Love-hate relationship

Mentioning Diplo’s name to your average music fan tends to provoke as many different reactions as the Philly-based DJ has musical influences.

Depending on who you talk to, he’s a bourgeoisie musical imperialist, a seminal mash-up artist, second only to Girl Talk in presently defining the bastard-pop genre, a petulant agitator (according to a certain local alt-weekly) or a philanthropic cultural ambassador to the Third World.

Although his well-publicized feud of last year with Sri Lankan rapper, former lover and mother-to-be M.I.A. has been resolved, he has yet to regain the unanimous praise doled out to him after issuing her debut, the acclaimed mixtape Piracy Funds Terrorism Vol 1.

That time may be sooner upon him then his detractors might think (if they do at all). Lately, his skill has increased exponentially due to two years of heavy touring, and has been reflected in a steady stream of high-profile remixes, most notably of Kanye West and Radiohead.

If nothing else, it has become difficult to fault the man’s work ethic or ear for a good beat. The roster of Mad Decent, the record label he started two years ago, features innovative dance artists, including Santogold, Bonde Do Role and Spank Rock. The coming months will see his debut as a film producer and director in Favela on Blast, a documentary on the titular Brazilian electronica genre and the lives of some of its current stars.

Favela music has been a focal point of Diplo’s career since Piracy, some say to a fault. He does deserve a lion’s share of the credit for bringing the distinctive sound of urban Brazil to the Western world’s attention in his own tracks and in helping Bonde Do Role get American distribution via his label. The film, which is currently undergoing its final stages of editing, is an opportunity for Diplo to share some limelight with the originators and current innovators of the genre.

With the film and a recent album release to boot (Blow Your Head) it would only make sense that Diplo bring his Mad Decent party on the road. Apparently he needs something to do while not updating his blog. And while it would be advisable for Diplo to take a break, on Nov. 1 The Hawthorne Theater will be host to Decent label-mate Boy 8-Bit, tropicalia punks Abe Vigoda, Diplo himself and, according to the promotional graphic, a giant DJing pizza.

Culinary theatrics or not, this visiting performance should be one of the year’s more notable, as Portland plays host to one of this decade’s true originals.

Diplow/ Boy 8-Bit, Abe Vigoda and TelepatheHawthorne Theater8 p.m., Nov. 1 $15, 21-plus