He grew up in Mississippi.
His musical career began in Miami, in college parties.
He has collaborated with the biggest names in pop music in the world.
The clip for "It's cooked", with Aya Nakamura and Major Lazer (trio of which Diplo is the brain), was released this Thursday.
Aya Nakamura is "
unique
", a "
queen
" in her field, confides Diplo, the tube machine.
"
I wanted to work with her for a long time, she is unique, she is the queen of this mixture of sounds, a little West Africa, a little Caribbean too, a little zouk, a little dancehall, a little Afro -pop
”, exposed the American DJ-producer in video from his studio in Malibu (California) to AFP.
Read also: DJ Diplo escapes a shooting in Brazil
"
I was sure she would stick with the style and attitude of Major Lazer,
" continues the athletic 40-year-old. Always on the lookout, this is not the first time that this globetrotter has spotted a French or French-speaking artist. Diplo has already worked with the Parisian DJ Snake (the cardboard
Lean on
) and would always like to "
make a record with Stromae
". They know each other, since the Belgian had joined Major Lazer on stage at Rock en Seine in 2013 and produced one of their clips,
Run up
in 2017. Regarding concerts, Diplo blows: "
I would like us to play
It is cooked
on stage with Aya, we need it
".
But it should not be deduced from this that the end of the shows with the health crisis traumatized him.
"Surf, children, house"
"
It's been years since I last took a break, I really liked it, it was probably my best year in a long time, a blessing, I surfed, took advantage of my children, I bought a house,
”develops this beatmaker, who was previously called upon by Madonna and Beyoncé.
"
The return of concerts at a crazy pace is looming, we'll see if that inspires me, I don't feel like it (laughs), I want to slow down, anyway I hate taking the plane, taking jets
".
If he has remained so zen during the past year, it is because he is not like most artists "
at the mercy of labels and phonographic publishers
": "
I own my masters (original works), j 've got my label, Mad Decent
'.
Deprived of shows, the DJ diversified, experimenting with livestreams, even if their multiplication turned out to be "
boring
".
His curiosity was however sharpened with a virtual show via an avatar in the universe of the video game
Fornite
.
"
We do not realize, but the audience is very young, they do not know your music, for them you come from
Fornite,
because they are above all fans of video games
."
"The craziest year since September 11"
He doesn't live in a bubble.
And the titles of Major Lazer's last two albums,
Peace is the mission
(La mission, c'est la paix) and
Music is the weapon
(L'arme, c'est la musique), read like a message in the face of unrest the world in general and the United States in particular.
"
It was a hard year, with violence, riots, last summer was crazy when you think about it
", he analyzes, estimating that the movement "Black lives matter" was "
inspiring
" for younger generations.
Didn't it feel like it was in another video game when the Capitol was invaded? “
The past year has been the craziest I can remember since (the attacks) of 9/11; the assault on the Capitol, no one could have written that, it was chaos.
"
It was so bad for America, it was a turning point, it no longer made sense, there was no more route, no more message,
" said the one who supported Bernie Sanders in the Democratic camp .
And to conclude with humor: "
It's so strange now in America, I do not even know who is president
(laughs),
the previous one occupied such a space, with Biden we returned to normal, we say to ourselves" but that is happening on Twitter, it's calm! ”
".
The DJ performed at the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco in August 2011. ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy / Abaca