Redfoo Talks New Album, Beyonce, ‘Lights Out’ and Recording with Stevie Wonder

In an exclusive one on one interview with Redfoo, Contrast Magazine gets the LMFAO rapper to spill what he has been up to lately, his take on Beyonce’s Super Bowl peformance and exactly how he gets the creative juices flowing in the studio.

Interview by Michael D. Monroe. Written by Kayla Lambrisky.

We’ll start off with a little background info, for those not in the know. Stefan Kendal Gordy, better known as Redfoo, has brought many talents to the table. Best known for his spot in the groundbreaking duo LMFAO, Redfoo also enjoys dancing, record producing, DJing, and recording American hip hop.

Redfoo not only inspires his fans with his music, he also inspires his fans with his unique sense of style. He encourages his fans to be their own sense of “chic.” With his smile grabbing wardrobe and his killer use of accessories, Redfoo captures your attention and your heart. He encourages his fans to be themselves and follow their own path. Redfoo is definitely a “dance to your own drum beat” kinda guy.

Marking a huge milestone in this party rocker’s solo career, on March 18th, he debuted PARTY ROCK MANSION. Released by his self-founded Party Rock Records, distributed worldwide by Warner Music Group’s ADA. According to Redfoo’s team, “the majority of the tracks were written and produced by Redfoo, who recorded them in his Party Rock Mansion studios in Hollywood.”

Contrast inquires about his most recent single on the album, “Lights Out.” With catchy lyrics that stay stuck in your head all day and a funky dance jam vibe, we are sure you’ll love it! The real question is, is this steamy love track the next great hit for Redfoo? Did he write this track for a special lady? Find out with our one on one interview below!

Contrast Magazine: Tell us about your latest single “Lights Out.” Is there a particular girl this song is about?
Redfoo: It’s about that type of girl, that when you see her, you know she’s drop dead gorgeous. You literally just go lights out and if you need to be on the dancefloor, you dance harder, and if you’re playing a sport, you make sure that you’re winning, cause if the girl’s watching you, you’re going in. I did write this song about a girl that I actually met. So it’s a real story. She just broke my heart right from the start. It really happened and I had to write the song about her, but at the same time she inspired me to be crazy.

CT: Let’s talk about Stevie Wonder. What was it like to work with a legend?
R: It was great, ya know? I grew up with Stevie and I seen him perform at my Dad’s house many times. To finally get to have his genius on one of my songs, was like a dream come true. It was amazing. It was an honor. I was happy that he was on the track. I was just happy he liked it. Yea I like this, this is great. He laid down his part in his own studio and then he sent it back and it was perfect. It was just perfect and so I was like, this it it baby! It was awesome.
CT: What’s your opinion of Beyonce’s performance at the Superbowl? Do you believe she deserves the negative feedback some are giving her?
R: What do I think about her performance? I thought people were saying she saved the show. I haven’t even heard those [negative] stories, but I can say it was a hell of a performance. To me, I just saw somebody dancing and singing. I didn’t read anything into it, but that was me. I didn’t notice it. I just noticed she almost fell one time and she was dancing and it looked pretty impressive. I didn’t know the context going in about anything, I didn’t know what she was dealing with, if anything. So I don’t know about that. I thought it was pretty entertaining. You know cause they had the Pope. Cause it really wasn’t her performance, it was Coldplay’s. They brought her in as a special guest. Kinda like it was Madonna’s Superbowl and she brought in LMFAO as a special guest. It was pretty interesting. That’s all I know about that.

CT: What’s the whole vibe for this album? What message would you like to get out with this album?
R:The vibe of the album is, it’s got some party — it also has some relationship stuff in there, ya know? It’s really… I like to make dance music, but I also like to deal with the stuff that’s going on in my life and around the party. Half of the album, I feel, is when I was in a relationship… I wrote songs like Light’s Out and Where The Sun Goes, but then when I was single, I wrote New Thang and Booty Man and Party Train. So, it’s kinda like two kinda party personalities. It’s interesting. But the message is let’s party — have fun, let’s love each other and let’s get on that party train!

CT: Who would you say has been your inspiration, musically, for your career so far?
R: A lot of the stuff growing up, I would say, is kinda of the inspiration mixed with what always is going down in the club but like, growing up, I’ve always been inspired by Run–D.M.C., Beastie Boys, ya know, a lot of the rap growing up — LL Cool J, A Tribe Called Quest, Redman; all that stuff! And then, musically, I just loved the 80’s, so I love Madonna and, ya know, even Michael Jackson. I mean, Thriller is a big inspiration. I love the Motown stuff.

I think a lot of rock & roll — The last album was 50’s, 60’s rock & roll; I got really into it. I don’t know why. I don’t know why, but I just felt like the world… we haven’t heard that sound in a long time and I felt like that’s a missing sound, so I wanted to bring back the rock & roll and for “Light’s Out,” I kinda brought the rock & roll; the Motown style. So, that really inspired me.

Aviici really inspired me too when he jumped out and kinda said “Okay, I’m gonna do this country mix with EDM.” I really enjoyed that. because it was different.

CT: So, fill us in on what the creative process is like for you in the studio. What inspires your music?
R: I do a lot of voice notes during the day and then I get in the studio and then I’ll lay down a beat and record the voice and I’ll sample it into Ambleton and then I’ll beat a around it and the melodies and I’ll sing it in my phone. This time, for this album, I got [David Boyles], which is my guitarist. On “Lights Out,” that’s all him on the guitar live and me on the piano.

Actually, I played the drums on “Lights Out” with the drum set — it was only one mic! We only used one mic. Ya know, I like to experiment with different sounds and how to recreate those classic sounds with a lot of compression. I have the studio at the house; the Party Rock Mansion. That’s kinda why it’s called the Party Rock Mansion, because everything is at the house.

It took about a month to get the sound right in there because it a new house and we had to we kept moving the speakers around. It was crazy. Booty Man was inspired by the Party Rock Mansion party. I wanted a song that would make the girls twerk and shake their booty and I didn’t have a song on the album like that! Right? So, I had to crate something so the next party, I’ll have a song to play. It was a big hit at the party.

Check out the premiere of “Lights Out” on Fuse, here.
Explicit: iTunes  / Apple Music  / Amazon
Clean: iTunes  / Apple Music  / Amazon

Party Rock Mansion is available now!
Explicit: iTunes  / Apple Music  / Amazo
Clean: iTunes  / Apple Music  / Amazon