Pon de Floor

Album: Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do (2009)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The second single from Major Lazer's first studio album, Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do, this was written by the Major Lazer duo with Dutch producer Afrojack. The vocals were supplied by Jamaican reggae dancehall recording artist Vybz Kartel.
  • The song title is Jamaican dialect translating to "upon the floor," which is where Major Lazer want the people in the club to be.
  • Don't expect Kartel to pop up on any new recordings for a while. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2014 for the murder of his associate Clive 'Lizard' Williams.
  • "Pon" was sampled by Beyoncé on her 2011 single, "Run the World (Girls). Beyoncé's song was produced by then Major Lazer member Switch. The other member of the duo, Diplo, also worked with Beyoncé on the accompanying album, but wasn't credited on "Run The World."
  • It was Beyoncé's sampling of the track which convinced Major Lazer that they could have mainstream radio success without compromising their sound. "'Pon De Floor' was never a big hit, it was kinda underground," Diplo told NME in 2016. "It took two years for somebody else to put it on the radio. It made us think: 'Why are we doing all this stuff for other people and then waiting a year to get sampled? Let's just be trendsetters on the radio.' We realised that no one's got an edge with reggae and dancehall, and it's such a massive undercurrent."
  • The video was directed by Eric Wareheim, one half of the comedy duo Tim and Eric and also the director behind clips for the likes of MGMT, Charli XCX and Flying Lotus.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

A Monster Ate My Red Two: Sesame Street's Greatest Song Spoofs

A Monster Ate My Red Two: Sesame Street's Greatest Song SpoofsSong Writing

When singers started spoofing their own songs on Sesame Street, the results were both educational and hilarious - here are the best of them.

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy TalentSongwriter Interviews

The frontman for one of Canada's most well-known punk rock bands talks about his Eddie Vedder encounter, Billy Talent's new album, and the importance of rock and roll.

Meshell Ndegeocello

Meshell NdegeocelloSongwriter Interviews

Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.

Name the Character in the Song

Name the Character in the SongMusic Quiz

With a few clues (Works at a diner, dreams of running away), can you name the character in the song?

Janis Ian

Janis IanSongwriter Interviews

One of the first successful female singer-songwriters, Janis had her first hit in 1967 at age 15.

Steely Dan

Steely DanFact or Fiction

Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?