Skrillex and Diplo Spill The Goods During Interview on Hot 97

The Jack U boys took to famed radio spot Hot 97 this week to deliver some exciting news, talk about what to expect from both Diplo and Skrillex in the near future, and generally to just connect with fans on whats going on in the world of dance music’s two biggest taste making, world-dominating superstars. The pair talked about everything from their super group side project that took this year by storm, to their earliest influences, offer high praise to some of their contemporaries, and spill some details on exciting collaborations that are still under the hood.

Between Skrillex and Diplo, multiple collaborations with everyone from Madonna to Usher, Nicki Minaj to A$AP Ferg are all underway; a collection of promising gems to come from the producers’ globetrotting adventures. The OWSLA and Mad Decent head-honchos spent a healthy length of time talking about dance music’s expansive rise in popularity and the natural evolution of how sounds that emanated from Philly, Detroit and New York propelled American dance music forward to where it is now. Skrillex also takes the time to note dance music’s relatively new found diversity, where people and sounds seem to be branching out further by the day. They give love to Fool’s Gold Records heads A-Trak and Nick Catchdubs, Katy Perry, and Riff Raff among many others. Skrill and Diplo had no problem dishing out juicy details on all their various collaborations but when hip-hop legend Nas was brought up as a rumored collaborator, both got really dodgy and deflective. Sonny was quick to shoot the gossip down and deny any record with Nas exists…too quick. Editor’s note: I’m calling bullshit on that. The fan in me is praying really hard that that is bullshit. 

However, the pair’s mission as Jack U, if it wasn’t already clear, is to bridge all the gaps between dance hall dub, hip-hop, and dance music with some fearlessly playful flair. So far, Jack U is unlike anything anyone is making, so its safe to say that Sonny and Wes have their fingers on the industry’s pulse better than any two other producers in the game right now. Clocking over 300 shows apiece per year, with a NYE takeover of Madison Square Garden locked in, Skrillex and Diplo have easily proved themselves to be the hardest working producers in music, and that probably won’t change anytime soon. A handful of Jack U material, as well as a slew of solo material from both Sonny and Wes is all underway, making for one of the interview’s key points, but surprisingly, Skrillex and Diplo’s Hot 97 interview is marked by much more interesting sentiments.

Diplo explains in the interview’s final moments that “authenticity doesn’t matter in music to me,” and that really resonates as the most interesting words shared on the 40-minute radio spot. According to the two biggest players in the game, its all about for the love of what you do. It can be as branded and commercialized as Riff Raff’s ink, or it can be as backwards as a random white dude making some of the most forward-thinking reggae dance hall out there right now. Its all about loving what you do. Preach.

Skrillex and Diplo Spill The Goods During Interview on Hot 97