Diplo calls it: “DJs don’t do sh*t; I’m lucky I can produce too”

Every time inthemix has interviewed Diplo, the guy has been drowning in work. When we got on the phone to him in 2011, he had deadlines on a bunch of Major Lazer studio sessions, remixes for Bloody Beetroots and Nero, an album to produce for No Doubt and Usher’s management calling him for a beat. In 2012, he’s somehow managed to be even busier. When R&B/hip hop magazine Vibe interviewed the producer for its September issue cover story this month, they found out all about his full slate. With Major Lazer still under his direction, there’s also music to be made with Pharrell, Azealia Banks and Snoop Dogg (who now prefers the name Snoop Lion after a spiritual awakening in Jamaica) to name a few. In between stints in his Brooklyn studio, Diplo’s still paying the bills as a DJ, but it’s not a pursuit he holds in very high esteem.

“Sometimes I make more money in a weekend than my grandpa made in a year,” he tells Vibe in the interview. “Being a DJ is pretty bullshit. I’m lucky I can produce records, too, because DJs don’t do shit. They just fucking play records. Usher is trained to dance. Justin Bieber had to train 24 hours a day to be a performer. What I do is pretty simple. It’s a good time to be a DJ and make good money, but you definitely can’t have an ego doing this shit because it’s not that cool.” You can read the full feature over at the Vibe website.

As the recent Forbes ‘Electronic Cash Kings’ list proved, there’s enough cash circulating the dance music world to make “just playing records” a lucrative pursuit. However, Diplo agrees the big pay-cheques can’t last. “It’s definitely a bubble. But some people are good at what they do. Skrillex is a bonafide superstar.” Diplo’s of course bringing the Major Lazer roadshow to Australia for Stereosonic this summer, while also DJing on his own at some stops.