Motivation

'Journalists like to criticize me, but no journalists are in Brazil making music with kids,' said Wesley Pentz in an interview last year. 'They’re sitting in an office in fucking Boston drinking Mountain Dew Code Red.' The man better known as Diplo has never been one to shy away from beefs: when he's not championing baile funk or Jamaican dancehall, he's getting in verbal spats with former squeeze M.I.A. or taking on everyone who hated on his recent collaboration with Beyonce. All of this might risk obscuring the fact that the man whips up one hell of a party – but stick Diplo behind the decks and all else is forgiven. He's in town to play at Towa Tei's regular Motivation gig, with Rip Slyme's DJ Fumiya bringing up the rear.