LMFAO in Scene Magazine

Rockin’ the party

by Mike Thiel

Raise your glasses to everyone’s favorite internet acronym and now the West Coast’s hottest electro hip-hop duo: LMFAO. Short for “Laughing my (blanking) (blank) Off” (think about it), the group’s two members, Sky Blu and Redfoo, create songs that flood party playlists with high-energy hooks, vibrant content and hard-hitting dance beats. Currently living in Hollywood, California, Blu and Foo (who are actually related) are an unsigned sensation giving fans the perfect musical buzz with no hangover in sight.

The California-born duo expresses an eccentric style, not just through music but through their flashy clothing and amusing behavior. From purple pants to their unofficial hit single, “I’m in Miami B*tch,” LMFAO are known unknowns preparing for the big time. Their five-song EP Party Rock contains their party anthem dedicated to the Magic City, blazing the unforgettable chorus, “Drink all day/Play all night/Let’s get it poppin’/I’m in Miami b*tch.” Though the duo has the ability to release a full-length album, they decided that an EP was the best decision at the current time.

“We want to make the first album really exciting,” said Redfoo. “We want to set it up properly and come out with a big bang. If we’re the chefs and we’re a restaurant, we wanted to give people chips and salsa while they wait for the main course, and some bread and maybe some egg rolls.”

As of now, Party Rock’s Miami anthem has received the most airplay of any LMFAO song. According to the duo, “Yes” is the group’s top song in terms of personal feedback, but “I’m in Miami B*tch” is unquestionably their most popular. Nonetheless, the album’s fifth track, “I Am Not a Wh*re,” is apparently the ultimate banger at their live shows.

“The concept of everybody chanting and the simplicity of “I Am Not a Wh*re” at the shows just kills I think because of the risqué nature of it,” said Redfoo. “That word is just so fun to say. People love saying that word cause I guess…they never get to say it.”

Though it’s hard to beat the good chanting of a unified taboo, some fans have exchanged a shout in the crowd for a personal webcam. In fact, Youtube has seen a growing number of homemade “I Am Not a Wh*re” videos, which usually consists of awkward lip syncing and dancing, while the song blares in the background. Even so, it’s still hard to deny Party Rock’s single as the most powerful song on the EP. Not only is “I’m in Miami B*tch” the lead off LMFAO’s EP, but a remixed version with Pitbull is also the first single off of a Miami compilation album featuring several major label artists.

So how did this energetic duo and their epic anthem truly come to be? It’s as simple as one trip to Miami’s Winter Music Conference.

As said by Redfoo: “When we went down (to Miami) in ’07 (Sky Blu and I) were DJs in Hollywood and we made a mixtape before we left. That’s when we made Miami B*tch. We just imagined what it would be like in Miami. So we wrote about it, and we lived it, you know: drink all day, play all night and just a week of partying with straight non-stop girls, party, more girls, bikinis, drinking, party and we lived a whole week of that. But when we came back to L.A., we still were wearin’ our shorts. It was like 60 degrees and it was gettin’ cold but we still were wearin’ our shorts and people were like ‘Why are you dressed like that?’ and we’d be like ‘I’m in Miami b*tch.’ It became a mind state, so it was really that week in Miami when we were both like ‘This is all I wanna do.’”

After their legendary week in Miami, Blu and Foo decided to put their heads together and do what they had always joked about doing: forming an electro hip-hop group. Their family ties had brought them together in the past by way of each other’s solo projects, but they were about to discover a way to shine brighter than ever, both individually and as a team. And just one year later, on their second annual trip to the Miami Winter Conference, Blu and Foo’s jaws nearly smashed to the floor as their “regular guy” status was forever lost in hurricane country.

Explained Sky Blu: “The next year when we went to the Miami conference (in 2008), a lot of people knew who we were and we had people wearing our shirts everywhere. And last time, nobody knew who we were. Miami’s a milestone, where it all kind of started from.”

