♪ ♪ announcer: from our studios in new york city, this is "charlie rose." charlie: misty copeland is here. last month, she became the first african-american woman to be named principal dancer of the american ballet theater in its 75-year history. the news came a few days after her new york debut in "swan lake." copeland began her ballet training at the unusually late age of 13. in two decades, she overcame numerous obstacles to become a rare pop culture celebrity. here's a look at her recent profile on cbs "60 minutes."

>> misty copeland will tell you, she is never more alive than when she is on stage, on her toes, her athleticism and grace on full display. she can leap through the air. she can spin on a dime. she can make you believe she is by a lake.wan you feel comfortable up there? misty: yes. something happens when you feel that energy and excitement from the audience, and you do, you jump higher than you ever have. it's this really magical thing that happens in those moments. charlie: i am pleased to have misty copeland at this table for the first time. welcome. misty: thank you so much for having me. charlie: are you better because you took the arduous journey that you took to be where you are? are misty: it's hard to say. but you know, i think that because of all the obstacles,

just the way i grew up, my life experiences, i think it has made me fight harder. it has pushed me to be better and not take things for granted. so maybe it has. charlie: is it a lesson in will, a lesson in support, a lesson in belief? what else made it happen? misty: talent? [laughter] misty: yeah, you know, it's so rare to make it. charlie: was a talent to develop, or talent you began with? misty: a combination. charlie: always? misty always. : i don't think i could have made it with four years of training into american ballet theater, one of the top companies in the world. and that is very unusual, and it is because i had a lot of

natural ability and talent. charlie: what does that mean? misty: for a dancer, you send all those years of training as a child, because it has to become so ingrained in your muscle memory, and you have to mold the body to do these things because it has to be second-nature, when you get to the point on stage and you have to become an artist. and i only had two years to do it, so a lot of it was naturally there. my ability to pick up movement. my musicality and utility to pick up movement. charlie: is it more likely you could do it with the body you have than otherwise? somebody else might have wanted it. misty: absolutely. charlie: because of something physical. the same way a great tennis star said, there is something about the way my shoulder works that enables me to serve the way i do. misty: that is something that helped me get there quickly. my body was capable of

supporting itself because of my muscle development that i have naturally, because of the flex ability i had. but it was also a mind connection to my body. you can have the ideal ballet body, but it doesn't mean you will have an understanding and be able to go on stage and perform. there are so many elements come to play at this level. charlie: i was going to ask you, what is the difference between skill and artistry? misty: wow. i think artistry is something that you have to have an innate understanding and ability to come alive on stage, and not every dancer has that. and then, the ability to understand how to become a character and how to portray a character, to be able to read to the top tier. at the metropolitan opera house. then, there is the technique you learn from having good training, from understanding how it works, working clean and strong and being consistent. there are just so many elements. charlie: i am struck by it. it's like, it is in many ways about fundamentals.

you talk about the audience, the art, the skill, the body, the will, power, and all the best instruction you could possibly get, teaching. it's a commendation of those things. but you almost have to approach it as a craft. misty: absolutely. you know, i think that -- charlie: i have to do this, i have to do this, you know -- misty: yes. i think that we are so similar. we're athletes. and we are so similar to athletes that compete and perform at the highest level. but at the same time, our ability to become artists really separates us from that, the sensitivity that you have to have in becoming these characters on stage. it's very detail-oriented, but you also have to allow yourself to be in the moment and take

whatever it is you are getting from the audience. charlie: athletes compete with other people. who are you competing with? misty: definitely with yourself. i think that every time for me when i step onto the stage, it is live. you have to be so focused in that moment. it doesn't matter how many performances you do. and a two-month season every , single time you get on stage, it has to be like it's the first time, because there are people in the audience who have never seen it before. charlie have you ever had to : thought, if i did not have to struggle so much, if there were not so many obstacles, i would have been better sooner? misty: no. i think had i started sooner, i would have been better sooner. i think what really helped me from my background was my ability to use all of those experiences to become an artist. i think that having life

