Major Lazer and the Caribbean Flavor
Matthew Monteith- Jul 21, 2017
- 2 min read
Comprised of Diplo (left), Walshy Fire (center) and Jillionaire (right), Major Lazer is currently one of the most sought after groups in electronic music. Although Diplo is the star, Walshy Fire and Jillionaire are both renowned DJs in their own rights as all 3 artists have successful projects on their own.
Major Lazer themselves say "they want to blur the lines between genres" and as a Jamaican myself, I absolutely love their Caribbean infused beats (soca, dancehall, reggae etc.) It's no stroke of luck that they found this niche for themselves. Jillionaire has Trinidadian decent whereas Walshy fire has...you guessed it.. a Jamaican background. Although Diplo is from Tupelo, Mississipi that doesn't stop him from being an international superstar enamored with Caribbean and African riddims'.
Notable Caribbean artists they've worked with include:
Mavado
Vybz Cartel
Elephant Man
Nyla
Tarrus Riley
Machel Montano and
Popcaan
With regards to their Caribbean influenced songs there's so much to choose from but I specifically want to show these 2 songs. When you hear them you just can't help but get some jerk chicken and wine down!
Major Lazer even recently released a new EP called Know No Better and they go even further than their typical Caribbean flavor and throw in some Portuguese and Spanish.
Their live performances also bring pizazz as they are infamous for closing out big festivals. Like it or not they've started to take crowd interaction to a whole new level by trying to include the crowd in almost every song...at EDC 2017 they may have gone a bit overboard.
Major Lazer don't only take inspiration from the Caribbean but they make sure to give back as well. They are helping aspiring Caribbean artists with free studio time by donating whenever their hit Front of the Line is streamed on Spotify.
All I have left to say is that when I see them in a month at Veld I'll 100% be wearing my black, green and gold proudly as I watch Major Lazer demonstrate their true Caribbean flavor!
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