Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP
Diplo photographed in Los Angeles on Nov. 17, 2017.
In the new short documentary chronicling his career, producer Diplo shares some insight into how the music industry has evolved since his 2004 debut.
The standout moment of the 8-minute Florida to California, directed by Kyle DePinna, is when Diplo professes his love for hip-hop: “Hip-hop is everything. Hip-hop is a mashup of so many different things.”
The short is a succinct trip from his beginnings in South Florida to his rise to stardom in Philadelphia to his latest EP, California, named for the state where it was made and where he now works.
Of his 2004 debut album, he reflects: “I don’t think I could have made a feature record back when I made Florida with rappers on it … There wasn’t this open minded feeling in hip-hop yet where anything’s possible. Rappers can do anything they want. They can try things out. They don’t have orders. They’re not constricted to the genre anymore. ”
The six-track California EP was released in March on the producer’s Mad Decent label, with features from MØ, D.R.A.M., Lil Yachty, Desiigner and Santigold. A remix package was released for free on SoundCloud in late June, which also included a rework of the Deadpool 2 soundtrack’s “Welcome to the Party.”
The doc includes footage of Diplo with friends and collaborators, including Justin Bieber, Madonna, Snoop Dogg, Post Malone, M.I.A, French Montana, Steve Aoki, Skrillex and more.
Watch Florida to California here: