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DJ Mag Top100 DJs
25
Diplo
2

It’s been another unique year for Diplo. On the production front he’s continued to unleash beats on a prolific level, treating us to a barrage of sounds as a solo artist, with Major Lazer, and collaboratively with the likes of DJ Fresh and Starrah. Big hits and high-profile collaborations: it’s business as usual. 

But it’s his other activities that have really set him apart this year.

Activities such as What Would Diplo Do, the Viceland EDM satire show he co-produced which pitches Dawson’s Creek actor James van der Beek as a dim-witted version of Diplo himself in a series of slapstick situations — including a fake Diplo Twitter account that’s been trolling and upsetting everyone from DJs to major corporations in real life. More commendably, he also reportedly passed on a series of headline shows at the start of the year and spent time touring countries that aren’t always on EDM-headliner touring schedules such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Uganda and Nigeria.

His actions as a label boss should not go un-shouted, too. Mad Decent have had another exciting year at the forefront of pop/bass fusion, with a consistent convoy of bangers from across the board breaking and amplifying a host of acts from Chinese superstar Chace, bass warriors Boombox Cartel and the unstoppable NGHTMRE.