Diplo is a DJ and music producer from the United States. He is a member of the supergroup LSD with Sia and Labrinth, the electronic duo Jack Ü with producer and DJ Skrillex, and Silk City with Mark Ronson. He started the record label Mad Decent and runs it.
He also helped start the non-profit group Heaps Decent. Revolution, the EP he released in 2013, made its debut at number 68 on the US Billboard 200. The title track of the EP was later used in a Hyundai ad and is also on the WWE 2K16 soundtrack.
Diplo worked with and dated the British musician M.I.A., who is said to have helped him get known when he was just starting out. Later, he, M.I.A., and another producer named Switch made a Jamaican dancehall project called Major Lazer and a cartoon show about it.
Since then, Diplo has collaborated on production and mixtape projects with a wide range of other popular musicians, including Gwen Stefani, Die Antwoord, Britney Spears, Madonna, Shakira, Beyoncé, Ellie Goulding, No Doubt, Justin Bieber, Usher, Snoop Dogg, Trippie Redd, Chris Brown, CL, G-Dragon, Bad Bunny, Kali Uchis, Joji, M His nickname, which is a short form of “Diplodocus,” comes from how interested he was in dinosaurs when he was young.
Early Years and Education
Thomas Wesley Pentz, who goes by the stage name Diplo, was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on November 10, 1978. He is the son of Barbara Jean and Thomas Pentz. He comes from both Germany and England. Diplo went to high school in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and graduated from Hendersonville High School.
Diplo’s production style was greatly shaped by the way home-grown rap sounded. Even though he was born in Mississippi, he spent most of his childhood in Miami, where he learned to like the bass music that is unique to that city. In 1997, he began going to school at the University of Central Florida.
During his time at UCF, he started working as a DJ at Rollins College’s radio station, WPRK. He moved to Philadelphia to keep going to school at Temple University. It was there that he first became known as a DJ. After running into another DJ named Low Budget a lot, the two started throwing parties under the name “Hooked on Hollertronix” in 2003 so they could control what they could play at their DJ gigs in Philadelphia.
The success of these parties made it possible for the two to put out mixtapes, both on their own and together, that got praise from people all over the country. One of these mixtapes, Never Scared, was named one of the top ten albums of 2003 by The New York Times, and the name Hollertronix became linked to parties with guests like Maluca Mala, Bun B, Spank Rock, and M.I.A.
Hollertronix’s sound has been described as “different genres to be mashed together for maximum attention-grabbing impact.” This style is inspired by the “organic, cohesive, whole” style of artists like Bun B, Lil Jon, Drama, M.I.A., Bjork, Busta Rhymes, and others.
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On his first solo album, Florida, which came out on Ninja Tune’s Big Dada Records, Diplo played up the club sound of his Hollertronix music for a more thoughtful sound. The album Florida came out twice, once as a CD and again as a CD/DVD Set. System D-128, an artist and filmmaker who has worked with Diplo on both music and movies, put together the DVD. Before Florida’s DVD, a DVD called “Diplo: Banned in Libya” came out.
It was put out by Money Studies, which was the first label to put out a solo project by Diplo under his old DJ name, “Diplodocus.” “Thingamajawn” was a 45 rpm record, and System D-128 also made a music video for it. “Banned in Libya” is an experimental audio and video mix of some of Diplo’s original music mixed with music from a number of other unidentified sources.
It is similar to the “Florida” DVD. His love of baile funk, also called favela funk, led to a series of mixtapes (Favela on Blast and Favela Strikes Back) that brought the Brazilian dance music of the slums to the United States.
It wasn’t long before his Hooked on Hollertronix parties gave him the success he needed to take the next step, which was to build a studio where he could make music his full-time job. Diplo built “The Mausoleum” in Philadelphia, which is a video studio, recording studio, record label office, gallery, and event space.
Since it opened, artists like Christina Aguilera, Shakira, M.I.A., Santigold, Spank Rock, Plastic Little, Blaqstarr, and Paper Route Gangstaz have recorded at The Mausoleum. Glass Candy, Skream, Boys Noize, Nicos Gun, and more have played concerts there.
What is Diplo’s Net Worth in 2022?
As of December 2022, Diplo Has an Estimated Net Worth of $50 Million (Source: Celebrity Net Worth). In a typical year of touring, Diplo has been known to make around $20 million from all of his different sources of income, most of which come from touring.
Diplo has a lot of money, and he likes to buy different things with it. He’s proud to own two beautiful homes and a piece of an American soccer team.
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Where Does Diplo Live?
In 2016, it was said that Diplo paid $2.425 million for a home in Beachwood Canyon. The home is in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It has a modern design with big glass walls and great views of the city, canyons, and the ocean.
The property is 2,500 square feet and has a studio and a hot tub made of cedar. The house also has a wall of succulents and a Two-Car garage. In April 2021, Diplo sold the house for $2.8 million.
In November 2020, Diplo bought the house that Kid Rock had lived in before. In 2006, Kid Rock paid $11.6 million for the house. In 2017, he got $9.5 million for it. Diplo paid $13.2 million.
Diplo’s Musical Journey!
