Mustard on the Beat He Created with PATRÓN's Signature Cork Pop (Exclusive)

The idea is a genius marketing ploy: Commission a heavy hitter to produce a beat featuring PATRÓN's signature cork pop of EL ALTO, the brand's fist premium, high-end tequila.

Enter Dijon Isaiah McFarlane, better known as global superstar DJ Mustard.

The 35-year-old Los Angeles native and "Not Like Us" collaborator got the call and told Men's Journal that he found creating the beat, dubbed "The Signature Cork Pop," incredibly interesting. And why wouldn't he? It's such an obvious concept that it's a wonder it took this long to make it happen, given PATRÓN’s deep-rooted ties in the music industry that span more than three decades.

Ask any millennial, and no doubt they can name at least one song with PATRÓN in the lyrics, or have at least spotted the famous bottle in music videos. PATRÓN has been featured in more than 400 songs, transcending genres and an eclectic list of artists -- from Lil Jon and Robin Thicke to Taylor Swift and Jamie Foxx ("Blame it on the 'Trón," he sings). Then there's superstar Becky G, who famously named her dog PATRÓN. Naturally, PATRÓN sponsored her first-ever tour, "Mi Casa, Tu Casa," in 2023.

Some three years ago, Grammy-winning producer and rapper HitBoy collaborated with Offset for "2Live," which was inspired by a trip to the brand's distillery in Jalisco, Mexico, for the launch of EL ALTO.

Next came Mustard, who soon went to work, taking the incredibly imaginative objective a step further: He deduced PATRÓN's entire packaging, unlike anything anyone's ever seen or heard of.

"Once they gave me the things I could make a beat out of, I was like, 'Oh, that sounds pretty interesting,'" Mustard tells Men's Journal. "I did it at my house, and I recorded the cork pop. But a lot of these sounds are me ripping open the plastic off the cork, or the kick is opening the PATRÓN box. It was an interesting task. When I heard it, I was like, 'Oh, yeah, let's do it!' It was fun."

After the concept came together, it was time to rent out UCLA's most iconic building, Royce Hall, built in 1929 and inspired by Milan's Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio. PATRÓN set up shop inside the 1,800-seat auditorium to film Mustard doing what he does best, letting the creative juices flow.

The empty concert hall and its center stage were the perfect setting to capture Mustard's finished product, which soon dropped on PATRÓN's social media channels ahead of the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

The secret behind Mustard becoming a hitmaker that makes him this generation's trend setter? Keeping it simple, a trademark approach he applied for "The Signature Cork Pop."

"I don't like to use a lot of sounds in any of the records that I do," he says. "It was right up my alley to just use those seven different sounds and some of my normal sounds to bring it to life."

Mustard, who became a DJ at just 11 years old, is credited with redefining West Coast hip hop. The once-in-a-generation talent thrust himself into the spotlight in 2011 with Tyga's "Rack City." The hits kept flowing from there, following collaborations with Roddy Rich, YG, and, of course, K.Dot, better known as Kendrick Lamar.

Mustard created the "Not Like Us" beat on April 6, 2024, at approximately 3 p.m. At that point, Mustard says he had been sending Lamar at least five beats a day, hoping that Compton's favorite son would choose one of his beats so they could finally collaborate. Later that night, around midnight, Lamar "hearted" the beat that ultimately became the diss track of all diss tracks. Less than a month later, Lamar dropped "Not Like Us," a rare Lamar bop that united Los Angeles and the West Coast. Much to his surprise, Mustard couldn't believe Lamar echoed the DJ's trademark tag that kicks off every one of his beats, "Mustard on the Beat, Hoe," which originated in 2011 when YG first blurted it out in "I'm Good."

In a way, "Not Like Us" also became the Dodgers' unofficial anthem during their run-up to the 2024 World Series title. So much so, Mustard agreed to DJ the Dodgers' championship festivities at Dodger Stadium, where he blasted "Not Like Us" as the team got paraded onto the field.

But if "Not Like Us" catapulted him to another stratosphere, then his next Kendrick Lamar collaboration, "TV Off," cemented his status as a hitmaker living on his own planet. (He says he's learned to embrace the famous "MUSTAAAAAARD" scream). 

Hit after hit, Mustard continues to be inspired by the simplest of sounds, a kernel that becomes popcorn. He says there are no "Aha" moments because he nerds out on beats every single day, spending nearly 10 hours a day in the studio when he's not working out to maintain his new, slim figure, or hanging out with his wife, Brittany, and their two children.

"A beat is a part of my life just like writing's a part of yours. I could hear something and be like, 'Hmmm, that sounds interesting.' I'm around it all day. And sometimes I'm not inspired by anything," Mustard says. "I just go in the studio, do stuff, and I'll be like, 'Oh, that turned out good, or maybe today's not so good.' I'm not relying on something. I might hear a sample, and I'm like, 'Okay, that'd be nice to chop up.'"

The process is simple: He hears a beat, slows it down, or pitches it up, and sees what tickles his creative mind.

"It's just whatever feels good to me," says Mustard, who admits his drive home rarely features listening to music. "I'll go off of feeling."

It's not lost on Mustard that his success shines a spotlight on his upbringing. He proudly hails from Los Angeles' Baldwin Hills -- the J (if you know, you know), to be exact -- and carries the neighborhood on his back everywhere he goes, including at last year's Super Bowl Halftime Show, where he appeared at the tail end of the show and swagged out to "TV Off." Mustard's whirlwind year also includes realizing a lifelong dream of collaborating with Heinz on a, yes, new mustard twist.

But the success hasn't changed him. When he reflects, it's for a nanosecond, if that.

"Sometimes I'll be like, 'Damn, that s--t just really happened. I don't know, man. I still feel like I'm living it because every day there's something new," he says. "Once you hit it for real, it's the gift that keeps on giving."

That said, Mustard's too busy to dwell on all of his accomplishments. Like anyone driven, it's about what's next.

"I'm super grateful and happy about those things, but I feel like if I keep sitting in that moment, I'm going to stay in that moment," he says. "I'm like, 'Yeah, well, I did the Super Bowl.' What's next? What do we do? I try to stay humble and be like, 'Man, that was some crazy s--t.' Like, that was wild. I gotta keep going so I can do other things that are that big, you know?"

If he reflects, it's on his morning walks when he gets up at 7 a.m. to work out. Like his beats, his celebrations are simple: dinner with the wife and spending time with his kids. He's in bed by 10 p.m. and does it all again the next day, every day.

As for who will lay down bars on "The Signature Cork Pop," it's not exactly a mystery.

"I don't think anybody," Mustard says. "I think that's a PATRÓN exclusive. I don't think anybody's going to rap on it. Maybe one of them PATRÓN employees."

If you're curious about popping a bottle of El Alto, be sure to check out the official cocktail PATRÓN rolled out for the Grammys, "The Golden Record," which was crafted in collaboration with globally acclaimed mixologist Daniel González of Licorería Limantour in Mexico City:

The Golden Record
1.5 oz PATRÓN EL ALTO tequila 
1 oz Prosecco
0.5 oz fino sherry tio pepe
2 oz pear cordial
Dash of bergamot bitters (Scrappy Bitters)
Garnish: 3 slices of red grapes