Diplo is a busy man. In the last week, the producer, DJ, and label head, born Thomas Wesley Pentz, has been to Africa, Italy, and the UK, attending and performing at fashion week shows, awards shows, and, of course, getting in the studio whenever time allows. He has a channel on SiriusXM, ("Diplo's Revolution") and maintains groups with the likes of Mark Ronson (Silk City), Skrillex (Jack Ü), Sia and Labrinth (LSD) and, if you can believe it, more.

Today, he's releasing Europa, a new EP that weaves between pop-trap, dancehall, and somnambulistic hip-hop and sees him team-up with a variety of MCs from across the European continent. Esquire caught up with the 40-year-old to discuss his big Grammy win, the end of Major Lazer, and the importance of #MeToo.

The conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

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Esquire: This is your second themed release. Why, after California, which released last year, was a partnership with European MCs the next step?



Diplo: When I did California, a lot of young guys were just coming out, and they were living in L.A. so those sessions were all just clicking. And then last year I was in Europe so much and the same thing happened. The hip-hop scene [had gotten] so cool and so big, and it was easy to work with these guys.

When I was coming to Europe for the last 10-20 years, I noticed many times you just have carbon copies of American music in certain ways. But in the last five years, the personalities have really come out in [hip-hop]—because it’s such an old thing now. It's like a 50-year-old creature at this point. So when these kids were born, their parents were listening to hip-hop. So they have it as a language, and they’ve perfected it and made it their own.

What is your favorite way to discover new artists?

Word of mouth. [As for whether or not we work together], it’s about chemistry. Octavian, for instance, I met him at a Fendi event in London and I didn’t think twice about him—there’s 100 rappers at a fashion party—but then the next day I followed him on Instagram. And then he kept popping up. Like, the next day he’s on Drake’s story. So I was like, maybe I should check out this guy’s music ... We must have spent four sessions together to finish ["New Shapes"], really trying to make it perfect. Now, I think it’s the strongest and coolest on the EP.

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You certainly have the opportunity now, if you wanted to, to only work with the Nicki Minajs and the Madonnas of the world. And while you do occasionally, you seem to spend more time partnering with young artists.

That’s always been my thing. I’d rather work with somebody amazing that’s unproven than be a sit-at-home producer and just wait for my manager to set up a session with a big artist. Sometimes you might have to do more work, because they may not be ready, but I don’t care.

I’ve done pop songs with big people. I know the value of that. Like, if I worked with Ariana Grande, [I know] we’re going to get 10 million streams a day, off the gate. With an artist like Mø [who was on] “Lean On,” we didn’t even hit radio for six months. But I’d rather make classics—I mean, how many freakin’ pop songs came out last year that you remember? Or like, hip-hop tracks that were big for like two weeks? I'm trying to cultivate records that I can play, as a DJ, for years to come.

You started working with Dua Lipa before her career had gained really any momentum. Now, you have a Grammy for a song you did together.

Yeah, that was really cool. In the sub-genres, I actually think the Grammys have become a lot more respected. All the nominees [in dance music] were really awesome dance records that people actually play. It's more prestigious to win that award now than it was 10 years ago, I think ... But you know, winning awards doesn’t really matter. Music’s not an “awarded” thing. It’s about how it makes you feel. But it does feel good to have a party and go to it and be the winner. [Laughs]

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The note you posted on Instagram touched on what a gratifying professional relationship you’ve been able to cultivate with Dua Lipa. That’s also been true of you with several young female artists, like Mø and Tove Lo, and you’ve been a vocal supporter of the #MeToo movement. It’s a welcome antidote to the story we’re all used to hearing, which is the male producer in power taking advantage of their position.

The women that I work with are stronger than me. Their jobs are harder. And they get more stuff done. They carry themselves so well and they’re a good example for other women. [They show] that it’s possible to be awesome, a good person, and be beautiful past whatever your Instagram profile is. Mø is one of the sweetest women in the world. And Dua is so fun and real. And I just ... I do support the #MeToo movement. And I’ve been lucky. All the women that I’ve worked with teach me more than me teaching them.

And in the past, I have dated women that I’ve worked with, but I don't think that I would ever do that again. It's better to be focused. Music is more important to me. Like me and Dua, I feel like there’s love between us in the fact that we’re creative together. That’s a different energy, and it’s important to always keep that.

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You called out Dan Bilzerian last year on Twitter after he criticized the #MeToo movement. Did he ever respond to you?