experiences allowed me to have a better understanding of what it is to be a person. at a young age, i think a lot of, athletes, but a lot of dancers, you are in this very kind of secluded atmosphere, and you spend so much time in the studio that you don't really have the experiences a lot of people have. you know, dating and going to parties. you're in the studio, and all of a sudden you get into a professional company. here you go, you are an adult. and it is likehere you go, you are an adult. and you have to become an artist. charlie: do you think you missed something because of that? or has it been such a love affair that nothing else matters? misty: i don't regret one thing. charlie: you don't regret one single minute spent in the studio? misty: not at all. i don't think i could have become the woman that i am today without ballet, without all the experience i have had because of this career. charlie: the woman i am meaning, the person you are? the values you have? misty: everything.

to be as empathetic as i am, as sympathetic. to be as strong and to be as intelligent, to be as though inc., as loving and caring. i don't think i could have become all those things without classical ballet. charley: people also think you are savvy. does that sit comfortably on your shoulder? this you really understand the ballet world, the social media world, the environment you live in. you understand how to master it. misty: that's something i developed because of my experiences in being alone in a ballet company. meaning, i was the only black woman in the company of 80 dancers for a decade. i had to learn different ways of getting my voice heard, of, i think i just had to take a different route. i could not sit back and rely on my talent to get me there. i had to understand how to communicate with my artistic

director, to say what i wanted, to express how much i value my career and respected what i did. and i think that goes a long way when you are looking at how i have approached everything else in my career. and i think that's hard for a lot of dancers to do. we just don't develop those skills when you're in a ballet company. everything is taken care of for you. we are almost treated like students are entire career, you know? so it's not an environment that really nurtures that type of experience. charlie: it's not a normal existence. misty: no. charlie: and you have to make sure that aspect of your own humanity has a chance to grow. misty: right. it just doesn't happen for a lot of people. and i felt if i was going to succeed in the ballet world, in the american ballet theater, i had to make a lot of things happen for me. charlie: you are the principal dancer at the american ballet theater, as good as it gets.

i mean, i assume. have you just begun to develop all that you can be as a dancer? misty: absolutely. i think it was maybe last season that i really started to feel like i had a hold on what it was i was really doing. again, so much came really naturally for me. but there are no shortcuts in ballet. so as much as everything was sort of easy for me to do in terms of movement, there were a lot of holes in my training, in my understanding of what it was to really be a ballerina, and i feel i am just now kind of honing that. and it is exciting. i have so much ahead of me. i have opportunities to do these roles that i am just starting to do for, i don't know, five to 10 more years. charlie: who has had the most

influence on you? misty: raven wilkinson, an african-american former ballet russe in monte carlo. she has just taught me what it is to have just pure heart, and love for what she did, for her ballet career. for ballet. for dance. she comes to all of my performances. i have never once heard her complain about her career, and the things she didn't get to do because she was a black woman. but what she learned from it, and her being in my life. and she said to me when i was promoted that she did not think she would ever see that in her life. charlie: she didn't think she would see it in her lifetime? misty: no. so it just means so much, that we are sharing this together. charlie: i hate to be -- you would think, not just because we

have made enormous strides and , we have a long way to go, we say that every day, but it is because, art is supposed to be a place that recognizes talent. that is what art is about. not color. not anything else. how good are you? [laughter] charlie am i right? : or am i one more naïve person? misty: you know i think that you , have to be extremely gifted to get into an elite international ballet company. charlie: there's a perception. misty: yes. but once you get there, it doesn't matter how gifted you are. it is what you do with the opportunities you have. and it has just been a tough path, because i was the only one. and there had never been an african-american woman to make it to this level in the american ballet theater. charley: so, therefore you feel

, what responsibility? misty: you know, i feel like i have given myself this responsibility. that is to be the voice of so many african-american dancers that did not get the opportunities i have, who did not have a voice, to try and educate a broader audience on what the classical ballet world is, and all those african-american women that came before me and helped create this path for me. charlie: i can imagine, it is a bit for young african-american girls like it was, for -- i saw so many peers in 2008, african-american men and women of age who never thought they would see it, and saw a man, at the congress putting his hand , on the bible.

