Music producer Diplo had a busy weekend after hosting a non-socially distanced DJ set at a pre-Super Bowl party in Tampa, Florida, the host city of this year’s Superbowl Champions the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Video footage obtained by TMZ shows Diplo spinning the song “Heartless,” his collaboration with country singer Morgan Wallen, to a crowd of thousands of unmasked people. Wallen was recently dropped from a number of high-profile radio playlists and suspended indefinitely from his record label after a video surfaced of him shouting the N-word.
This party took place at the WTR Tampa Pool, a venue with a capacity of 2,000 people according to Consequence of Sound, which has been hosting Superbowl events all-weekend, with Steve Aoki DJing Friday night. Despite warnings from healthcare experts, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis lifted all COVID-19 restrictions on bars and restaurants last September. Cases in the state spiked last month following the removal of these restrictions.
Although Wallen has since been dropped him from a majority of country music stations across the nation, the performer’s sales have remained strong, increasing 300 percent in the wake of his racial slur incident. He also garnered the number one spot on the Billboard 200 for the fourth week in a row.
“Heartless” was featured on Diplo’s 2020 studio album, Thomas Wesley Chapter 1: Snake Oil, his first venture into country-pop. This record featured established country musicians such as Orville Peck and Thomas Rhett all the way to trap stars such as Young Thug. He has continued releasing country-influenced songs, dropping collaborations with Leon Bridges and Ernest last December.
Photo Credit: Mehreen Rizvi