[Laughs] He actually invited me to DJ his party. He had a party with Cardi B and he like, put my name on the flyers and was like, "You guys should come." I was like, “I don’t know. I can’t make it.” I actually can’t avoid that guy, because he’s always everywhere in Vegas. But he lives in the algorithm generation. He knows his business model is based on him being a bad person. And people love to eat it up. I worry about that mass problem, because people don’t realize that it’s fake. And I can call him out on the things that I think are too far.

You’re really active on Instagram. Do you also worry about how people perceive you on the platform?

Yeah, and my personality on the Internet is very tongue-in-cheek, and sometimes people take it too seriously. It's like, we live in a world of smoke and mirrors. And I hope more people understand that Instagram isn't reality. A lot of people don't realize that...I feel so sorry for young people now. Like, you may have compared yourself to a cheerleading captain, or whatever it is, in high school but it was also easier to learn to love yourself, because your community was smaller. Now, a young girl is in a community of a billion young girls, and she ranks herself among those billion people. It feels like a really toxic place to exist is on social media for young people.

Daniel Regan

In the past, if you went to your Instagram page, you’d find a lot of photos of girls twerking. Why did that stop feeling appropriate?

When I think about that now, I feel like the same way the Beastie Boys did with how they put out “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)” and then they were embarrassed by that record. And I’m never embarrassed by anything I've done, because I’ve always approached my career with honesty and integrity, but you have to be aware of how things can be taken out of context. Like, the fact that I did the "Express Yourself" video and it was a New Orleans bounce record and I was like the white guy down there doing it? It wasn't controversial at all back then but I would be kicked out of the Internet if I did something like that again.

And I’m not afraid of dance, either. And I'm not afraid of sexuality. But it’s important to think about how things will be perceived. And it’s important to realize that because I am an older white male, I’ve already been the villain [in so many stories], I need to be careful about what I do.

Given the seemingly inevitable pitfalls of everyone eventually making a mistake and suffering blowback on social media, why is it also so important in 2019 to be active on all the platforms?

In 2019, honestly, at least 60 percent of what you do as a creative person is going to be your branding—creating the world around your music. If it was just about the music, guys like Leon Bridges and Gary Clark, Jr. and Cautious Clay, these amazing songwriters, would be running the world. But instead we have a different world, where it’s a mix of pop and eclectic people and, like, memes. So you could be mad all day. Or you could just be a part of it. Look at John Mayer. He could spend his whole career complaining about being a great multi-instrumentalist and rock music [not getting enough attention], but instead, he’s one of the coolest people on Instagram. He’s one of the only people that really figured it out: Be smart, be clever, and be yourself. It’s not about complaining.

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I was surprised to learn recently that you have chickens at home in L.A.! Aren’t you gone like 250 days a year? Who’s eating all those eggs?

My house is more like a big studio house. I have a room on top, and then I have like four floors with three different studios. The kitchen is a huge office for the people who work on my publishing company and the A&R people that work on clearing records. So they eat a lot of fucking eggs. [Laughs] And I did the math, I’m actually losing money versus just buying some eggs at the deli, but I like my chickens.

Not that you’re trying to fill free time between all your projects—along with Major Lazer you have, of course, Diplo, Silk City with Mark Ronson, LSD with Sia and Labrinth, and Jack Ü with Skrillex, not to mention you run the Mad Decent label—but are there any other 2019 initiatives you’re excited to reveal?

There’s this house music project that I’m doing that is coming out in the next six weeks. I’m really excited about dance music again. We ignored house music, and everyone just made EDM what whatever kind of club music they could for years and chased hits and stuff, but [seeing the success] with Silk City, I’m like, “Wow.” And I want to do something bigger and build a party. I’ve been around that energy in Ibiza, Mykonos, Bali, and Peru, where there are all these amazing parties—no corporate sponsor—and people are just there for the music a hundred percent. I haven’t seen that since the beginning of being a DJ.

Daniel Regan

A lot of people were disappointed to hear that Major Lazer is approaching its final record. Why was it time to disband the project?

I don’t want to force it anymore. And I’m into leaving on a high note. We did our show in Cuba, we did the cartoon, and everything else. And we’re making a really awesome record, the best we’ve ever done, right now. It’s diverse as hell. But I don’t want to just keep touring it until people don’t want to listen to dancehall and reggae anymore. So I think I want to concentrate on something new, whether it’s Silk City or my new Diplo pop project, or country music. That’s what motivates me: starting from scratch to try and build something.

Madison Vain Madison Vain is a writer and editor living in New York, covering music, books, TV, and movies; prior to Esquire, she worked at Entertainment Weekly and Sports Illustrated.

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