Diplo claims Rihanna and Nicki Minaj turned down his hit ‘Lean On’.
The 36-year-old musician has revealed the original version of the track was a slow, reggae version which was rejected by the superstars before Swedish singer MØ was recruited to provide vocals, which he described as a "blessing in disguise".
He said: "[MØ] sounds better than anybody was going to sound on that record.
"All we want to do is make the records feel like classics, even though they’re feeling progressive and strange to a normal ear."
The DJ said the success of the track, as well as his other hits including ‘Where Are Ü Now’ which he made with Skrillex as Jack Ü, is down to the fact he is always trying to make "crazy" music which will "surprise" people.
He said: "The only motivation is how crazy can we get, how far can we get as a producer, how unique can we make it sound.
"When we think about big records, a lot of producers are thinking of how to make it as standard as possible. I think those days are gone. I think you have to surprise the audience in 2015."
And although he has worked with a flurry of stars during his career including Madonna, Beyonce and Britney Spears, he’s recently been very impressed by rising star Tinashe.
He told TIME Magazine: "She’s also an international act – she tours all through Europe, she goes to Africa, she goes to Asia – and when she performs live, she wants to keep it uptempo.
"We’re giving her records that feel good. She’s beautiful, she can sing really well, she can dance and she lives right by my studio in Burbank, so it’s not hard to track her down. I really want to do more with her – I really believe in her as an artist."
Diplo: Rihanna and Nicki Minaj rejected Lean On
