Big Show 2020

At a time when the DJ sits firmly at the center of popular culture, A-Trak stands out as MVP, a passionate leader who holds together all facets of the craft. Very few share his mastery of turntablism while also sitting at the forefront of musical innovation, looking keenly to the future with history tucked in his back pocket. A true connector, the DJ (born Alain Macklovitch) hops effortlessly from colossal festival stages to sold-out concert venues and sweaty underground clubs, building links between hip hop and electronic music while watching genre barriers crumble.

After spending years as Kanye West’s tour DJ and consigliere, he founded the celebrated record label Fool’s Gold in 2007 and developed the careers of artists such as Kid Cudi, Danny Brown and Flosstradamus. With its string of releases and events, Fool's Gold broke down bygone rules of the record industry, paving the way for a new wave of independents and helping North American fall in love with festival culture. As a Grammy-nominated producer, A-Trak’s seminal mix of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Heads Will Roll” marked an entire generation’s introduction to dance music. Duck Sauce, his irreverent supergroup with Armand Van Helden, flipped the bird to chart-topping formulas and reached #1 in 12 countries with the ubiquitous "Barbra Streisand", electronic music's first true viral music video. He is just as comfortable churning out soulful house jams with Jamie Lidell (“We All Fall Down”) or Miike Snow’s Andrew Wyatt (“Push”) as he is crafting rap bangers with Quavo & Lil Yachty (“Believe”) or Cam’ron (“Dipsh*ts/Federal Reserve”). The common thread is an inherent funkiness, as well as a consistent sense of tasteful branding and design. That might explain the 3 VMA nominations that he picked up along the way.

Not bad for a kid from Montreal, Canada who was once known as a 90’s turntable prodigy. As a teenager, he won every DJ battle known to man, starting with the 1997 DMC World Championships and holding a record-breaking 5 titles by the time he was 18. Meanwhile, as his older brother Dave morphed into the lead-singing lothario in the acclaimed electro-pop sensation Chromeo, Alain grew from a nerdy teen who created an elaborate scratch notation system to a bona fide style icon and one of the most recognizable figures in the DJ scene. He has appeared in TV campaigns for Adidas, Grey Goose, Mountain Dew and Cadillac and graced the covers of Billboard and Complex.

In a lot of ways, A-Trak created the image of the modern multi-tasking DJ – equal parts maestro and entrepreneur. Now based between New York and Los Angeles, Alain’s interest in the lifestyle of his generation has certainly made its mark. As one of the first blogging DJs, he was also a long-time contributor to the Huffington Post and ran his own travel website for five years (Infinite Legroom). Through Fool’s Gold, he cemented his reputation as a cultural curator: he personally books the label's legendary events – most notably the Day Off series – which are like a knighting ceremony for new talent. Artists like A$AP Rocky, Travis Scott, Action Bronson and Flatbush Zombies all got huge early exposure on his stages. FG also has its own clothing line and a beautiful Brooklyn storefront which doubles as an art gallery. 

A-Trak’s latest endeavor ties the loop around the twenty-plus years of his career: Goldie Awards, a new championship for DJs and producers, one that reflects the evolution of the craft. The battling scene was Trizzy’s stomping ground in his early years, and the task of updating it for the current musical landscape is one that only he can achieve. 

It is the accumulation of all these projects that defines who A-Trak is: someone who cares as deeply about #RealDJing and the lifestyle of his Fool’s Gold audience, as he does about redefining the very role of the DJ and of independent companies.

Thomas Wesley Pentz, better known as Diplo, is one of the most dynamic forces in music today. The Grammy-winning artist is as much an international brand as he is a musician/DJ/producer. Year after year, he’s proven himself to be a ubiquitous cultural figure, consistently bridging high and low, mainstream and underground, with remarkable tact and reverence.

A decade since its inception, Diplo’s original group Major Lazer continues to influence the sound of modern music. Most recently, Diplo’s Major Lazerunveiled “Que Calor,” featuring J Balvin and Dominican dembow pioneer El Alfa, alongside a brand new video to critical acclaim. The new track follows summer release “Make It Hot,” which features Brazilian superstar Anitta from Major Lazer’s forthcoming and highly-anticipated fourth album. This summer Major Lazer was also featured on Beyonce’s The Lion King: The Giftsoundtrack alongside Shatta Wale on “ALREADY”. This all comes off the heels of history making singles “Lean On” and “Cold Water,” which have both surpassed one billion streams on Spotify. Their fourth album is forthcoming.

