Artist Spotlight: Diplo

Before Diplo started making moombahton (basically before 2012), I wasn’t really into him as a dj or a producer because I thought he was unoriginal and his music was bland.  However, with the rising popularity of moombahton, trap, dubstep, and other hip-hop inspired EDM genres, Diplo has done a complete 360 and is now amongst one  of my favorite producers.  With his music, each song just feels like gold after gold after gold.  He has progressed so much as an artist that he is now blazing trails for this new wave of music that is hitting the EDM scene.  His remixes are just incredible, the way he manages to break down popular hip-hop songs and add some EDM and moombah flavor to it is genius!  I am so impressed by what he has done that I literally have just been listening to him non-stop.  Originally, from LA, he now routinely travels the globe and has a worldwide following.  He runs the label “Mad Decent” which has also become quite influential on the EDM scene and its really great to watch someone with so much talent and innovation make in impact on music.  I was lucky enough to see him in concert a few months ago and he is quite the entertainer and crowd-pleaser.  At one point he called up as many fans as were able to fit on stage to just uncontrollably twerk to the song “Express Yourself”.  If that isn’t fucking original, then I don’t know what is.  Diplo is the man and I’m just so excited to see what he has in store for EDM fans everywhere and who his next collaborations are going to be with.  As a favor to all of you, I have posted some of his newest and my personal favorite tunes of his, enjoy:

Artist Spotlight: GTA

GTA is a duo that has recently come under my radar as producers with actual talent.  Their “death to genres” attitude has helped them to produce some great music with influences from the hip-hop, salsa, moombahton, trap, and big room genres.  Everything that I’ve heard from them so far is so incredibly dynamic that there is no way to categorize them.  They are literally genre-free and dabble beautifully in everything.  The Miami-based duo consists of Matthew Van Toth and Julio Mejia and they have been blowing the rooftops off venues around America for the past year.  They have managed to get in contact with some of the most popular producers currently in EDM and have produced some wonderful hits.  I love them because they will literally work with all producers and djs and the fact they are so open-minded about creating music has just been a huge turn on for me.  They have such a different sound, that its refreshing for once to finally get a taste of some talent that doesn’t play by the rules and hasn’t been jaded by critics or EDM snobs.  Here are my top 3 favorite tracks from them at the moment: