Major Lazer Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do
Baile funk, Baltimore club, fidget house, kuduro, M.I.A., Santigold…these are just some of the sounds […]
Baile funk, Baltimore club, fidget house, kuduro, M.I.A., Santigold…these are just some of the sounds and artists that Diplo and Switch have championed in recent years. While the two super-producers certainly haven’t acted alone, they are the de facto leaders of the “global bass” movement. On Guns Don’t Kill People, the duo has teamed up to tackle yet another third-world sound—dancehall. Recorded in Jamaica with a slew of a-list MCs, the album is an up-and-down affair that sounds like, well, Diplo and Switch making dancehall. While pot anthem “Mary Jane” is a juvenile misfire, digital bangers like “When You Hear the Bassline” and especially “Pon De Floor” (feat. Vybz Kartel) properly rave up the proceedings. The dulcet tones of Mr. Vegas and Jovi Rockwell sweetly color the chilled reggae of “Can’t Stop Now,” and the riddim fashioned from an AutoTuned crying infant on “Baby” is pretty undeniable.