Major Lazer is Diplo’s newest project. Collaborating with world renown DJ Switch, he brings the distinct sound of Jamaica’s raggae dancehalls to the USA. Jamaica, however, is merely the latest stop for Diplo on his world tour of musical imperialism. The man is clearly not afraid to try new things. Having established himself as a major DJ figure in Philadelphia, he began pursuing various projects that championed niche world music. In 2004 he produced the Piracy Funds Terrorism mixtape, which featured his Sri Lankan girlfriend, M.I.A. The mixtape featured a global blend of sounds and styles and got him named DJ of the Year by Spin magazine. Following that, he released three albums that showcased the baile funk music of Brazilian youth culture, and this past year he teamed up with DJ Benzi to release Paper Route Gangstaz, an album that showcased the work of a rap crew from Huntsville, Alabama.
Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do is Major Lazer’s first album. On it, Diplo applies his genre bending style to Jamaican Dancehall and the result is thirteen tracks of fast paced, vulgar, booty shaking fun. He and Switch make use of a wide range of samples to color their tracks, such as clip-clopping horse’s hooves, bird calls, surf-rock guitars and an Auto-Tuned baby crying, all of which lend the music an evocative, almost visual element.
Major Lazer kicked off their world tour this past weekend at S.O.B.’s in Tribeca. The venue was packed and people were dancing even before Major Lazer took the stage. In support of their act, Diplo and Switch brought along an MC, tom-tom drummer and two dancers from Jamaica, which made the show a more engaging performance than your typical DJ set. They played through most of the album and mixed in some outside crowd-pleaser tracks. With much of the crowd dancing onstage by the end, it was by far one of the freshest, all around fun shows I’ve been to in a while.
REVIEW OF REVIEWS
Two white boys visit Jamaica to make a reggae record—it sounds like the setup for a joke. But Major Lazer is a legitimately dope project that captures the rush of dancehall, the chilled-out vibe of rocksteady and the cheeseball charm of dance pop.
TRACKLIST
1. Hold The Line [ft. Mr. Lexx and Santigold]
2. When You Hear The Bassline [ft. Ms. Thing]
3. Can’t Stop Now [ft. Mr. Vegas and Jovi Rockwell]
4. Lazer Theme [ft. Future Trouble]
5. Anything Goes [ft. Turbulence]
6. Cash Flow [ft. Jah Dan]
7. Mary Jane [ft. Mr. Evil and Mapei]
8. Bruk Out [ft. T.O.K. and Ms. Thing]
9. What U Like [ft. Amanda Blank and Einstein]
10. Keep It Goin’ Louder [ft. Nina Sky and Ricky Blaze]
11. Pon De Floor [ft. Vybz Kartel]
12. Baby [ft. Prince Zimboo]
13. Jump Up [ft. Leftside and Supahype] (co-produced by Crookers)
VIDEOS
