American DJ and rapper Redfoo will be performing tonight at Kingdom of Dreams. He tells K Bhardwaj he's a great fan of Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone, and how his father's record label bridged the racial divide with music
What are you looking forward to in IndiaIJ
India is just on a musical high these days and we have a huge fanbase in the country. I’m looking forward to not just performing in India but exploring the country. I’m fascinated by Bollywood, the item songs, the vibrant culture and the beautiful women. Infact I’m a huge fan of Deepika Padukone, Manjeet Ral from Bhangra band RDB and Salman Khan. I’d like to party rock with them. I’m definitely hitting the streets for some local cuisine and clothing. It’s going to be one hell of a party and we are converting the country into a party planet, get ready! The concert is put up by United V Dance.
How do you think the electronics and DJs scene has evolved in the past decadeIJ
I think that people are becoming better at making songs louder and utilising different sounds over wider ranges, so now, sounds literally surround you. It’s a very exciting time in music! There are no rules in dance music. The music scene is definitely playing to our strengths, and it’s nice to see so many acts turning to dance. It’s a new tempo, and new vibe, and I think it was needed to turn our society around.
Any Indian musician, band or even DJ you would like to collaborate withIJ
AR Rahman maybeIJ I’ve heard loads about him. Manjeet Ral who is opening for me since I’ve heard a lot about him from TPain, Snoop and ludacris.
What drew you towards your musicIJ
My dad didn’t want to discipline me because he saw me five times a year and wanted my love, so I never was disciplined as a kid. I was crazy. But I got so much of love. It was the best of both worlds. I grew up privileged on one side, but a normal kid skateboarding on the street on the other. It was the best of both worlds. It was weird. People thought it was a skill that we were, you know, Berry Gordy’s offspring, like it was a talent. I was at Dad’s at Thanksgiving and Christmas and in the summer I’d go to there for a month. So, like, when I saw Michael Jackson for the first time, he was already The Michael Jackson’. Now, some of the other cats, like Rick James, he was around all the time, so Rick James was like a friend. Or with Smokey Robinson, it was like ‘Oh, that’s the guy who plays backgammon with my Dad. Oh, he sings tooIJ’ So Rockwell, my brother, put out the song Somebody’s Watching Me that went Number 2 on the Billboard and he had Michael Jackson singing on it, and they made that in the room next door to where I stayed at my Dad’s house. So they had the drum machines, they had the keyboards. I remember playing with the drum machine and really liking the electronic style. Michael Jackson, Rick James, even Eddie Murphy, because he did stand-up comedy and he did music. lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Run DMC, ll Cool J, Tina Turner, Tina Marie, my brother Rockwell, Eddie Murphy’s song Party All The Time have been influences. My mom made the first Rick James videos and I’d go to the sets. He’d have fireworks and flashy suits at his concerts. He dressed in high-heeled boots, glitter all over, being a funk master. Seeing that when you’re five changes your perspective on what’s normal.
Your dad, Berry Gordy, founded the record label which produced some of the best pop tracks ever made. How do you look at your father’s contribution to industryIJ
My dad founded and presided over the musical empire. He endeavoured to reach across the racial divide with music that could touch all people, regardless of the colour of their skin. Under his tutelage, Motown became a model of black capitalism, pride and self-expression and a repository for some of the greatest talent ever assembled at one company. Motown’s parade of hits revolutionised American popular music. After Motown, black popular music would never again be dismissed as a minority taste. Berry Gordy and his talented cohorts translated a black idiom into the sound of young America. Aesthetically, no less than commercially, Motown’s achievements will likely remain unrivalled.
There are a lot of international musicians and DJs performing in India. How do you look India as a musical destinationIJ
India is definitely growing and a lot of my friends back home just rave a lot about India and its beauty. Specially the women and the food! I’ve been wanting to come to India since almost two years now.
You were wanting to become a stand-up comedian. How does that influence your compositionsIJ
Comedy doesn’t make you take your life too seriously. life’s just a party you need to enjoy. My music is about making the world a funnier and a happier place to live in. I’m guessing a seriousFoo without the Speedos wouldn’t be just fun alright!
What are the tracks you are working on presentlyIJ
Yeah, I’m working on them right now. Hopefully I’ll finish it up by the end of the year. I’m back in lA and I have a couple of dates here and there, but my main focus is to stay in the studio and just make more feel good music. I want to do more of that stuff, more TV, more film, more hosting. I love comedy. I have always been doing sketch comedy since I was a kid because one of my mom’s boyfriends was an Improv comedy guy so we were doing skits all the time growing up. I graduated from Improv Olympic. I used to do stand up comedy. I always love to do that stuff so I just kind of do it, I put my fun character into the music and I do the videos. Being a visual artist is very important to me.