30 Off-The-Record Facts About Diplo You Might Have Missed Before

Diplo, the co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer, has been taking the music industry by storm with his collaboration projects with other DJs and artists. He is the co-founder of the non-profit organization Heaps Decent. Here are some really interesting facts about the American DJ that will make you love him more:

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1.  On November 11, 2015, his single "Lean On" from the third Major Lazer album “Peace Is the Mission,” became Spotify's Most Streamed Song of All Time with over 800 million streams to date.
2.  The official video for "Lean On" also became one of the most viewed videos on the YouTube platform, garnering more than 2 billion views.
3.  He produced two tracks – “All Night,” and “Hold Up,” on Beyoncé’s critically acclaimed album, “Lemonade,” which was released on April 23, 2016.
4.  Following this, he collaborated with Canadian DJ duo Zeds Dead on the release "Blame", which featured Swedish singer Elliphant.
5.  He was one of the first and very few mainstream Western artists to perform in Islamabad, Pakistan alongside Adil Omar, Talal Qureshi, SNKM and Elliphant, in February 2016.
6.  Thomas Wesley Pentz was born on November 10, 1978 to Thomas Pentz and Barbara Jean in Tupelo, Mississippi.
7.  He spent most of his youth days in Miami, from where he got a taste for the characteristic Miami bass. However, it was home-grown rap, which plays a key role in his production style.
8.  In the year 1997, he started attending the University of Central Florida. While studying here, he became a DJ at local radio station WPRK, the radio station at Rollins College.
9.  He then transferred to Temple University, moving to Philadelphia, to continue his studies. It was here that he first garnered the required attention as a DJ.
10.  He started collaborating with DJ Low Budget frequently, throwing parties under the Hooked on Hollertronix moniker in 2003 as a way of maintaining control of what they were able to play during DJ gigs in Philadelphia.

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11.  With the success of these parties, the duo started to release mixtapes – both together and separately, which earned them acclaim across the country.
12.  In fact, in the year 2003, one of the mixtapes – “Never Scared” was praised and was also named as one of The New York Times' top ten albums of the year.
13.  His solo debut album “Florida” was pressed twice, first with a CD and the second with a CD/DVD Set, which was put together by System D-128.
14.  However, even before this, another DVD surfaced called “Diplo: Banned in Libya" was released by Money Studies, the first label to release a solo project by Diplo under his original DJ name Diplodocus.
15.  This was a 45 rpm record named "Thingamajawn." Diplo also had a music video for this, which was also directed by System D-128.
16.  Following the attention gained through Hooked on Hollertronix parties, Diplo built "The Mausoleum", a video studio, recording studio, record label office, gallery, and event space in Philadelphia.
17.  Impressed with one of his songs in the year 2004, M.I.A. approached Diplo one night, when he was DJing at the Fabric Club in London.
18.  Coincidentally, he was laying her songs "Galang" and "Fire Fire" as she entered the club, which he got from a worker at i-D magazine.
19.  The two eventually collaborated on a mixtape, “Piracy Funds Terrorism Vol. 1,” where Arular track acapellas were mashed with other artists' songs.
20.  He met DJ Switch, through M.I.A. He and M.I.A, together created the Grammy-nominated track "Paper Planes", peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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21.  However, M.I.A claimed in a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone that Diplo was not happy with her rise to fame, and that he fought with her about becoming successful.
22.  In the April 2010 issue of Rolling Stone, Diplo was touted as one of '40 Reasons to be Excited About Music'.
23.  On October 16, 2015, Diplo released "Be Right There" along with fellow producer Sleepy Tom, which charted in multiple countries.
24.  Under the guise of Major Lazer, he collaborated with Switch for his first full-length record, which incorporates Miami Bass and Baile Funk into the high-tech eclecticism of his productions.
25.  The two recorded “Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do,” in Jamaica after signing a deal with Downtown Records. This was followed up with an EP, “Lazers Never Die,” which was released in 2010.
26.  Switch was replaced by DJs Jillionaire and Walshy Fire in the year 2011. Major Lazer’s second album “Free the Universe,” was released on April 15, 2011.
27.  “Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü,” was released on February 27, 2015, as a co-release between the labels of Skrillex and Diplo – OWSLA and Mad Decent, respectively.
28.  In 2016, the duo won two Grammy Awards for "Grammy Award for Best Dance Album" for "Skrillex and Diplo present Jack Ü" and "Grammy Award for Best Dance" for "Where Are Ü Now?" with Justin Bieber.
29.  Through his Silk City project with British DJ and singer Mark Ronson, he has released four singles till date. The fourth single “Electricity” which featured Dua Lipa, won a Grammy at the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards for Best Dance Recording.
30.  He had a late night show on BBC Radio 1 / 1Xtra on Saturdays called 'Diplo and Friends' where he curates mixes from some of biggest names in dance music.
31.  Diplo Net Worth: $36 Million