The New York City media tour has been quite busy for Diplo and Skrillex this week. Hitting non-traditional outlets for dance music disc jockeys — meaning not the blogs, magazines and dance radio — the duo went on different radio and TV stations throughout the day to spread the good word about Skrillex and Diplo. They stopped in at Hot 97 to chat with Ebro Darden on his radio show Ebro in the Morning about a variety of topics including Riff Raff, new music, their roots and more via Do Androids Dance.
It is not often that you see two dance producers/DJs on a hip-hop morning radio show, but Skrillex and Diplo have become big enough to earn that honor. Ebro has been skeptical of Riff Raff, someone who Diplo signed to his label Mad Decent, and they both assure him about the seriousness of Riff Raff and agree he is a quirky, polarizing individual who loves what he does, which is what attracts Diplo to him.
They discuss their roots and how they got into music, talking about past records and how the two of them got things going back where they grew up, in Los Angeles for Skrillex and Philadelphia for Diplo.
When asked how they first met, Diplo makes the observation that Skrillex is probably the best at programming drums — evoking multiple rousing sounds of approval from Ebro, who appreciates the talent Skrillex has not only as a songwriter but also one technically building the songs.
Ebro gets them to talk new music, and they spill the details on a few upcoming collaborations with 2Chainz, A$AP Ferg and Usher while Diplo has something with Nas.
Their media tour took Skrillex into the clutches of Howard Stern, who grilled him in classic Stern fashion, asking him about his dating life and trying to understand the validity of dance music. They also went on BET's 106 & Park, known for rappers coming on and doing signature freestyles.
The duo, now known together as Jack U, will be playing Madison Square Garden on New Year's Eve with A$AP Ferg, Rudimental and Yellow Claw.
