Diplo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Diplo
Diplo in 2014
Born	Thomas Wesley Pentz (1978-11-10) November 10, 1978 (age 46) Tupelo, Mississippi, U.S.
Other names	Diplodocus Thomas Wesley
Alma mater	Temple University (BS)
Occupation	Disc jockey record producer songwriter
Years active	1997–present
Works	Discography production
Children	3
Musical career
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres	EDM trap hip-hop pop moombahton
Labels	Mad Decent Atlantic Columbia
Signature

Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and main member of the electronic dancehall music group Major Lazer. He is also part of the supergroup LSD with Labrinth and Sia. Diplo is a member of the electronic duo Jack Ü with producer and DJ Skrillex. He is also in Silk City with Mark Ronson.

Diplo started his own record company, Mad Decent, in 2006. The next year, he also founded Heaps Decent, a non-profit group. His 2013 extended play (EP), Revolution, reached number 68 on the US Billboard 200 music chart. An EP is like a mini-album with fewer songs. The song "Revolution" was later used in a commercial for Hyundai. It was also featured on the WWE 2K16 video game soundtrack.

Diplo worked closely with British musician M.I.A.. He produced her famous 2008 song "Paper Planes". This song helped him become known to a wider audience. In 2011, he and producer Switch formed the electronic music group Major Lazer. They also created a cartoon series for FXX. Major Lazer has released five studio albums. Their music mixes EDM (Electronic Dance Music) and dancehall, creating a new style called ReggaeEDM.

Since then, Diplo has produced music for and worked with many popular artists. These include Lil Peep, Gwen Stefani, Britney Spears, Madonna, Shakira, Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, and Nicki Minaj. His stage name, Diplo, is short for Diplodocus. He chose it because he loved dinosaurs when he was a kid.

Diplo's Early Life and Music Journey

Growing Up and Starting Out

Diplo was born on November 10, 1978, in Tupelo, Mississippi. His parents are Barbara Jean and Thomas Pentz. He has German and English family roots. Diplo finished high school at Hendersonville High School in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

The rap music he heard growing up helped shape his music style. Even though he was born in Mississippi, he spent most of his childhood in Miami. There, he got a taste for the unique Miami bass sound. In 1997, he started attending the University of Central Florida. While there, he became a DJ at WPRK, a local radio station. He then moved to Philadelphia to study at Temple University. This is where he first became known as a DJ.

When he was 20, Diplo traveled to India with very little money. He bought a used motorcycle and explored different parts of India. While there, he collected records and listened to people playing traditional instruments like the sitar and tabla.

The Hollertronix Parties

After returning to the U.S., Diplo met another DJ named Low Budget. In 2003, they started throwing parties called "Hooked on Hollertronix." This allowed them to play the music they wanted during their DJ gigs in Philadelphia. These parties became very popular. They also released mixtapes, which are collections of songs mixed together. One mixtape, Never Scared, was named one of The New York Times' top ten albums of 2003.

The Hollertronix parties became famous for mixing different music styles. They brought together genres that usually wouldn't be played together. This created an exciting and attention-grabbing sound.

Diplo's First Solo Album: Florida

Diplo's first solo album was Florida. It was released by Big Dada Records. This album had a more thoughtful sound compared to his party music. Florida was released twice. The second time, it came with a DVD made by artist System D-128. This DVD was an experimental mix of Diplo's music and other sounds.

Diplo also loved a type of music from Brazil called baile funk. This led him to create a series of mixtapes like Favela on Blast. These mixtapes helped bring Brazilian dance music from the ghettos to the United States.

The Mausoleum Studio

His success with Hollertronix parties helped Diplo build his own studio. He called it "The Mausoleum." It was a video studio, recording studio, record label office, art gallery, and event space in Philadelphia. Many famous artists have recorded there, including Christina Aguilera, Shakira, M.I.A., and Beyoncé. It also hosted concerts by various artists.

Working with M.I.A.

Diplo performing at Haverford College in 2005

In 2004, M.I.A. heard one of Diplo's songs. She met him when he was DJing at the Fabric Club in London. Diplo was even playing her songs "Galang" and "Fire Fire" when she walked in! They found they had a lot in common, even though they came from different backgrounds.

They worked together on a mixtape called Piracy Funds Terrorism Vol. 1. This mixtape mixed M.I.A.'s songs with other artists' music. It was named one of the best albums of the year by The New York Times. Diplo continued to work with M.I.A. and was her tour DJ in 2005.

Diplo and M.I.A. also created the Grammy-nominated song "Paper Planes". This song became a huge hit, reaching number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Starting Mad Decent Records

Diplo performing at Soundlab in Buffalo, New York in May 2009

After the success of "Paper Planes," Diplo became a well-known producer. He started working with artists like Shakira, Robyn, Bruno Mars, and Snoop Dogg. He also traveled to Brazil to learn more about the favela music scene. He was so impressed that he brought a dance-funk group called Bonde do Rolê from Brazil to release music on his Mad Decent record label. This group helped introduce funk carioca music to the United States.

Mad Decent became a place for Diplo to share all the different sounds he found while traveling the world. Diplo became known for touring a lot. In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine named him one of '40 Reasons to be Excited About Music'. Since 2005, Mad Decent has released music by many artists, including Santigold, Baauer, and Gucci Mane.

