Cover Feature: Major Lazer

"I don't have time to sit down and produce for a long period of time," he says. But as Major Lazer continues to grow, Diplo has had no choice but to make it a priority above his other projects.

"I've seen us become big – well, we're not that big, but I've seen our records become big," he says. "Until now, Major Lazer was where we'd use the songs that we made that didn't work out for other artists. But to see the records we have on this album go to pop radio made us realise we needed to concentrate on this project. I'm finally gaining a strong vision for it.
I didn't think it would go as far as it's gone."

As his profile has grown, Diplo has worked hard to keep up with the demands of his schedule, and has pared down his social media presence too. He's got in trouble in the past for everything from his use of background art to controversial comments about Taylor Swift and Caitlyn Jenner. "I'm so scared to say anything now," he admits. "If I say something dumb, it goes right to TMZ or becomes a music media thing and people are up my ass for like a month. Snapchat is where you'll find me acting like a dickhead because it's me making fun of myself. We're on the same level with those pop stars now so it's hard to knock them."

But there is another side to the brash Twitter personality. Before he became internationally known, Wes spent his afternoons working at an after-school program in inner city Philadelphia. Introduced by a friend who created the curriculum, he taught reading along with creative endeavors like making movies, screenplays, graffiti art and writing songs.

"I had so many jobs before I got involved in social work," he says. "But every job I ever had before – working at Subway or tearing tickets – I felt like I was working for someone else to get richer. The social work was about making people's lives better instead of making another old person rich. When you think that way, your motivation is different, and you want to do things to help people.