In raising awareness for single "Take U There" and in preparation for what feels like it will be a massively entertaining New Year's Eve set at Madison Square Garden, Jack U (aka Skrillex and Diplo) went on a massive media tour throughout New York City on Monday. From Skrillex chatting with Howard Stern to Skrillex and Diplo supporting Dougie F and DJ Fire's "Back Up On It" video dropping on BET's 106 and Park, two (not-so) random white guys appeared to be everywhere. However, the most intriguing of moments was when the duo stopped by Hot 97 and appeared on the iconic hip-hop station's morning program.
There's moments like these that appear like two cultural ships attempting to pass quietly in the night but having so much gravitational pull between each other that they collide. When Diplo can be directly quoted from the interview as saying “for me, authenticity doesn’t matter at all in music. To me," it's a clear sign that many things have changed in both music and culture, too. Also of note in the sometimes stilted, yet charming conversation is Ebro Darden associating EDM's core as essentially being the same as rap's core in breakbeats, sampling and synthesized rhythms. Diplo and Skrillex come off as aware, personable and intelligent, with Ebro and Peter Rosenberg appearing genuinely enlightened by the conversation (that's similar to the one the crew had with A-Trak a few months back). The idea that EDM is in many ways a progression of hip-hop culture has been discussed by many (including on this site), but here's a conversation with those active (and respected) in both of these cultures acknowledging what has occurred with the progression of time.
Of course, with Diplo and Skrillex talking, there are a ton of key takeaways regarding not just culture, but actually the music too, and where top-40 and urban mainstream sounds will likely be headed in the next 12 months:
- Diplo has produced a Madonna track featuring Nicki Minaj
- Skrillex namedropping Noisia and the influence of drum & bass in his music
- Skrillex denies a Nas collaboration, but Diplo confirmed that he has a Nas record, featuring "another artist"
- A full-length Jack U album is forthcoming
- Skrillex is on A$AP Ferg’s album, while A$AP Ferg will appear on a Skrillex release, too.
- 2 Chainz, Usher, and other “secret artists" are working with Jack U
- As well, Skrillex explained exactly what he meant about potentially charging $5 million to DJ with Paris Hilton
Overall, this is 40 minutes worth watching as it gives an exacting sense of what a sea-change moment looks and feels like in real life.