Earlier this year Diplo unveiled a new country project, Thomas Wesley, and released its first track, “So Long,” featuring Nashville superstar Cam, which Rolling Stone praised as “an impressively graceful dip into country.” The release was followed by a performance at Stagecoach Festival where at the first ever Stagecoach Late Night, he welcomed Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus for the live debut of “Old Town Road,” and promptly shared his remix of the viral hit. Wesley then unveiled a second track called, “Heartless” which was accompanied by a music video featuring Platinum artist, songwriter Morgan Wallen. This was the second of several forthcoming collaborations due to appear on Diplo’s country EP coming later this year.

Simultaneously, Diplo returned to his electronic roots with the deep house-inspired Higher Ground EP, debuted a brand new show at his Coachella headline set, and released the Europa EP for which he hand selected a cast of rising European artists. On his own, the producer continues to discover and collaborate with the most exciting new voices in music including Trippie Redd, Poppy, Bad Bunny and Octavian. As one of pop’s most in-demand producers, Diplo has worked with artists such as Beyoncé -- producing two songs on the Grammy-nominated Lemonade, Justin Bieber, Madonna, Lil Wayne, Bruno Mars, Britney Spears, Wale, Ariana Grande, 2 Chainz, Quavo, Travis Scott, Travis Porter, Usher, Snoop Dogg, Azealia Banks, Die Antwoord, Camila Cabello, Sean Paul, Robyn, AlunaGeorge and many more.

Diplo consistently exercises his collaborative spirit and singular talent for transcending genre and cultural boundaries. With the formation of two new groups, Diplo continues his streak as a global hitmaker -- LSD a psychedelic supergroup with Sia and Labrinth that was streamed nearly one billion times and Silk City, the disco-influenced venture with Mark Ronson. Since the debut of Silk City, the duo has collaborated with Dua Lipa for the Grammy winning house hit “Electricity,” as well as releases with GoldLink, Desiignerand Mapei. 

Diplo’s rise to fame began in 2004 with his critically- acclaimed debut albumFlorida which caught the attention of then-breaking M.I.A., who partnered with Pentz to release the mixtape Piracy Funds Terrorism Vol. 1. and eventually the Grammy-nominated track “Paper Planes” in 2007, which hit #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart and has sold more than three million copies.

In 2005, Diplo founded label/culture lab Mad Decent to lend his globally-recognized voice to the sounds he encounters traveling the world. Mad Decent has gone on to release music from a dynamic range of artists that include Santigold, Omar Souleyman, Gucci Mane, Dillon Francis, Baauer and more. Diplo founded his global dancehall group Major Lazer in 2008 to great critical acclaim. Their 2015 smash hit, “Lean On” with DJ Snake and MØ, became the most streamed song on Spotify of all time and hit more than 1 billion views on YouTube, making it one of the Top 10 most watched music videos ever. The double platinum single “Where Are Ü Now” featuring Justin Bieber from his Jack Ü collaboration with Skrillex has enjoyed similar success and won the group numerous awards including an MTV European Music Awards as well as an American Music Award for Collaboration of the year. Both of Diplo’s 2015 releases-Major Lazer’s Peace Is The Missionand Skrillex and Diplo Present: Jack Ü- topped the Billboard charts for #1 Dance/Electronic Album. As one of pop’s most in-demand producers, Diplo has worked with artists such as Beyoncé -- producing two songs on the Grammy nominated Lemonade, Justin Bieber, Madonna, Lil  Wayne, Bruno  Mars, Britney Spears, Wale, Chris Brown, Ariana Grande, 2 Chainz, Quavo, Travis Scott, Travis Porter, Usher, Snoop Dogg, Azealia Banks, Die Antwoord, Camila Cabello, Sean Paul, Robyn, AlunaGeorge and many more.  His last EP, California, served as Diplo’s first body of work as a solo artist in more than five years, and the latest entry into a catalog that continues to defy genre and convention. Diplo continues to tour the world over, playing 300 shows a year with Major Lazer and under his own moniker, including headlining Mad Decent Block Parties worldwide  and  a  legendary  Vegas  residency.  Recent stops include Pakistan, Brazil, Nepal, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Croatia, China, Mexico, Italy, Korea, Spain, Sweden,   Denmark,   Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Hungary and beyond.