that is the next president of the united states. they never thought they would see it. that's the way it is for you, and they will see you dance across the stage and say, if misty can do it, i can do it. misty: that's what i hope. that's why i have been so outspoken. i wanted to be that person for those people. and i didn't want it to be about me. i wanted it to be about what i represent, what the future of ballet could hold for so many. ♪

>> a lot of the time, the work i do is it is an idea of how i begin a project with you the next idea. it is sort of like a lot of experimentation.

>> what would you say your work is about? ♪ ♪ misty: it is like his contrast of being extremely wild, but at the same time having to have a sense of control. ivan is there to capture me, and to tame me.

ivan: she is a firebird. but there's something about her. i have never seen anything like it before. what i want to do is touch her. every time i try to do that, she tries to fly away. that's when you see those moments. misty: the great thing about what alexi created with the choreography is that it is a struggle. the choreography is a struggle. the story is a struggle. and so it is like -- that has to be there, so you can't rehearse it to the point, which is what we do as ballet dancers. charlie: that's from a brilliant documentary by rick burns. and it was "firebird." you said at the end -- what did you say at the end? misty: that what we strive for in the studio and work so hard

for is to make it look effortless and easy. and something that was being created with the story "firebird" was that it should look like a struggle. so it was the challenge of not over-rehearsing so it became too effortless. charlie: what is the visualization for you? as a dancer? misty: you mean -- charlie: what are you thinking in your head as you instituted -- execute the moves? are you seeing -- i can relate this to sports only. if you are shooting a basket, your friends. you can literally see it when it leaves your hands, before it leaves your hands, swishing through the net. misty: yes it is similar, but it , doesn't happen in those moments. something that we almost do in preparation, to be able to prepare. you want to visualize what it is you want it to be. but in those moments, the reason

we rehearse over and over again, is so that when you are in those moments you are not thinking about the steps. you are so in it that you are that character, living as that character. charlie: in "swan lake," do you think of yourself as a swan? misty: yes, you have to. i mean, you absolutely -- i think that something for me, it's number one, being an artist and being this characters on stage. it is so much more to me than executing these steps. that's what makes people feel. that's what art is about. it's not coming to see if somebody is going to execute these steps, that i'm sure thousands, millions of people could do. charlie: it's what they do that speaks to your heart. misty: right. and elevates your emotions. misty: yes.

charlie: does body shape make a difference? misty: um, it's definitely one of the requirements when it comes to this art form, that you are supposed to look a certain way. and i think skin color goes along with that. but my belief is that, with my own experience, i had the ideal body when i started ballet, but then i went through puberty and my body completely changed. and i wasn't seen as the ideal ballerina anymore. i think we have the ability to eat in a certain way and do cross training, and with all we know about how to take care of our bodies these days, you can get it to be the shape you want it to be. and i think that's something i have done with my body. charlie: do you know anybody, anybody who you believe has more willpower than you? [laughter] misty: uh, i don't know. [laughter] charlie: you can't imagine anybody? you can't imagine a woman who

willing towho is work harder to mold her body, to practice more to be the best? misty: you know i think that , dancers are rare people. and what we sacrifice and commit to do what we do with our bodies, we give our lives to be a part of this. there are no days you can take off. what i have to say about me personally is that, beyond my career at american ballet theater, and i think what makes me even a more harder worker, is what i do outside my career at abt. and it doesn't mean and taking time off to do these things, like help create a diversity initiative, to be part of the boys and girls club, an ambassador and go and speak to children and write a memoir because i know what my story can , do for summoning people -- that is all over time.

