Diplo

Thomas Wesley Pentz, known to friends and family as Wes, and known to millions of fans around the world as Diplo, can not be tied down. There may not be another artist in the realm of American electronic music who has seen more and done more than this random white dude.

Throughout his 20-plus years in the scene, he’s been attached to numerous different projects of his own. He has his solo work under the name Diplo which has morphed from lo-fi hip-hop beats to house music. He has Major Lazer, the modernized dancehall project that produced one of the most streamed songs in history: “Lean On” featuring MØ. He has Jack Ü, the duo with Skrillex that provided major hits like “Where Are Ü Now” with Justin Bieber.

Beyond his forward-facing work, he’s also produced music on the back end for some of the biggest artists in history including Beyoncé, Madonna, Drake, Lil Wayne, and Maroon 5.

All of those names are outside of electronic music as well, reflecting his record label, Mad Decent which frequently shares music that extends beyond the club, while also putting out trendsetting club hits like Bauuer’s “Harlem Shake,” Tiga’s “Bugatti,” and “Feel The Volume” from Jauz.

Currently, much of his focus has been on house music with his new label, Higher Ground, which shared his self-titled LP in 2022 with features from Miguel, Seth Troxler, Elderbrook and more. Other artists who have shared original works through Higher Ground include Damian Lazarus, Azzecca, and VNSSA.

In terms of his live schedule, he’s visited pretty much every country in the world with a market for dance music from South America to Asia to the Middle East, and even Cuba where he played a concert with Major Lazer for over 400,000 attendees.

Dipo’s mark on the world of music is indelible, and from his point of view, he’s just getting started.