When we think about big records, a lot of producers are thinking of how to make it as standard as possible. I think those days are gone. I think you have to surprise the audience in 2015. – Diplo
Selling MP3s or physical copies, it’s still cool, but I think it’s slowly becoming outdated to where people just want to build a culture. – Diplo
I think you can’t really beat Bob Marley, especially the stuff he was doing with Lee Perry. Just that kind of clubby and dark and crazy stuff, even with the Wailers… Some of the songwriting was phenomenal. – Diplo
As a youngster, I lived in Philly for 12 years, and I would go up to New York to do shows and make money – it was the dream to maybe be able to survive there and live there. – Diplo
It’s cool to play the guitar, but to me it’s even cooler to scratch a guitar backward and forward, to manipulate it with a turntable. Guitars can’t do that themselves. – Diplo
The traditional media never gave Bernie Sanders the time of day. But he went viral the same way hip-hop and new dances go viral. And I’m part of that culture. – Diplo
When I was fifteen, I used to run around reading ‘Adbusters’ and dumpster diving, trying to find ways to make the U.S. government unwind into chaos through hardcore punk and metal. – Diplo
That’s what I care about is the people I work with and representing them and helping to make their music apparent for the rest of the world. – Diplo
I put out this record on Ninja Tune called ‘Florida’ when I was about 22. And at the same time, I was DJ’ing and beginning to mix stuff up and promote shows in Philadelphia and New York and my own parties and make mixtapes, put out bootleg white labels. – Diplo
In Philly, there are a lot of social programs. If you have a degree, you can go and apply. I was basically a social worker, but I became sort of a sub teacher in a special program, helping kids with reading or math. But we would also do plays, learn about music… We were doing lots of fun stuff, but that was such hard work. – Diplo
All I know is don’t ever get into a feud with Taylor Swift. She has, like, 50 million people that will die for her. You can’t step into that arena. – Diplo
Klaus from the Teddybears, Bloodshy and Avant and Mike Snow, they’ve done lots of Britney Spears production. They went backwards from production to being in a band, which might be cool. I might do that, too, one day. – Diplo
I appreciate people who are authentic. Someone who just wants to be cool, I can tell when their intentions aren’t right. – Diplo
My first production job after M.I.A. was actually the xx, but they didn’t like what I did, and at the end of the day, we used their demos. – Diplo
New York feels like the whole city is into dance music. That’s not how it felt when I was younger. There was more of a hipster scene. – Diplo
When I first started producing, all I had was this little crappy sampler called a S20, which had, like, a minute sample time. I was making crappy beats since I was, like, 17 or 18, using Florida rappers, where I’m from. Then I started DJ’ing because I just wanted to have a new job. I was a schoolteacher for a while, and it was the worst job. – Diplo
A lot of producers get famous because they decide to be superstars for their own reasons, but I’m inspired by Timbaland and Pharrell and Swizz Beatz ’cause they’re doing things that are so different. I like how they’re introducing ideas I never would have thought of. – Diplo
If anybody is excited about my music, that’s all I care about. I care about people who are excited about new music. – Diplo
There are opportunities that I have because I’m a white dude, and it’s controversial because that’s just the way that the world we live in kind of is. – Diplo
I think Usher is a bonafide superstar because he’s very honest in his songs, and people can relate to that, especially in the feelings and textures of his voice. He is one of the best. – Diplo
I used to be a record collector. Mark Ronson, Questlove and I used to be part of, like, a record-trading crew. – Diplo
I do a lot of collaborations and productions, whether it’s Switch or Steve Aoki or No ID or Will Smith or No Doubt – I always like to collaborate and be a quality control person for the people ’cause I have my own taste in music and bring that to other peoples’ brands and help them learn a little bit. – Diplo