that's because i'm passionate about changing the world of ballet. charlie: changing ballet? misty: yes. charlie: so that it is open to more young african-american girls? misty: minority dancers in or because -- general. charlie: minority, in general. misty: and i think just educating the broader world about what classical ballet is. the beauty in it. what it can do for so many. and i think just in america, people don't know about it. and i think that's why for so many years, they said the art form is dying. charlie: here's what i think. i assume you are enormously popular because of the commercials for under armour. hugely popular. you probably reached a lot more people than you will ever reach the rest of your dancing life. probably. does it give you power? does it give you, misty copeland, you are more than a principal dancer. you are a name.

your image has power? misty: i think the power that it gives me is for people to see me and hear me. and that is what i have -- charlie: and want to see you and here you. misty: right. i have wanted my voice to be heard for so long, and this is a platform. those opportunities to be seen, that's a platform for people to know what it is i am saying and hear it. charlie: and what you have been through. misty: and what i have been through. you said almost with your voice cracking, i want them to know. misty yeah, i think -- : charlie: i want them to know what i have been through. i want them to know what i can represent. misty: yes. i think that it is so important for people to understand that racism still exists, and it exists in the ballet world, and

it's very difficult. and it is as simple as looking at these top ballet companies, and how rare it is to see minority dancers. and i think that abt at this point is really setting the new standard. not with just me, but with the promotion of another filipina woman who was promoted the same day as me. she is, i believe, the filipina first woman to ever be a principal dancer. and i think that abt is really kind of standing up and saying, this is the direction classical ballet should be going. charlie: knowing how you feel so strongly and deeply and passionately and eloquently about this, does anybody say, just dance? misty: yes, absolutely. [laughter] misty: um, you know, i have my days where i don't want to talk. i was trained to be a dancer, and i never liked talking, which is probably why i was drawn to dance. but i think part of my purpose

is not just to be a ballet dancer, but it's too speak about these issues in the classical ballet world. and not everyone's going to agree with me. not everyone's going to understand it, and it's not for everyone. but for those who it's reaching and that it is affecting, and that it is maybe changing their lives those are the people that , it is for. charlie: take a look at this again. this is from rick burns' great documentary, "american ballet theater history." here is misty copeland. ♪ misty: wow. [laughter] misty it's amazing to be : involved in cell of ridding the history of this company. i came to abt when i was 16. i joined the company when i was about 19. the studio company. it has been my dream, from the time i knew what ballet was, to

be a part of this company. because i knew the diversity of it and the diversity of the ballets they do, that we have "theater" in our name, sets us apart from so many companies. ♪ abt is all those things, and always has been. i think it is so diverse. i think also to be a black woman and to be part of it is even more special, and the fact that this is a company that has had african-american women definitely sets that road for me. it made it seem more tangible. i am just so proud to be a part of the company's history, because it is american and represents what america is.

charlie: wow, does part of you think you can fly? [laughter] misty: i think you have to believe that. you have to have an imagination. you have to believe all those things when you are on stage. charlie: back to the question of the pioneer that you are. do you think, and i am asking this almost naïvely, but i am genuinely asking it. when people see you dancing, with all the extraordinary gifts you have, it do you think they see a black woman, or divisively see a brilliant ballerina? misty: i would like to think they see me as a ballerina, as a dancer. but my experiences, the reality of this world, is that there are some people who see me as a black woman up there, or have thought or think that i don't fit in. but i try to be the best dancer and the best artist that i can be. because when it comes down to it, that's what i'm working so hard for, day in and day out. charlie: to be the best dancer. misty: yes. charlie: take a look at this. this is the under armour

commercial that has been viewed more than 8 million times. here it is. ♪ misty: dear candidate. thank you for your application to our ballet academy. unfortunately, you have not been accepted. you lack the right feet, achilles tendon, turnout, torso length, and bust. you have the wrong body for ballet, and at 13, you are too old to be considered. ♪ ♪

charlie: misty, thank you. pleasure to have you here. misty: thank you so much. charlie: congratulations on all that you have done. misty: thank you very much. charlie: we will be right back. stay with us. ♪

