Diplo

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Diplo

Background information
Birth name	Wesley Pentz
Born	Mississippi, USA
Genre(s)	Other
Years active	2003-present
Label(s)	Big Dada
Associated acts	M.I.A.
Website	Official site

For the international monthly publication nicknamed Le Diplo, see Le Monde diplomatique and for the British title of the same name see Diplo magazine.

Diplo, Diplodocus, Wes Gully, and Wes Diplo are all pseudonyms of Wesley Pentz, a Philadelphia-based producer and DJ. Together with DJ Low Budget, he runs Hollertronix, a club and music collective. In addition to his solo career, he has worked with British-based singer and artist M.I.A.. The two were also romantically involved. Pentz's alias, short for Diplodocus, derives from his childhood fascination with dinosaurs.

As a DJ, Diplo is characterized by his eclectic, often 80s-oriented mashups, mixtapes, and live sets. On his full-length solo effort, Florida, however, his sound is closer to sample-based cinematic instrumental hip hop, like the work of DJ Shadow.

Born in Mississippi and raised across the southern United States, Diplo picked up much of the local culture while growing up there. Music styles such as dirty south, crunk and Miami bass are now key ingredients of Hollertronix's output. Pentz's solo work is also influenced by Southern Gothic and other southern literature. Additionally, world music is a strong musical influence on Diplo, especially baile funk, which he encountered whilst traveling in Brazil.