As Mad Decent grew, Diplo's solo career also took off. He produced songs for Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, and Ariana Grande. In 2015, Diplo released "Be Right There" with producer Sleepy Tom. This song was popular in many countries and has been streamed over 100 million times on Spotify. In 2016, Beyoncé released her album Lemonade. Diplo produced two songs on it: "All Night" and "Hold Up." The album went to number one on the US Billboard 200 chart.

Major Lazer: A Global Sound

Diplo performing at Pukkelpop in 2012

Diplo's first full album collaboration was with Switch, as the group Major Lazer. Diplo mixes different styles like Miami Bass and Baile Funk into his high-tech music.

Before even recording music, Major Lazer got a deal with Downtown Records. Diplo and Switch went to Jamaica to record. They wanted to highlight the lesser-known styles of Jamaica's dancehall music. They worked with many Jamaican artists like Vybz Kartel and Elephant Man. Their first album, Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do, also featured singers like Santigold and Nina Sky. Diplo said that dancehall music brings together "all the little influences—house, soca, oldies, R&B, jazz—it all ends up in Jamaica." A song from this album, "Pon De Floor," was even used in Beyoncé's hit song "Run the World (Girls)".

Diplo and Walshy Fire of Major Lazer performing at Flow Festival in Helsinki, August 2015

Major Lazer released an EP called Lazers Never Die in 2010. Switch left the group in 2011, and DJs Jillionaire and Walshy Fire joined. Their second album, Free the Universe, came out in 2013. It featured artists like Bruno Mars and Shaggy.

In 2015, Diplo shared details about Major Lazer's third album, Peace Is the Mission. He said it would include artists like Ariana Grande and Ellie Goulding. The first single, "Lean On", was a collaboration with French producer DJ Snake and singer MØ. "Lean On" became Spotify's most streamed song ever at the time, with over 800 million streams. Its music video also became one of the most-watched videos on YouTube, with over 2 billion views.

In 2016, the group released "Cold Water" with Canadian artist Justin Bieber and MØ. This song was a huge international success, reaching number one in many countries. Major Lazer's fifth album, Music Is the Weapon, features collaborations with artists like Alessia Cara, French Montana, and Nicki Minaj.

Jack Ü: Teaming Up with Skrillex

Diplo performing at Utopía Festival in Madrid, June 2016

Jack Ü is a duo made up of Skrillex and Diplo. They first performed together at the Mad Decent Block Party in San Diego in 2013. Diplo announced the project by listing Jack Ü on the tour lineup. He later explained that "Jack Ü ... means Skrillex and Diplo together." In 2014, Jack Ü sold out Madison Square Garden for a big performance.

In 2015, they released their album Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü. It featured songs with Justin Bieber, 2 Chainz, and Missy Elliott. The first single, "Take Ü There" with Kiesza, was released in 2014. The second single, "Where Are Ü Now," was released with the album. This song, featuring Justin Bieber, became a massive hit for the duo. It reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was very popular worldwide.

In 2016, Jack Ü won two Grammy Awards. They won "Best Dance Album" for their album and "Best Dance Recording" for "Where Are Ü Now?" with Justin Bieber. This was also Bieber's first Grammy. They also played sold-out shows at major festivals like Coachella and Lollapalooza.

Silk City: A New Duo

Diplo and Mark Ronson formed Silk City in 2018

In 2018, Diplo announced a new project with British DJ and singer Mark Ronson, called Silk City. They released their first song, "Only Can Get Better," in May 2018. Their fourth and most recent single, "Electricity", features British singer Dua Lipa. It was released in September 2018. In 2019, "Electricity" won a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.

Other Cool Projects

Diplo has always supported lesser-known music scenes around the world. He explored the Bounce scene in New Orleans, Louisiana for a TV show. Diplo was nominated for Producer of the Year at the Grammy Awards multiple times.

He used to have a radio show on BBC Radio 1 / 1Xtra called 'Diplo and Friends'. On this show, he shared mixes from top dance music artists. He also has similar shows in the United States.

In 2015, Diplo and the Major Lazer team started "Lazer Sound" on Apple Music's Beats 1. This radio show features interviews, tour moments, and new music. Diplo has performed with Major Lazer and Jack Ü on many TV shows and award ceremonies.

In 2016, Diplo was one of the first Western artists to perform in Islamabad, Pakistan. He returned in 2018 with Major Lazer for Islamabad's first Mad Decent Block Party. In 2017, Diplo and Autoerotique released a music video called "Waist Time."

In 2019, Diplo released the song "So Long" under the name Thomas Wesley. It featured American country singer Cam. He planned more collaborations with country artists, which led to his 2020 album Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley, Chapter 1: Snake Oil. This album included the song "Heartless" with Morgan Wallen.

Diplo's Life Outside Music

Diplo has three sons. He is a big fan of soccer and cricket. He supports the U.S. men's national soccer team. He created a music mix for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He also produced the 2018 World Cup official song "Live It Up". In 2016, Diplo bought a small part of the Phoenix Rising FC soccer team.

Diplo's Music Albums

Studio albums

• Florida (2004)
• Chapter 1: Snake Oil (2020) (as Thomas Wesley)
• MMXX (2020)
• Diplo (2022)

Diplo in Movies and TV

Film

Television

Awards and Achievements

Listicles

See also

In Spanish: Diplo para niños