♪ charlie: leslie penz and sonny

moore, and to millions of fans around the world, they are better known as diplo and skrillex. they recently combined, creating forces to form a supergroup. here is a look at their single, "take you there," from their new album. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ charlie: i am pleased to have diplo and skrillex at this table for the very first time.

welcome. here's why i'm very happy. it is because i didn't know much about either of you. and then the more i read, the , more i learned, the more i was excited to have you here. let me just begin with this. do you think of yourselves as musicians, or something else? sonny: it is a combination of being musicians. i came from singing in bands, playing guitar, piano. aher instruments, but it is combination of being an artist and someone who creates things and brings people together to produce it. wesley: in 2015, you have to have one foot in creating music, and also in the creation of the media around the music and the way your show is put together. i am not a musician per se, but i create music now, and i learned how to play music on my own, and i think it is bigger than just playing a guitar and putting some thing together. you have to create an

when you maked something electronic like this, it is more complex than just laying down some chords. charlie: it is a huge, $6.9 billion a year -- sonny: it was the timing. the fact that, you know the , internet, being able to share media happened at the same time when computers and music programs were so accessible to people like us who were younger, coming in through music, and coming through a band i found it , easier to express myself fully through the computer. it is a one-stop shop. you upload your stuff. music videos are all made by us and pictures. wesley: the distribution chain is broken. it used to be you had a band, you had to get your band together, find friends who like to make music, write songs together, find a garage and rehearse for weeks and weeks, find somebody to borrow money or use a studio to record a record, shop your demo to a label, maybe find a label, maybe do a another

record that they want to promote. that was like a two-year process. now, it is diy. now, i can literally get on my laptop, make a song, put it on youtube or sound cloud, and reach you in a couple hours, and that record can be catapulted to something on the radio. the labels still do the same thing, creating bands, but we are in a different world, and we do it very grassroots. we are disturbing it ourselves. sonny: the renaissance of all art has become really digitized with computers and cell phones. like people, who, you know, edit on instagram that gives normal , people the outlet to be creative, and that can go deeper into music and editing, people and young people that are making art in general. charlie: but it also has huge energy. wesley: yeah. sonny: it comes from it being a youthful movement. every year that goes by, the you know, likeevery year that goes by, the producers that are getting, not even getting signed, but becoming popular and making a living, are becoming younger and younger.

wesley: as producers, we don't have bands. our job is inside the computer, inside the speakers to make the most loudest and craziest, the next, the biggest, something you have not heard before. it is like our goal to always be progressive and make some thing brand-new and something fresh. sonny: also to bring people together. especially with what we do, it's all about taking things that should not make sense and making them make sense, like it is getting justin bieber on a record, when traditionally dance music you would not have something like that. charlie: let's talk about forming the band. whose idea? wesley: we are peers. i moved to l.a. six years ago, and he was one of the only producers i knew of, and he was just starting out as well. forming the band. whose idea?about five years ago.

we became really good friends. we were always outsiders in this dance world and the producer world, and we decided to create something together. and it was real special, because we have really strong quality control. it is not good enough until it is good enough for both of us, and that takes a lot of work. charlie: is it a long time? or does it happen over -- wesley: the record you played the video of, we recorded that in three hours one night in a hotel room, and then it took us another month to make the song sound the way it did. sometimes it might take a year to mix the record and produce it properly, even if it takes one night to write it. charlie: it's extraordinary, for two people who are really good to come together. you would think. ultimately, what you have is people who are good, and then they split and you guys came , together. as competitors almost. sonny: just like when you have two people, good or bad we , respect each other so much and have that quality control.

