Diplo

Diplo is a father to four children. He shares two sons, Lockett and Lazer, with Kathryn Lockhart, and a third son, Pace, with model Jevon King. He also has a daughter.

Outside of music, he is an avid sports enthusiast. He supports the United States men's national soccer team and purchased a minority ownership stake in the USL Championship soccer club Phoenix Rising FC in January 2016. He is also a regular supporter of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team.

Thomas Wesley Pentz was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, to Barbara Jean Cox and Thomas Pentz. Although born in Mississippi, he spent the majority of his youth in Miami, Florida, where he developed a passion for the region's distinctive Miami bass sound. He initially planned to pursue paleontology, inspired by a childhood fascination with dinosaurs that later led to his stage name, Diplo, derived from Diplodocus.

He began his collegiate studies at the University of Central Florida in 1997, working as a DJ at Rollins College radio station WPRK. He subsequently moved to Philadelphia and completed his undergraduate studies in film at Temple University in 2003. While in Philadelphia, he supported himself through jobs including social work and after-school mentoring while building his reputation as a club DJ. At age 20, he took an extended trip across India on a used motorcycle, collecting vinyl records and listening to traditional sitar and tabla performances.

In 2003, Diplo teamed up with fellow DJ Low Budget to host a series of parties in Philadelphia under the name Hooked on Hollertronix. The events gained nationwide attention for blending contrasting musical styles, and their collaborative mixtape Never Scared was named one of the top albums of 2003 by The New York Times. The success of these parties enabled Diplo to establish The Mausoleum, a multi-use recording studio, gallery, and production space in Philadelphia. In 2004, he released his solo debut album, Florida, through the Ninja Tune imprint Big Dada Records.

In 2004, British-Sri Lankan artist M.I.A. met Diplo after hearing his club mixes in London. The two entered into a personal and professional relationship, collaborating on the 2004 mixtape Piracy Funds Terrorism Vol. 1. Diplo served as the tour DJ on her 2005 Arular Tour and collaborated with London producer Switch to produce M.I.A.'s 2008 worldwide hit single "Paper Planes", which earned a Grammy Award nomination for Record of the Year and reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100.

During this period, Diplo became fascinated by Brazilian baile funk during visits to Rio de Janeiro, documenting the subculture in the 2008 film Favela on Blast and releasing several influential mixtapes. To showcase emerging global sounds, he founded the independent record label Mad Decent in Philadelphia. The label grew to release music from artists such as Santigold, Baauer, Rusko, and Bonde do Rolê, expanding into a worldwide brand known for its annual Mad Decent Block Party tours.

In 2009, Diplo and Switch formed the collaborative electronic dancehall project Major Lazer, traveling to Jamaica to record their debut full-length album, Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do. The album featured vocal contributions from Jamaican artists including Vybz Kartel and Elephant Man, and its track "Pon De Floor" was famously sampled by Beyoncé for her 2011 single "Run the World (Girls)".

After Switch departed the group in 2011, DJs Jillionaire and Walshy Fire joined Diplo to continue the project. Major Lazer achieved global commercial success with their third studio album, Peace Is the Mission (2015). The lead single, "Lean On", created in collaboration with French producer DJ Snake and Danish vocalist MØ, became one of the most streamed songs in digital music history and achieved multi-platinum certifications globally. The group followed up with international hits including "Cold Water", featuring Justin Bieber and MØ, and released their fifth studio album, Music Is the Weapon, in 2020.

In 2013, Diplo formed the electronic music duo Jack Ü alongside producer and DJ Skrillex. Their 2015 collaborative album, Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü, featured the hit single "Where Are Ü Now" with Justin Bieber. At the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, Jack Ü won Best Dance/Electronic Album and Best Dance Recording.

Diplo established additional supergroups in subsequent years. In 2018, he teamed with British producer Mark Ronson to launch Silk City, releasing the worldwide hit "Electricity" featuring Dua Lipa, which won the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in 2019. That same year, he joined Australian singer Sia and British artist Labrinth to form the pop trio LSD, releasing their self-titled debut album in 2019.

Alongside his group ventures, Diplo has produced major records for leading pop, hip-hop, and R&B musicians. In 2016, he produced the tracks "Hold Up" and "All Night" for Beyoncé's critically acclaimed album Lemonade, earning an Album of the Year Grammy nomination.

In 2019, Diplo adopted the country moniker Thomas Wesley to explore country and roots music collaborations, releasing the single "So Long" featuring Cam. He expanded the project into the 2020 album Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley, Chapter 1: Snake Oil, which featured the hit track "Heartless" with Morgan Wallen. He followed with a sequel mini-LP, Chapter 2: Swamp Savant, in 2023.

His solo output has also spanned ambient music with the 2020 album MMXX and a return to house music with his self-titled 2022 studio album, Diplo, which included collaborations with Miguel, Paul Woolford, and Jungle.