups with Skrillex (Jack Ü), Mark Ronson (Silk City), and Labrinth and Sia (LSD). His label Mad Decent, launched in 2006, gave a platform to acts that mainstream labels would not touch. His production credits read like a roll call of pop royalty: Beyoncé, Madonna, Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, Drake, Shakira and BTS are just a few names on an almost absurdly long list. He helped shape M.I.A.'s breakthrough single "Paper Planes" and produced tracks for Beyoncé's Lemonade. Under his country leaning alias Thomas Wesley he linked up with Morgan Wallen, proving once again that genre boundaries mean very little to him. His alias Diplo, short for Diplodocus, comes from a childhood obsession with dinosaurs, which is a perfectly on brand origin story for someone who has never quite fit into any one box.