Diplo all the while, is in the decidedly charmed position of serving as a conduit between the two camps. As a known experimenter, major artists tap him to help shake things up for the sake of artistry and maintaining cultural relevance.
"If I'm doing something with Madonna, I'm trying to push the envelope," he explains.
And given how uncertain the music industry is at present, there's plenty of opportunity for someone in Diplo's position to do the pushing.
"It's like the wild west right now. We have someone like DJ Snake [of "Turn Down for What"], who's selling more than Mariah Carey's album. He makes music in front of his computer.
He's going triple platinum and Mariah Carey can't even sell 10,000 copies."
