Diplo Says 2013 Is the ‘Year of Musical Fusion’
Diplo spent Grammy weekend crossing musical genres, from playing with good friend Skrillex at the dubstep DJ’s private party to hitting the hottest parties. “I was at the Cash Money party, went to see Ellie Goulding,” he told Rolling Stone. “To see all these different crews and all the people mingling, it’s awesome.”
For Diplo, it was a hint of things to come: “I think 2013 is going to be all about musical fusion – everybody coming together. All the lines have been crossed the last year, so I’m glad to be part of that,” he said.
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He cites his own upcoming Major Lazer record, Free the Universe, which features Bruno Mars, Wyclef, Tyga and many more, as an example of that musical fusion. Those kinds of collaborations (which also include Shaggy, Santigold and Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig) are possible in 2013 because of the rise of dance music, he said.
“We have a big voice. I think a lot of artists are willing to take a chance on working with us,” he said.
He plans to begin touring in March for Free the Universe. “I’m touring it from SXSW all the way to the end of the record,” he said.
The March kickoff will give him time to recover. “I’m getting surgery tomorrow because I have a meniscus tear from playing basketball,” he told us. He said the injury stemmed from some dirty play. “Don’t ever play at 24-Hour Fitness in Hollywood – everybody is so mean, they just foul you all the time. Some guy was hitting me – I was killing them, scoring on threes and dunking on everybody – and the guy hit me.”
He might have been exaggerating his skills a little: “I can touch the rim, [but] I can’t hold a basketball and touch the rim at the same damn time.”