Diplo's 13 Most Bangin' Beats

MadDecent.com

​In case the 2011 BET Awards was not on your Sunday viewing schedule, Mad Decent honcho Diplo deserves some shine off the Best Collaboration trophy for his part in writing/producing Chris Brown's megahit "Look at Me Now" featuring Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne. The antigravity beat brought out career performances from all involved.

Mr. Thomas Wesley Pentz's abilities as a beatsmith have long been cherished among a tighter-knit group of followers, especially after his early successes with M.I.A. -- notably the Piracy Funds Terrorism mixtape, and "Paper Planes," natch. Recently, with the Breezy collabo (which should really be considered a Busta song much better than their last joint effort) and Beyoncé revamping Major Lazer's "Pon de Floor" for "Run the World (Girls)," the mainstream is taking serious notice again.

Even back to mashup work with the Hollertronix crew (Girl Talk might've ripped it off a bit) and his solo album, the marvelous Florida, things were going markedly well. Here is a baker's dozen of the highlights from Diplo's illustrious production career.
13. Diplo - "Newsflash"
An early single (2003!) that kinda sounds like what M.I.A. would eventually glom onto. Definitely some Marble Madness-ish noise bubbling up in the background.


12. Justin Timberlake - "My Love" (Diplo Remix)
Sometimes the best beats come from familiar spots. Surely J.T. had no complaints about getting hooked up with the beat from LCD Soundsystem's "Someone Great," but it's T.I.'s tight flow that really sings with these industrial synths.


11. M.I.A - "Sunshowers" (Diplo Mix)
As you might imagine, there could be an entire list devoted just to Diplo's work with Maya Arulpragasam. This version of "Sunshowers," which showed up on the Piracy Funds Terrorism mixtape, has just the tiniest bit of help from Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It."


10. Bruno Mars & Damian Marley - "Liquor Store Blues"
Possibly the first production on this list to piss off the Diplo purists but still one of the finest moments of Mars' career thus far. Try to keep this pop nugget out of your head.


9. Sleigh Bells - "Tell 'Em" (Diplo Remix)
Yes, the indie rock does work well in Diplo's capable hands. Somehow it's even fiercer than the beastly original. See also: Deerhunter - "Helicopter" (Diplo & Lunice Remix), Brazilian Girls "Good Time" (Diplo remix), MGMT - "Time to Pretend" (Diplo remix), Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Gold Lion" (Diplo remix).