One of the side-effects of letting Arular give you a ride for your money is that, inevitably, an interest in tracking down some authentic baile funk will arise. Unfortunately Diplo's own solo piece of work, Florida, has no bearing at all on the sound that he is now almost single-handedly responsible for bringing to notoriety in the U.S. Instead, Florida is lazy, downtempo instrumental hip-hop, reminiscent of DJ Shadow after two Tylenol P.M., a beer, and the results show of American Idol. This isn't to say the entire album is bad; it isn't. For what it is, it's a tightly-knit piece of depth. Unfortunately, the only thing holding much interest after a while on Florida are the vocals... and those are few and far between. Martina Topley Bird turns in a nice piece of work on "Into The Sun," making it the album's only real standout track.

Fear not, however, if and when Florida lets you down. If you find your appetite whet for some nasty, banging, neighbor-bashing, baseball-bat brandishing baile funk, you do have a few options. Diplo has produced a download-only mix tape, Online Piracy Funds Terrorism (available at M.I.A.'s website, www.miauk.com), which provides a good mash-up of a baile funk trainer. Combining Clipse samples with baile beats and M.I.A. vocals, Piracy... is definitely worth the download. For authenticity, however, go with Rio Baile Funk: Favela Booty Beats on Essay Recordings, which is, in essence, the ONLY baile funk compilation you'll really need... unless you're planning to buy an ice pick and brain your neighbor's kids. Featuring baile funk staples like MC Jack E Chocolate's disturbingly catchy "Pavaroty" and the tongue-twisting "Pocotocopo," none of these tracks are in English, most of them are violent, and all of them will wreck your car's stereo system.

Florida
by Diplo
Disc 1:

1. Florida
2. Big Lost
3. Sarah
4. Into the Sun
5. Way More
6. Money Power Respect
7. Diplo Rhythm feat. Sandra Melody, Vybz Cartel & Pantera Os Danadinhos
8. Works
9. Indian Thick Jawns feat. P.E.A.C.E
10. Summer's Gonna Hurt You
11. It's All Part of A Bigger Plan

40 minute Diplo Bonus DVD - System D128 [DVD]