In 2000, Diplo and DJ Low Budget began putting out their own mixtapes. Both DJs became well-known in their communities and across the country. Diplo’s first album as a solo artist was called “Florida.” Later, he made a DVD called “Banned in Libya” that looked at a type of music called “favela funk.”
Diplo’s popularity grew, and he began to work with the singer M.I.A. After making a mixtape with her, he put out “Piracy Funds Terrorism, Vol. 1.” The Grammy-nominated song “Paper Planes” was made by Diplo, DJ Switch, and M.I.A.
He then worked with artists like Bruno March, Kid Cudi, Die Antwood, and more. He started the record label Mad Decent and went on a tour of China with Steve Aoki.
Diplo started working with more artists, like Lil’ Jon, Gucci Mane, Rusko, and many others. Some of the most famous songs he has produced are by Justin Bieber, Lil Wayne, Travis Porter, Usher, and Britney Spears.
In 2011, he and Switch came up with the idea for Major Lazer. Major Lazer’s first album was praised all over the world for its strong Jamaican dancehall influences.
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The next thing Major Lazer did was put out an EP called “Lazers Never Die.” After this record came out, Switch left the group in 2011. Jillionaire and Walshy Fire took his place. Then, “Free the Universe,” Major Lazer’s second album, was put out by a new group of artists.
In 2016, Major Lazer got a lot of attention again after putting out the song “Cold Water,” which Justin Bieber was on. Since then, the group has put out albums like “Peace Is the Mission” and “Music Is the Weapon.”
Diplo and Skrillex also joined forces in 2013 to make the duo Jack Ü. Before putting out their first album, “Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü,” this duo went on a nationwide tour. On the album, Justin Bieber, Missy Elliott, and 2 Chainz were among the artists who worked together. Some of the most popular songs were “Where Are Ü Now” and “Take Ü There.”
Diplo has also worked with Sia and Labrinth to create the group LSD. Their debut album, titled “Labrynth, Sia, and Diplo Present… LSD,” was released in 2019. In 2018, Diplo and a British DJ named Mark Ronson formed a new group called Silk City. They have put out a number of songs, including “Electricity,” which won a Grammy.
Let’s Take a Closer Look into Diplo’s Personal Life!
Diplo has three sons: Lockett, Lazer, and Pace. He has Lockett and Lazer with Kathryn Lockhart and Pace with Jevon King.
From 2003 to 2008, he was with the rapper M.I.A. Later, M.I.A. said that he hurt her emotionally during their rocky relationship. In 2014 and 2015, Diplo was with singer Katy Perry for almost a year.
Diplo is a fan of soccer, cricket, and the U.S. men’s national team. He also cheers for Arsenal and has been to two Tigres UANL games. He made a mix for the 2014 World Cup and made the official song for the 2018 World Cup, “Live It Up.” On January 27, 2016, Diplo bought a small share of the USL Championship team Phoenix Rising FC.
“I’ve been incredibly happy to be able to go all around the world and hear music from a variety of cultures,” he told me. No matter where I am—Jamaica, Spain, England, China, etc.—people always talk about soccer. I see soccer like I see music: as a way to connect different cultures around the world.”
Diplo backed Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination for president on February 24, 2016. “Revolution” by Diplo, which came out in 2013, is the song that plays in Sanders’s ad “It’s a Revolution.” Diplo was on the cover of the American entertainment news magazine Billboard on June 9, 2016.
Diplo live-streamed Joe Jonas’ wedding to Sophie Turner in Las Vegas on Instagram on May 1, 2019, even though he didn’t know it was a real wedding. The DJ responded on social media shortly after the couple complained to the press that he spoiled their wedding. The Jonas Brothers and Diplo released a song called “Lonely” five months later. Diplo tries to make up with Joe Jonas and his brothers in the official music video for this song.
Diplo joined Senator Kamala Harris and other artists on July 9, 2020, for a virtual fundraiser called “Get Up, Stand Up!” to help Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign.
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Sexual Misconduct Allegations
A restraining order against Diplo was given to a Los Angeles woman named Shelly Auguste in November 2020.
She said that he spread revenge porn of her after she accused him of grooming her and other “Very Young Girls,” engaging in sexual behavior without their consent, hiring a private investigator in June 2020 to “scare her into staying quiet about their relationship” and “scare other women out of coming forward,” and threatening people who supported her in a Twitter thread in October.
Court documents say that when the woman met Diplo in the summer of 2014 when she was 17 and he was 36, they started exchanging sexually explicit pictures and got close. Later, Diplo got a restraining order against Auguste after he filed for it and got it.
In a private arbitration on September 29, 2022, in a separate case from the one above, an arbitrator ruled in Diplo’s favor and gave him $1.2 million for breaches, costs, and lawyers’ fees. The former judge sided with Diplo, saying that his accuser had broken the mutual restraining order by harassing him and his family through social media posts more than once.
A woman who didn’t give her name sued Diplo in 2021, saying that he took advantage of her sexually while she was drunk and unable to say no after one of his concerts in Las Vegas in 2019. She says that Diplo “invited her to a room, kicked out her friends, and wouldn’t let her leave until she did oral sex.” After 10 days, the accuser dropped her case, saying she was sorry she had done it.
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