Issue 094
November 2012
Dubstep-loving UFC welterweight kickboxer ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson is as serious about his musical tastes as he is about his career
What type of music are you into?
“I basically listen to everything. Growing up, my dad listened to Elvis Presley and all the oldies. In fact, my brother has four or five iPods that are just filled with music. I listen to a lot of rap and dubstep, a lot of positive stuff. I want fast beats, but I also want something that’s going to keep me hopping, That’s why I like dubstep.”
Has your music taste changed as you’ve got older?
“I started out in kickboxing and I had my first fight when I was 15. For my first 20 fights I walked out to Bodies by Drowning Pool. But, when I started in MMA, I started listening to dubstep and that’s when I began walking out to First of the Year by Skrillex.”
Do you have any favorite artists right now?
“Skrillex. A lot of the guys I train with like to listen to metal, so they’ll throw something like Metallica on, and I don’t mind it at all, but my thing is certainly dubstep. I’m really big into Bassnectar, and he comes from my hometown, so I’ve got to show him some support.”
Do you listen to any different genres depending on where you are? Does the music you listen too depend on your environment?
“It depends. I mean, I like rap and I used to listen to old-school gangster rap, but now I like something with a little more beat to it. I’d prefer to listen to it if it was a club mix. It feels more positive. That’s the type of stuff I’ll listen to when I’m in the car.”
You mentioned before that you listen to stuff like Metallica when you’re training because of the guys you train with. What else do you listen to?
“Just stuff like that. We get our iPods and put them on Pandora, which is an online radio station that plays anything you want to hear. So basically it’ll have a station that is listed as metal or dubstep and it’ll just play all day long.”
Clearly you’ve got a love for a number of different genres. Does that mean you change up you walkout song before every fight, or do you like to keep it the same?
“I’m starting to mix things up a little bit. In the past, I’d walk out to the same song and it sort of became a superstition type thing. Now I’m mixing it up a little bit. Some people wanted me to walkout to Wonderboy by Tenacious D, but it’s kind of slow. If someone mixed it up with a beat then I’d be down for that.”
SHUFFLE
HIT SHUFFLE AND NAME THE FIRST FIVE SONGS THAT COME UP. NO CAHEATING
1 Timeflies, iTribute
“I like the beat and I like the fact he’s made a song about someone who has changed the world. The guy didn’t meet Steve Jobs or anything like that. It’s just an artist stepping out there showing his appreciation.”
2 It’s The Dean’s List, Dear Professor
“I like this song because it’s two songs mixed. It was actually a slow song at first, but then it was sped up and this group of rappers called It’s The Dean’s List got on it and made it awesome. I like these new up-and-coming rappers. They’ve got a different feel to them.”
3 Machine Gun Kelly, Half Naked and Almost Famous
“I’m a big fan of Machine Gun Kelly. His style of rapping is so fast and fun. It’s basically the kind of song that really gets me pumped and energized”
4 Cobra Starship featuring Mac Miller, Middle Finger
“I really like the beat on this track, and it’s got a positive vibe to it. It’s definitely a song that I enjoy.”
5 Skrillex,
First of the Year
“He’s really the king of dubstep at the moment. He’s one of the main reasons I got into this genre and this is one of my favorite songs.”
