Diplo

Early life[edit]

Diplo was born on November 10, 1978, in Tupelo, Mississippi, the son of Barbara Jean (née Cox) and Thomas Pentz. He is of German and English descent.^[11][12][13] Diplo graduated from Hendersonville High School in Hendersonville, Tennessee.


The influence of home-grown rap played a key role in helping shape Diplo's production style. Although he was born in Mississippi, he spent the majority of his youth in Miami, where he got a taste for the characteristic Miami bass.^[14][15][16] He began attending the University of Central Florida in 1997. During his time at UCF, he became a DJ at local radio station WPRK, the radio station at Rollins College. He moved to Philadelphia to continue his studies at Temple University, where he first drew attention as a DJ.^[17] At the age of 20, Diplo moved to India, with a small bag and barely any money. He purchased a used Enfield Motorcycle and traveled between the Indian territories of Ladakh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, and Gujarat. While in India he collected records, and visited rundown establishments to listen to people playing the sitar and tabla.


After returning to the U.S. he became acquainted with fellow DJ Low Budget. The two began throwing parties under the "Hooked on Hollertronix" moniker in 2003 as a way of maintaining control of what they were able to play during DJ gigs in Philadelphia.^[5] The success of these parties allowed the two to release mixtapes, both separately and together, gathering acclaim across the country.^[1] One such mixtape, Never Scared, was named one of The New York Times' top ten albums of 2003,^[18] and the Hollertronix name became synonymous with parties featuring guests like Maluca Mala, Bun B, Spank Rock, M.I.A., among others.^[19] Hollertronix's sound has been described as "disparate genres to be smashed together for maximum attention-grabbing impact" an aesthetic inspired by the "organic, cohesive, whole" aesthetic of acts such as Bun B, Lil Jon, Drama, M.I.A., Björk, Busta Rhymes, and others.^[7][20]


Diplo accentuated the club aesthetic of his Hollertronix music for a more reflective sound on his solo debut, Florida, which was released on the Ninja Tune imprint, Big Dada Records.^[21] The album Florida was pressed twice, first with a CD and the second with a CD/DVD Set.^[22] The DVD was put together by artist and filmmaker System D-128, who has also collaborated with Diplo on audio and film projects. Before Florida's DVD accompaniment, another DVD surfaced called Diplo: "Banned in Libya" which was released by Money Studies, the first label to release a solo project by Diplo under his original DJ name Diplodocus. It was a 45 rpm record called "Thingamajawn" for which there is also a music video System D-128 directed. Similar to the Florida DVD, "Banned in Libya" is an experimental audio and video mix of some of Diplo's original music blended with a number of other unidentified sources. His particular affinity for one genre of music called baile funk, or favela funk, would spawn a series of mixtapes (Favela on Blast, Favela Strikes Back), which served to bring the Brazilian dance music of the ghettos to the United States.^[1]


It was not long before his Hooked on Hollertronix parties would provide him the success necessary to move to the next logical step and build a studio where music would become his full-time focus. With this goal in mind, Diplo built "The Mausoleum", a video studio, recording studio, record label office, gallery, and event space in Philadelphia.^[23] Since its inception, artists such as Christina Aguilera, Shakira, M.I.A., Santigold, Spank Rock, Plastic Little, Blaqstarr, and Paper Route Gangstaz have recorded at The Mausoleum. It has also hosted concerts by Glass Candy, Skream, Boys Noize, Nicos Gun, and more.^[23]