charlie: and complement each other? are individual projects, they are just so forward-thinking. we both try to push the envelope. jack u takes it to the next level. also we have no rules other than , that we make good music. wesley: electronic music is collaborative. so with me and him i am always , mixing music with people you would not expect, a rapper, a rock star, country music. someone who does pop, and me and him we are working with , different voice. we are not singers, per se. even though he is singing on our new album, we are always looking to make things you have not heard before, things that are unexpected. with that justin bieber record -- charlie: how did that collaboration take place? wesley: we met bieber at a club. i have become friends with him for years in l.a. we met him at a club and said, we have this project, give us a

vocal, we will make this crazy. i promise you. now we spent about two months at his house on headphones at a table just like this, playing around with that until we had some ideas, and then we had a spark and we took it to the , finish line. charlie: take a look at this. here it is. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ sonny: it was a cool concept. because what we did is we just shot justin bieber dancing and performing in a very simple background, then took all of the stills from the video and opened an art gallery in l.a., and invited fans, haters, artists, to draw whatever they wanted to on justin bieber. and if you go on youtube, with the stills, you see everything from compliments to "false god, illuminati," anything anyone wanted to say. wesley: really political messages. it was 1000 stills. it was fan-made, the video. our album is so collaborative. like i was saying before, like the video, and to use justin bieber's voice for something that personified what it is to be justin bieber as a piece of art himself, you know, like doing graffiti on him.

charlie: you two are 300 shows a year? wesley: about that. about 300 shows. this weekend, me and him collectively probably did 15 shows between thursday and sunday. charlie: all in new york. wesley: four in new york, three in new york, three in philly. he did las vegas, new york, philly, vancouver, somewhere else. charlie: sometimes the audiences are as big as 100,000 people. wesley: yeah. a couple times. charlie: where was that? wesley: québec city, we played for 100,000 people. last week, we played for 60,000 people on our stage in l.a. charlie: how are you changing? how do you change? how is what you do growing, other than the size of it? what is the driving force behind change? sonny: i think, back when we first started, there was a dj scene but i didn't come in as a dj.

i was an outsider. we were outsiders, doing it our own way. we were not trying to go with how things were going. so i think in the beginning, nobody considers musicians, not like we cared, but getting a lot of respect from artists. it's easier to collaborate. a lot of people even five years ago when we first started breaking into the scene, a lot of these credible people who are musicians considered us musicians but media and the , outside world didn't. now i think people trust us more. even with radio, we never set out in the beginning to make radio records, but nationally are sound is crossing over. wesley: we never aimed for radio. a lot of producers, the main goal is to get on the radio. you know, sell records. our fan bases will be there regardless. we are making music for our fans. we think of how the kids who come to our shows will like this. we never think, is the radio going to plug this?

is this going to be easy? charlie: how do you measure success? wesley: for me, it's personal. i just want to make great music. i do not care. that i love. i want music to give me dues bumps, when i listen to the record i made. charlie: does that happen often? wesley: it happened when we did the justin bieber record. when we finish this, it was really special. sonny: you know, it's like, when you make a record and play it for the first time in front of an audience. it's a special feeling. dj-ing, we sit up there and we are curating the soundtrack to an amazing live experience for people. even at the festivals. we play festivals with rock bands, rap artists, whatever it is, and what we do is so maximal. so that is that peak moment where, you know, it's all about the live energy of everyone together. you know, and that's what we are curating at that moment. so that's more important than a

song being on the radio. if i have a song on the radio that doesn't connect live, i would rather have it connect live. that is where it comes from the beginning. wesley: the taste of america has changed the last couple years. you used to have to have a machine to put records on the radio. what we are doing. i have a record with major lazer on the radio, released independently, no help from any major label. so it's possible nowadays to put a great song on the radio with the right team, you know? charlie: take me through the process of creating something. wesley: we were recently on tour together in canada. we went to montréal and had a day off for the arcade fire. a friend of mine was there, and we said, hey, let's go meet up with you guys, and we went to his garage and played for 20 minutes. everybody on an instrument. i got the files, and edited down these loops, and i will probably go back to montréal with the lead singer and sonny and record vocals. i texted him, are you in town?

