Diplo (born 10 November 1978) – aka Thomas Wesley Pentz – is songwriter, producer, rapper, and DJ residing in Los Angeles, California, US. He is also founder of the record company Mad Decent as well as part of the electronic music group Major Lazer.

Pentz grew up in Miami, Florida, US and developed an appreciation for the Miami Bass genre that would later influence much of his writing. He also incorporated the Funk carioca genre into his music, which helped bring Brazilian dance music into the US. He moved to Philadelphia in the late ‘90s and soon began to rise into prominence as a DJ. While in Philadelphia he collaborated with DJ Low Budget with whom he started the side project Hooked on Hollertronix. This collaboration resulted in the mixtape “Never Scared”, which the New York Times would call one of the top 10 albums of 2003.

In the year 2004 Diplo would release his debut album labeled “Florida” that featured a strong sense of hip hop and trip hop beats. During this time he was frequently playing music as a DJ in clubs and parties where he was starting to find success. After his name started to gain buzz around the music industry he built his own recording studio named The Mausoleum. Since then his studio has hosted a wide variety of notable artists ranging from M.I.A., Santigold, Christina Aguilera, and Plastic Little.

Diplo’s music career started to blow up into the mainstream after he met electronic/hip hop artist and former partner M.I.A. with whom he released the mixtape “Piracy Funds Terrorism”. The album would go onto receive critical acclaim from publications like Pitchfork and the New York Times who included the album on the top of the year lists. M.I.A. and Diplo also collaborated on the song “Paper Planes”, which was released on M.I.A.’s second studio album. The song was nominated for a Grammy award and reached No. 4 on the Billboard US Hot 100 chart.

Although Diplo’s catchy dance beats and the innovative approach he has taken on the EDM genre is enough to make his name reputable, his work as a producer is just as admirable in comparison. He has produced music and collaborated with some of the hottest musicians in the business including Kid Cudi, Robyn, Bruno Mars, and Snoop Dog.

Diplo has also established himself through his avid touring schedule that has sent him playing shows across the world and at large festivals. He has toured with many notable musicians such as Steve Aoki and has played many festivals like Ultra as well as the Mad Decent Music Festival that he and his record label created. When Diplo is not touring solo he might be touring with his side project Major Lazer or Jack U, his dubstep side project that he formed with Skrillex. Whatever bit of music Diplo has his hands on seems to turn out golden and there is no doubt that Diplo will consistently surprise audiences with his immense talents as Rolling Stone magazine has labeled Diplo as one of the 40 reasons to be excited about music.