And the wild Miami partying syndrome never left Blu and Foo’s system, as LMFAO claims that they party “pretty hard” and are always known to have an after party at their hotel, complete with beer pong, Coronas and other standard party material.

“Different drinks for different situations” said Sky Blu, noting that he and his electro-rapping kin will enjoy some champagne at a nice dinner, Grey Goose and pineapple before a show and some Grey Goose and energy drink if they’re exhausted, representing their other “Miami B*tch” lyric, “I got a Red Bull and vodka up in my hand.” At least they’re true to their words.
LMFAO also claims that the outfits, the hair and the glasses with no lenses is not a façade. They dress that way around the clock.

“Why have a double life where you dress in a suit and then you go out and get crazy? We’re just like, ‘Let’s just do it all the time,’” said Redfoo.

From the sound of it, it’s easy to oversimplify LMFAO, classifying them into the “partying musicians” category, but underneath, these wild music heads are true entrepreneurs.

“We make all our own shirts. We designed our logo. We’re gonna start making some jeans and some jackets. Everything we’re doing, we try to make good decisions so that we don’t regret them,” said Redfoo, citing the group’s recent purchases of a shirt press, vinyl cutter and sewing machine.

LMFAO also creates and records all of their music, including the tedious tasks of mixing and mastering. Creating nearly every track with just a laptop, some high-end plug-ins and a handful of other equipment, LMFAO’s mixes are nothing short of magical.

“A lot of artists in the industry write songs like, ‘Okay we need three more songs,’ and they sit down and try to make the song, but we just live life. We go out every night, get it started and from our experience, things just happen,” said Sky Blu.

Things just happen. And a noticeable homemade essence hovers over each song, revealing not just a party track but a feeling: a feeling that the two have argued to keep while in discussion with major labels.

As Sky Blu and Redfoo went into some deep metaphorical thinking, the two came up with this excerpt: “If we’re the chefs, we’re gonna pick the ingredients and we’re gonna cook it to taste exactly how we want it and we’re gonna sample it along the way. Maybe add a shoe. Then we’re gonna make it just as spicy and then we’re gonna take that and serve our customers up a hot, good meal. We don’t want another chef re-cooking it.”

Fans have enjoyed the group’s “cooking” thus far as LMFAO’s Myspace page receives at least 10,000 plays each day and has exceeded 50,000 plays on several occasions. LMFAO lovers also relentlessly post comments, whether it be to express their love for the duo’s tunes or to declare their laughter after watching one of Blu and Foo’s 50-plus reality show-esque Youtube videos.

“We just love people,” said Redfoo. “Being social is the number one ingredient to a party, so if our brand is partying, then I guess it just makes sense for us to be the life of the party and make people feel at home. Most artists wouldn’t allow a camera or allow a video to come out on such personal stuff, but I guess it’s just personal preference.”

Holding major pop and rock icons as their influences, LMFAO isn’t afraid of the public eye. In fact, they’ve partly made a name for themselves by welcoming it.

“Our goal is to do what we do, be ourselves, make music that we love to make, party and to be household names,” said Redfoo. “Our models are Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna and maybe some of these big bands like Guns ‘N’ Roses. We feel like there is no Michael Jackson of today. Who’s the Michael Jackson? Who’s the Prince?”

As vaguely stated earlier, the group is in talks with two major labels, possibly penning a deal in the near future, potentially providing their dream with one last jumpstart.

“We kind of just dove right into it,” noted Sky Blu. “Whatever happens, I have absolutely no regrets, never thought anything like that. Everyday I just wake up excited to see what we can do next.”

Keeping things lighter than light, when asked what they wished their final quotes to be, Redfoo responded: “In the words of the great Eric D-Lux, don’t judge me…you b*stard,” while Sky Blu replied, “To all the ladies, I’m a human not a sandwich.”

These quotes alone epitomize the goofy, yet admirable attitude these two electro hip-hoppers possess. A picture says a thousand words, but a picture of LMFAO says a million.


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