sonny: sometimes we start with and a vocal. three "take you there," that first record, we recorded the vocal and the melody in a hotel room, but it took us a month to figure out what the track would be. that's the whole other side of the process. charlie: there is no precedent for what he is doing and could do? wesley: sonny was a real game changer. in the dj world, because while his production and mixing was really another level above what i hear on the radio he has high , standards for the way he makes me sick sound. he's the first guy who has a rock star presence in the dj world. you know what i am saying? he's from a band, so he can handle himself on stage. a lot of dj's are pretty boring. you know? you kind of need to have a rock star. charlie: is that natural, or does that come from being a musician on stage? you understand movement, you understand presence, you

understand how to relate to an audience. sonny: i guess relating to an audience is not about relating to an audience or trying -- it's about being true to yourself in the moment and not thinking. wesley: are you better in front of a big audience than one on one with people? sonny: yeah, 30 people, i am dj-ing in front of, the more people, it is easier. wesley: he is better when 30 people are watching him than when he is by himself. the ideas do not flow as much. charlie: you are better with people around you. sonny: yeah. charlie: the more people, the better you are? sonny: when you are playing a show, the energy you get from the stage is indescribable. and it is like just this constant feedback, a cycle. and when you are in the studio with people when you have good energy, people are having fun, it inspires you to continue to go down the right path. if people stop moving, you are not making the right sounds. charlie: what was it like, taking over the garden? madison square garden. sonny: bucket list, check that thing.

charlie: what else is on the bucket list? wesley: do charlie rose. sonny: of course. charlie: musically? sonny: you know what? wesley: it's strange we have people paying attention to this project out of nowhere. like he went to the radio today, and people are expecting another single from us. everything that has happened has happened organically. we have a really strange leverage now over artists to give us some of the best records they have done, and they respect us. but for a long time, like five years we struggled for people to , respect us. charlie: how are you using that? the leverage? wesley: when you are a producer, you are always negotiating. with a popstar, you find out where the comfort level is and how far you can take them in one direction or another. a lot of times, a big star will take up a lot of space, and you only have a little say in the work. but with him and me, with this new record, we did 95% of it, the direction it went. charlie: that has to do with

bieber trusting you? wesley: exactly. exactly. once an artist does that, it takes the record to the other level and gives us confidence to do it again. sonny: a lot of times, people do music for a long time, get to a certain age, and they have families and kids, all this stuff. but like, you know, we are just so inspired and hungry to, like you said, make great songs, make great tracks that some of -- sound like nothing else and push the boundaries. even the justin bieber single, a top 10 record, isn't a pop format the way it is written. you know it's not a traditional , pop song. it is changing the verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge -- we're changing the format. charlie: you have the reputation of being able to spot trends. what does that mean? sonny: you know, we are both kids inside. i mean i'm in my late 20's.

, wesley: i'm in my mid-30's. [laughter] sonny: i mean, we are like kids. we listen to music all the time, just like kids do. we are just into that. and, you know, i think it's weird. because i have talked to a lot of people couple years younger than me. they talk about, i'm old, i'm getting old. the moment you start saying that, you get old. wesley: we have been living on the road for about a decade, both of us. the way we have been touring. i have been moving all over the place. this is inspiring to me. but i think when i say we start trends, we are on the show and on the radio because we are still hanging out with kids were making music we make, you know? underground stuff. we come from an underground sensibility. charley: how old are they? sonny: young kids, even in hip-hop, just music you can't really put a genre on. we make it in our rooms, with

our friends. you know nothing is fancy. , we don't need all these suit people around checking up on us. we make it in our own environment. and have a good time, you know? charlie: what about drugs? this is what "the guardian" wrote. "molly's ascent to the mainstream lexicon has roughly coincided with the ascension of skrilles and the clumsily named electronic dance music to the top of the u.s. dance visit -- music charts." sonny: i think every generation with music -- [laughter] charlie: are you responsible for the ascent of molly? sonny: i am not. because i make music, i don't sell drugs. but, you know, and i don't condone drugs, and i do not use drugs, but the thing is if you , look at the patterns of any era that had music that exploded in youth culture, just because of the ratio of how big it is,

