On a new episode of The Great Creator with Guy Raz, Diplo discusses how he went from being a Sandwich Artist and spinning records at a movie theater and zoo to being one of the most successful and influential DJ/producers working today.
Growing up in Orlando, Diplo made a decision early on to add to the culture of Miami with his music without really having much a route to follow. “There weren’t really a lot of DJs to look up to.” And despite not having a plan, that’s what he wanted to do. “I was like, let me do this for now, I’m still young, and maybe I’ll get a job soon, but let me try and do this.”
After moving to Philly to hone in on his craft, Diplo become obsessed with the idea of being a producer, finding inspiration from the like of DJ Premiere and DJ Shadow. “I started collecting record, going to record conventions, meeting other DJs… then started DJing small parties and then moved on to the bigger parties and learned how to DJ, and that took a lot of time.”
Diplo continued, noting people approach him all the time asking “can you teach me how to DJ?” Admitting, he surely could if it was only about pushing buttons, but as Diplo noted its so much more than that. “The idea of like reading a room, or reading people and knowing the history of music is such a skill, it takes just years of going to rooms and failing at parties and making yourself better and better at that.”
This episode traces his rise from nomadic childhood, to his big break that was years in the making, to performing in front of tens of thousands of fans and generating billions (yes, billions) of streams. You'll also learn exactly how he collaborates with artists like Sia and Madonna, why he approaches music like fashion, how he knows when a song is truly great, and how he plans to "age gracefully" in this next chapter of his career.
So what are you waiting for? Press play above to hear the entire episode.
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