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Major Lazer
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Major Lazer is an American dance and DJ group built around the producer Diplo. Diplo and Switch founded the project in 2008, after getting to know each other through their work for M.I.A. In 2011 Switch left. Later Jillionaire and Walshy Fire joined, then Ape Drums, and in 2025 the singer America Foster joined the group. Their music blends reggae, dancehall, reggaeton, soca, house and moombahton.
Music and breakthrough
The debut album Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do was released in 2009 and was recorded in Jamaica, at the Tuff Gong Studios. Guest vocalists included Santigold, Vybz Kartel, Mr. Vegas and M.I.A. The first single was Hold the Line. Free the Universe followed in 2013, Peace Is the Mission in 2015 and Music Is the Weapon in 2020, plus EPs such as Apocalypse Soon with Pharrell Williams and Sean Paul and Know No Better with Camila Cabello, Quavo, Travis Scott and J Balvin. Major Lazer also produced Reincarnated, Snoop Dogg's reggae album under the name Snoop Lion. In 2018 Billboard put the group at number five on its Dance 100.
Influence
The sound is dance music with a Caribbean soul: heavy bass, dancehall rhythms and many guest vocalists. With tracks such as Lean On, on which MØ sings, Major Lazer made reggae and dancehall part of global electronic pop.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 2009Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do
- 2013Free the Universe
- 2015Peace Is the Mission
- 2017Give Me Future (Music From & Inspired by the Film) (soundtrack)
- 2020Music Is the Weapon
- 2023Piano Republik
Mentioned in other articles
- Moombahton Genre
In 2015 Major Lazer took the sound into the charts with Lean On.