that creates a bigger ratio of drugs. drugs have always been used, disco era, cocaine, obviously you know, like disco era, lsd and obviously marijuana -- there have always been drugs. and like this year, it happened to be molly. you know? i don't know how it happened. before there was skrillex, no matter what "the guardian" wants to say, mdma has been in raves and underground club music since the beginning. so it got bigger out here, so inevitably that culture came along with it. but this sort of events that we play the audiences we reach out , to are so much more vast than what this article talked about. charlie: where do you think you and the music will be in five years? wesley: everything we are doing is growing. i think that we are both real humble. we are so lucky to be doing

this. i never had a job i was able to keep until i started making music. so i'm just happy people are paying attention. i want to make as much as i can. charlie: of all the good things they say about you, what do you appreciate the most? sonny: about what? charlie: about the music, the fame, attention -- about the fans? sonny: you know, there's somebody people coming to the shows. when you talk about something like drug use and the negative side of things, it is still the minority. and like the fact is, we are, i believe we are truly artists. artists like us, our groups, are in a renaissance of how to create art and music through technology and what is happening right now, and that is awesome. that can lead to anything. it can lead to anything. wesley: it changes the way you think about music. there used to be barriers, genres, what you should listen to, what you shouldn't, what the limits are. to change the thoughts about limits, and to change people's

ideas about music, that's important. sonny: i feel we are enabling a lot of people, you know. like i said, when we first started out, we were not considered musicians. there were a lot of people -- charlie: that has changed. sonny: there's been electronic music, obviously, since giorgio moroder and brian eno. doing different things. charlie: when was that? sonny: in the 1970's, 1980's. wesley: french music in the 1960's. but i think electronic music got notoriety with moroder doing music. it completely -- vocal records. electronic music. that was like a breakthrough, and then it evolved into hip-hop, dance music, disco, pop, new wave, industrial music. all of the way up to us, and we are like a culmination of everything that happened before. we are just like another filter that comes out. charlie: the easier you can make it for the audience to find it, the better off you will be. that's the keyword. wesley: that's why we are here today. we have always rode that wave. you know? and if we fought it, we would

still be in our studios complaining. sonny: one thing i am kind of bummed about, we distribute through major labels, because they all made the songs on soundcloud be taken down and limited to clips and short previews. we are some of the biggest people on soundcloud, with the most followers, and that is a huge asset to our business of how people listen to our music, and there are kids who only go to soundcloud, who won't even go on spotify. that's how they listen to music. what that does is it eliminates a big asset, and it is cutting off your music to an audience that would potentially come to your shows and be fans. there's definitely a lot of controversy. i almost wish it was up to the person who owns the art at the end of the day.

in the way they wanted to be heard. charlie: are you happiest in front of a large crowd, at one with them and the music? sonny: both large and small, we are happiest. just connecting with people. like he said you make a song, it , gives you the chills, you feel it, and you get the experience of being heard in a different way in front of people and see how it creates energy in the room. it's a special feeling. i think just for the audience almost as much as us. , wesley: i'm just lucky i can make a living creating, you know? i'm just happy to do that an share it with people. i feel like my family could never believe i could make a living off of creating something, you know? charlie: my father wouldn't believe i could make a living sitting at a table talking, either. [laughter] charlie: and it is not a bad living either, is it? thank you. sonny: a pleasure. wesley: appreciate it. charlie: thank you for joining us. see you next time. ♪ rishaad: it is the 27th of

august. this is "trending business." here is a look at what we are watching. strict interrupted. the shanghai composite snapping five days of losses. the pboc is pumping more cash into the system. shares jumping for china's biggest energy explorer, despite a slump in profits.

and keeping the faith, the boj governor striking the tone in new york. telling the audience not to be too pessimistic about china. the jakarta session is about to get underway. let's have a look at what is going on. some green for a change. david: let's hope the momentum continues. 1.5% yesterday. of green in terms of prices and volume. asia-pacific, the same as yesterday. put those things together, we are looking at 3.5 percent increase. but do not get too excited.