Toppa Top 10: Jillionaire’s 2013 Best of Everything List

Words by Jillionaire—

O.G. LargeUp contributor Jillionaire had quite a year, touring the world with Major Lazer and doubling back across the globe on his own as a DJ. He checks in with his annual “best of everything” list, running through yearly highlights from video shoots in Jamaica to dust-dodging at Burning Man. Read on below, and make sure to check his 2013 Toppa Top 10 Electro-Caribbean Crossover Tunes countdown here.

Did too much stuff this year to be honest. Every day was a new adventure. Went snowmobiling in Aspen, went up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, Ibiza is my new favorite place, and the Baltic Coast in Poland is my second favorite. A lot of private jets, and even more Jeremy Scotts. The biggest Chicken n Beer thus far — Machel Montano and Sean Paul came through, with performances from Dominique Yung Unique, Jovi Rockwell and my bros Walshy Fire and Diplo. Spent my birthday by myself, lost in Buenos Aires. Jimmy Fallon. Our performance at Cannes Film Festival got shot up by some lunatic, but we went on anyway. Took a helicopter from Philly to the Hamptons. Bread and Butter Berlin. Sailing in Stockholm. Disneyland.

10. “Bumaye” video shoot in Jamaica

Major Lazer went down to Jamaica in January to shoot the video for “Bumaye” featuring Busy Signal, Flexican and FS Green. It’s actually the first music video I ever been in, and I got to channel my inner Super Cat circa 1998.

9. Mad Decent Block Parties

The block parties were sort of our North American summer headline tour. It was a real family vibe, playing with local friends in cities all across the US and Canada.

8. Australia Tour + South America and Euro tours back-to-back with Walshy Fire

This year was super busy with Major Lazer shows but I got to squeeze in a couple solo runs as well. It feels good to go out and do your own thing every now and then, from new places like Peru, to old favorites like Buenos Aires and Sydney.

7. Wett Republic Trinidad + Caribbean Boat Tour

Our popularity definitely blew up this year in the Caribbean, based off the success of “Bumaye” and the “Differentology” remix. We did a Caribbean boat tour in January (on an actual boat) kicking off the year in Jamaica, and did a huge show in Trinidad in September.

6. The Dolls – “Summer of 93” (Jillionaire & Richie Beretta Remix) & MNDR – Diamonds (Jillionaire & Phat Deuce Remix)

I didn’t focus on putting out much music this year, but I was looking enough to submit remixes for MNDR and The Dolls. These were both collabo style, with help from Richie Beretta and Phat Deuce. We actually got some originals coming your way next year as well.

5. Differentology

This has to be the biggest tune out of Trinidad since them Andrews Sisters tried to steal Rum n Coca Cola. It’s now in heavy rotation on urban radio across the east coast, and continues to grow. Also check out Bunji’s “It’s A Carnival” produced by Major Lazer and Kubiyashi.

4. Ultra with Sean Paul, Kes, Machel

We did a lotta big festivals this year — see also Glastonbury, SXSW with Snoop Lion, Coachella with 2 Chainz and mainstage at Pukkelpop — and kicked off our season at Ultra. We were lucky enough to have Kes jump on stage and take a palance with us the first week, and Machel and Sean Paul the second week. Check out the Major Lazer and Grandtheft remix of “The Fog” and look out for our Machel collabs next year.

3. The Lollapalooza Interview

Yeah, that.

2. Jetskiing with Chris Blackwell at Golden Eye

Not sure how to describe this. Here is a living legend in his own right, a man who has helped define the entire music business. Decades later, he’s still excited about new artists and new prospects.

1. Burning Man

I was super anxious about going to Burning Man – four days in the desert is not my idea of fun. Rolling up in a tour bus with a trailer full of bikes and supplies definitely makes it easier, though. Forget the misconception that this is some kind of hippie love fest — yeah it’s the most amount of dicks you’ll ever see, but it’s a place where art nerds and tech geeks collide. Come join my camp next year!