As I’ve mentioned before, I feel guilty about finding Diplo attractive. I know he’s a douchebag. I know he’s arrogant. I know I shouldn’t even think that he’s sexy. But what can I say? I would hate-bang the man so hard. Diplo covers the new issue of Billboard because Billboard named him the “Dance Artist of the Year.” Don’t call Diplo “EDM” though – he doesn’t like it. He thinks EDM is lame. He thinks DJs are lame. He says so in his Billboard cover interview. You can read the full piece here, and here are some highlights:

His success as a producer: “Beyoncé is the only artist I’ve produced for the last year, because it’s more lucrative for us to make our own music now. When we put out a song with Beyoncé, cool, we’ll get a fee, we’ll get some [publishing] splits, but Beyoncé is going to make a billion dollars touring it. If I make a song and it’s my song, like ‘Lean On,’ we’re going to make money off the synchs, the Spotify and we get to headline festivals on it. That’s the model I want to explore.”

Doing shows in Cuba & Pakistan: “In Pakistan, people were in tears. I’m not like the Red Cross, but the kids in Pakistan and Cuba want this. It feels like I’m doing something that’s important — I’m helping them create something that wasn’t there before.”

Growing up in South Florida: “The three things I’d hear were Miami bass, reggae and heavy metal. I still wonder why anyone would listen to any other music.”

He hates the EDM scene: “The DJ world is the corniest f–ing group of people. We’re not celebrities, we’re not famous for any good reason. We’re just … really lame. Besides people like Dillon Francis, who makes fun of the whole thing, or Calvin Harris, it’s a sinking ship. It’s a really lame culture. I’m sad that I’m part of it, but I play the game.”

He worked on Beyonce’s “Hold Up” & “All Night” on Lemonade: “She’s one of the only artists who can culminate a body of work so concisely. Nobody does that anymore.” Like everyone else, Diplo heard his tracks in context for the first time on the HBO special. “I was like, ‘Oh f–, this all makes sense.’ ”

Who he’d love to work with: “I’ve been stalking [country singer] Sam Hunt. I think he can go multiformat in the Taylor Swift way.”

Working with Justin Bieber: “Justin came to Vegas one night when I played ‘Where Are U Now.’ He had just turned 21, and he was like, ‘Yo, man, I want to thank you, because this is the first time I’ve ever had adults clap for me. This is like a big deal.’ You think about that, and yeah, he was kind of like a clown on a pedestal. People just like picked on him…I think it’s hard because Justin wants to be cool. And he’s a music fan. He loves pop music just like he loves rap music. We did like five rap songs you’ll never hear. And if you were 18 or 19, can have any girl you want, have all the money you want? F–, I would be a lot f–ing crazier than him. I mean, I’m 37, and I’m just finally maturing now.”

He loves Bernie Sanders: “If Hillary [Clinton] was the only candidate, I don’t think anyone would care about politics at all. [Donald] Trump is actually exciting in a lot of ways, too. But Bernie Sanders is amazing to me because so many young kids learned about politics [through him]. And it was all because of the Internet. The traditional media never gave Bernie Sanders the time of day. But he went viral the same way hip-hop and new dances go viral. And I’m part of that culture.”

[From Billboard]

What surprised me, reading this piece, was that Diplo actually does have a really good head for business, and he has great gut-level instincts about what will become culturally popular. As for his take on the “sinking ship” of EDM, this is like the fifth reference to the waning popularity of EDM I’ve read in the past two months. If Diplo says EDM is a sinking ship, it probably is. If Diplo says DJs are lame, then they probably are. All I can say for sure is that Beyonce’s “All Night” is one of my favorite songs on Lemonade and now that I know Diplo produced it? Damn. Just another reason for me to hate-bang him.

Photos courtesy of Billboard, WENN.