Diplo
Happy birthday today to United States DJ and producer Diplo (1978- ). As one of the western world’s leading DJs/producers, Diplo often gets banded together with another famous electronic dance king, Calvin Harris. But in a 2017 interview, Diplo explained the two might have found success during the EDM boom, but were not defined by the genre. ‘‘Me and Calvin (Harris) hijacked the term EDM when it was good for us. We might be in magazine articles (being called) the EDM guys, but we were never that,’’ Diplo said in a BBC interview. With a CV that credits collaborations with Drake and Beyonce and side projects producing some of the most streamed singles to date, Diplo continues to be a multitalented force in modern pop music. He was born Thomas Wesley Pentz in Mississippi. His stage name was inspired by his young love of dinosaurs, namely the Diplodocus. He studied in Florida, then in Philadelphia, where he honed his DJ skills at nightclubs and parties. After his debut album Florida was released in 2004, he was soon linked with musician M.I.A. The pair worked on the mix tape Piracy Funds Terrorism, and then her second album Kala .It featured the worldwide hit Diplo co-wrote and produced, Paper Planes, helping kickstart his career. In 2008, Diplo was a founding member of electronic musical group Major Lazer. The dance trio has had several successful albums, including Guns Don’t Kill People . . . Lazers Do (2009), and Free the Universe (2013). The group has also produced several albums. In October, Diplo and Mark Ronson celebrated their new song Electricity reaching 100 million Spotify streams one month after its release.