MAJOR LAZER’S SEMINAL DEBUT ALBUM GUNS DON’T KILL PEOPLE…LAZERS DO TURNS 15

ANNIVERSARY REISSUE—INCLUDING NEW TRACKS FROM THE VAULT—COMING NOVEMBER 15

“NOBODY MOVE” FEATURING VYBZ KARTEL OUT TODAY

October 11, 2024—Major Lazer will celebrate the 15th anniversary of their seminal 2009 debut album, Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do, with a deluxe 15th anniversary edition digital reissue, slated for release November 15. Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do (15th Anniversary Edition) features four bonus tracks, including the rerelease of “Zumbie” with Andy Milonakis and three previously unreleased tracks—“Where’s The Daddy?” with M.I.A., “Pon de Streets” and “Nobody Move” with Vybz Kartel, which debuts today alongside an animated video directed by Ferry Gouw—listen HERE and watch HERE.

The original version of the album will also be repressed on vinyl for the first time in 15 years to celebrate the anniversary, due out November 15—pre-order the 2xLP vinyl reissue HERE.

“If you have a vision, you gotta go with it and that’s what we did with this first album and I loved it,” Diplo says.

“‘Nobody Move’ is a long-lost gem newly unearthed from the Major Lazer vault, so I wanted the video to feel like a newly found VHS tape of an obscure 80’s cartoon T.V. show,” Gouw says. “The tape feels like someone has compiled their favorite moments from the show, a ‘Best Of’ of sorts, except these were recorded over footage of home videos and other T.V. shows and adverts. This video was also an homage to my very first video for Major Lazer for ‘Hold The Line,’ except this time I didn't animate it on tracing paper but worked with the brilliant Andy Baker Studio to bring it to life.”

“Nobody Move” finds Diplo reuniting with Jamaican dancehall legend Vybz Kartel, who is featured on “Pon De Floor,” the iconic breakout single from Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do that served as the framework for Beyoncé’s “Run the World (Girls)” and remains a dance floor staple to this day.

If Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do sounded like nothing else when it was released in 2009, the last 15 years have revealed just how groundbreaking it is. On a sonic level, the then-duo of Diplo and British producer Switch were some of the first to bring dance and pop sounds from the Caribbean into the American mainstream and combine them in surprising and seamless ways with other global influences. Visually, the album’s infamous album art by Ferry Gouw, the bizarre and colorful Eric Wareheim-directed videos and a jaw-dropping live show rounded out the colorful Major Lazer universe. On the whole, Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do signaled a major overhaul of how pop music could sound.

Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do was a point of artistic convergence for 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, reggae and bass-heavy EDM beats, while championing Jamaican artists like Vybz Kartel, T.O.K, Ms. Thing, Turbulence, Mr. Vegas, Mr Lexx and more to create a cohesive and vibrant world for the album. 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.

Major Lazer has gone through many evolutions since 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 in 2010, blowing minds on tour and at festivals across the U.S. and Europe. Following Switch and Skerrit Bwoy’s departure in 2011, the duo was replaced by Jillionaire and Walshy Fire, transforming Major Lazer into the festival-headlining, global-pop kings behind hits like the Diamond-certified “Lean On”—one of the most successful 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. Major Lazer also released 2013’s Free The Universe, 2015’s Peace Is The Mission and 2020’s Music Is The Weapon, which features songs in five languages and collaborations with Nicki Minaj, J Balvin, Marcus Mumford, Khalid, Alessia Cara, Anitta and more.

For more information, please contact Reid Kutrow, Ethan Jacobs or Carla Sacks at Sacks & Co., 212.741.1000.

MAJOR LAZER—GUNS DON’T KILL PEOPLE…
LAZERS DO (15th ANNIVERSARY EDITION)
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 Daddy? feat. M.I.A.
17. Nobody Move feat. Vybz Kartel

Bold = previously unreleased