Story courtesy Overtime Media
Don’t look now people, but the ground-breaking, music industry-shaking, world changing trio known as Major Lazer is back and will celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of its game-changing, speaker-detonating 2009 debut album Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do with a deluxe edition reissue set for digital release on November 15, 2024.
The 15th Anniversary Edition of Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do (Mad Decent) contains three previously unreleased tracks, including the new single “Nobody Move” featuring Vybz Kartel (single link – https://maddecent.ffm.to/nobodymove ), “Where’s The Baby?” with M.I.A. and the instrumental “Pon De Streets,” as well as reimagined cover art from Major Lazer visual mastermind Ferry Gouw.
Comprised of Trini DJ/Producer, Chris “Jillionaire” Leacock, Jamaican soundman, Leighton “Walshy Fire” Walsh and American DJ/Producer, Thomas “Diplo” Pentz, Major Lazer at the peak of their success, Major Lazer has been through many evolutions since boldly emerging in 2009. Initially a studio-oriented project, the outfit developed into a live juggernaut with the addition of New York-based dancehall MC Skerrit Bwoy, blowing minds on tour and at festivals across the U.S. and Europe. Following Switch and Skerrit Bwoy’s departure in 2011, the duo were replaced by Jillionaire and Walshy Fire, transforming Major Lazer into the festival-headlining, world-touring, global-pop kings behind hits like the Diamond-certified “Lean On”—one of the most streamed songs of all time—and “Light It Up.” Major Lazer reached its current lineup of Diplo, Walshy Fire and Ape Drums in 2019, most recently issuing 2023’s Piano Republik, a collaborative album with South African amapiano stalwarts Major League Djz. In addition to the digital 15th Anniversary Edition release, which is being remastered by Switch in Dolby Atmos spatial audio for Apple Music, the original version of the album will be repressed on vinyl for the first time, with a release date also slated for Nov. 15.
“Nobody Move,” which was released recently on all DSPs, reunites Major Lazer with Vybz Kartel, the dancehall icon with whom the group previously collaborated on “Pon De Floor,” the light-years-ahead-of-its-time, breakout single from Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do.
The track lyrically references Yellowman’s 1984 dancehall classic “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt” across an ethereal reggae rhythm that recalls the dreamy island haze of 2012’s “Get Free.”
Originally released in June of 2009, Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do was a point of artistic convergence for co-founders, Diplo and Switch, who had spent the previous decade establishing themselves at the cutting edge of sonic experimentation. The duo maximized their global reach when they joined forces, blending effervescent dancehall, dubwise reggae, and bass-heavy electronic beats, anticipating the coming rise of EDM while championing Jamaican artists like Vybz Kartel, T.O.K and Mr. Vegas, alongside indie royalty Santigold and New York dance-pop duo Nina Sky, to create a cohesive and vibrant musical world. This bold experimentation not only set the stage for Major Lazer’s continued global success, but also changed the overall trajectory of popular music by expanding the possibilities of the medium itself.
Album preorder link: https://maddecent.ffm.to/guns15
TRACKLIST
1. Hold The Line (feat. Mr. Lexx & Santigold)
2. When You Hear the Bassline (feat. Ms. Thing)
3. Can’t Stop Now (feat. Mr. Vegas & Jovi Rockwell)
4. Lazer Theme (feat. Future Trouble)
5. Anything Goes (feat. Turbulence)
6. Cash Flow (feat. Blakkamoore)
7. Mary Jane (feat. Mr. Evil & Mapei)
8. Bruk Out (feat. T.O.K & Ms. Thing)
9. What U Like (feat. Amanda Blank & Einstein)
10. Keep It Goin’ Louder (feat. Nina Sky & Ricky Blaze)
11. Pon de Floor (feat. Vybz Kartel)
12. Baby (feat. Prince Zimboo)
13. Jump Up (feat. Leftside & Supahype)
14. Zumbie (feat. Andy Milonakis)
15. Pon de Streets**
16. Where’s The Baby? (feat. MIA)**
17. Nobody Move (feat. Vybz Kartel)**
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