Diplo Speaks: His 15 Most Interesting Interviews

Full disclosure; DAD wanted to fly around with Diplo during last night's "Trap Hawk Down" event. We really tried. And while we sat at home, sulking in

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Full disclosure; DAD wanted to fly around with Diplo during last night's "Trap Hawk Down" event. We really tried. And while we sat at home, sulking in our disappointment, we realized that Diplo might be one of the most interesting individuals in EDM today. The whole idea of 2013 being the year that this scene goes mainstream lends a lot to Diplo's constant work, blending genres via his own productions, and working with superstars from Beyonce to Snoop Dogg to give them some of that dance music flavor.

While he's not a true eccentric, he's definitely a music nerd that is tireless in his pursuit for the perfect beat. And he loves to talk. We've found 15 of his most interesting interviews, ranging from creating an awesome-looking burger while discussing his label signings to heading down to New Orleans, searching for the origin of bounce music. In all of his glory, here's a glimpse of what makes Diplo so unique to EDM, and the music industry in general.

Diplo On Drug Use

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Since it's Inauguration Day, it's funny to catch Diplo speak about which 2012 Presidential Candidate it'd be cool to do drugs with, especially when it comes to Mitt Romney smoking DMT. He also speaks on drug use and the creative process.

Diplo On Sampling

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Diplo is a child of the sample school, and he speaks to Legitmix on using samples for more than just being "good loops," using M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" as an example. Many producers probably know this, but his words on being sued for samples are also good bits for those coming up now.

Diplo On the Most Embarassing Record in His Bin

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DJs, especially those who pre-date the MP3/Serato set, grow up with a ton of records, either for sample sources or just "looking for the perfect beat" purposes. Around 1:05 into this clip, Diplo speaks on what he grew up listening to, and what he might be holding that might could spell trouble when drawn on an unsuspecting crowd.

Diplo in the Studio

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In this piece for Native Instruments, Diplo shows how he operates in the Mad Decent studio. For a DJ/producer who works on so many records, you don't have a lot of clips of him actually talking shop. This one might be more for the producer heads out there.

Diplo On EDM's Rise (with A-Trak and Skrillex)

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This interview for Billboard is almost a year old to the day, and the cover story is one of the more important within the EDM takeover of the American scene. Diplo, alongside Skrillex and A-Trak, speak about how they met each other, how EDM artists are changing the landscape of how music is presented, running their own labels, and much more.

Diplo On Being a "White Guy From America"

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While he is an obvious fan of many regional sounds from around the world, Diplo gets a lot of flack for working within so many different genres, with claims of exploitation coming up from time to time. During this mini-documentary of him working in Brazil, he speaks on confronting those criticisms (starts around 2:42).

Diplo On Business (While Making A Burger)

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This clip is just fun; Diplo's speaking about who was signed to Mad Decent, film-making, and more from 2008 while making a burger. Even the cameraman seems in awe with how awesome that plate of Diplo's looks.

Diplo On Moombahton (with Dillon Francis)

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With the Moombahton Forever compilation fresh in our minds, it's interesting to see Diplo and Dillon Francis speak on moombahton. It's also hilarious to see these two interact, and if you wanted a pretty basic primer on moombahton, this is the video you should check out.

Diplo On the First Major Lazer Album

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In this clip from XLR8R TV, Diplo speaks on the first Major Lazer album's creation. You get to see clips of the likes of Elephant Man recording with them in Jamaica for the that project, as well as some of the reasons why creating an album of that caliber can be interesting or difficult.

Diplo On Bad Artist Names

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Around 1:29, Diplo shows his Diplodocus tatoo, saying that while he got very popular as Diplo, he always meant to change his stage name. He also drops a funny story about being a vegetarian in Brazil.

Diplo On, Well, Everything

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In this 38 minute interview for IMS Ibiza, Diplo speaks on everything from "meandering between different styles," sponsorships, and giving away free music as promotion. Anyone looking to follow in his footsteps should study this clip.

Diplo Meets Lee "Scratch Perry"

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As he's been wildly influenced by reggae and Jamaican culture, it must have been an honor for Diplo to meet Lee Perry, the influential producer who's huge within the dub scene, not to mention producing a number of classics with Bob Marley. Sit back and check out this studio session between the two, via Red Bull.

Diplo On Bounce Music

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WIth such a varied pallette for sounds, especially region-specific styles of music, this clip of Diplo traveling to New Orleans to get educated on the music of their region, especially the hyper style known as "bounce music." Great to see him going to the source and getting hip to the sound (while putting people on to something they might not be up on).

Diplo On Mad Decent at SXSW

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This interview went down at a Mad Decent Carniville during SXSW 2010; we're going to assume Diplo was either kind of wasted or just tired and bugging out. It's just hilarious to hear his quick-wit, especially with a guy standing behind him with a big-ass teacup.

Diplo On Snoop Lion

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Diplo spoke to Vlad TV about Snoop Dogg's "Snoop Lion" project, which Diplo produced. While many of been skeptical on this project, Diplo speaks on how Snoop's taken this project serious, and how the album (which he considers to be a real "critical" record) will make sense once you see the film.

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