‘All she has is a bunch of yes men around her and they kinda suck,’ producer tells BlackBook magazine. By Gil Kaufman M.I.A. Photo: Jeff Kravitz/ FilmMagic The last time producer Diplo was quoted talking about M.I.A. ‘s ///Y/\ album, he got caught in an Internet sinkhole when he referred to the noisome disc as a “turd” in joking response to a question from a fan about what sounded like a toilet flushing on the song “Tell Me Why.” He shrugged off that controversy, saying that the many music blogs that quickly headlined his slam of his collaborator’s music were “trippin’.” Diplo has since made a number of controversial remarks about the album and how it represented a breach in the once-close musical relationship he had with M.I.A., implying that he felt a bit locked out this time around. But in a new interview with BlackBook magazine , Diplo pulls no punches, making it very clear that he is not onboard with the sound of the album. “She didn’t care about it. I was in the studio with her, she didn’t write anything,” he said of M.I.A. “Me and [collaborator] Switch tried our best to be quality control of the record and she didn’t want that. She kind of went on her own way … I was like, Look, nobody in your crew — we were the only people she could trust, and our asses were on the line too. We got here because of working with people like her. We care about the way things sound, and when the people that she works with don’t, then it’s f—ed up.” Of course, Diplo was not naming names, and he noted that “she’s got talent in every aspect,” praising M.I.A.’s big ideas and ability to make things happen, but he lamented that the singer may have fallen into the usual trap of surrounding herself with sycophants. “All she has is a bunch of yes men around her and they kinda suck,” he said. “I burned like 20 bridges with her. I build my own bridges, it doesn’t matter. I’m honest. As soon as she comes to terms with what she does then we can work again. One of us has to be like, We f—ed up, and then we can do it again.” Last month, Diplo told MTV UK that M.I.A. “didn’t want to put any of my records on it like last time. She will do anything to discredit me.” And in the BlackBook interview, he added that he was a bit shocked at some of the backlash M.I.A. has gotten over the album. “I am surprised by it,” he said. “She like, retired because she married a dude and she didn’t care about music. She only did it again because ‘Paper Planes’ did blow up in the end. It gave her a second wind, but she didn’t have any hunger anymore. She already got a full table … but besides that I think she’s amazing and she’ll put another record out that’s going to be f—in’ sick because I think she needs to get grounded at some point.” For her part, the outspoken singer seems to have taken the high road and has not shot back at Diplo so far, recently telling MTV News that she’s very proud of the “3-D” sound of the album, saying she likes the aggressive, rattling drill bit effects on tracks like “Steppin’ Up.” Spokespeople for Diplo and M.I.A. could not be reached for comment at press time. What do you think of Diplo’s comments? Tell us below. Related Videos MTV News Extended Play: M.I.A. Related Artists M.I.A.
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M.I.A. ‘Didn’t Care About’ New Album, Diplo Says
