GoonRock

Last updated

GoonRock
GoonRock.jpg
Background information
Birth nameDavid Jamahl Listenbee
Born (1975-04-18) April 18, 1975 (age 48) [1]
Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.
Origin Trenton, New Jersey
Hollywood, California
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Record producer
  • musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • rapper
Years active2009–present
LabelsParty Rock
Website goonrock.com

David Jamahl Listenbee, better known by his stage name GoonRock, is an American record producer, musician, singer, songwriter and rapper. [1] Raised in Los Angeles, California, [2] early in his career he focused on hip hop and sold beats to artists such as Dr. Dre, Ne-Yo, Kanye West, and Juvenile. [3] He later began incorporating club music. GoonRock co-wrote and co-produced a number of songs on LMFAO's 2011 album Sorry for Party Rocking, including hit singles "Party Rock Anthem" and "Sexy and I Know It." [2]

Contents

In 2013 "Goonrock" co-wrote and produced "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)" for the international blockbuster film The Great Gatsby for Fergie featuring Q-Tip. In 2012 he co-wrote and produced two songs for Jennifer Lopez, including "Clothes Off" and "Goin' In". [4] "Goin' In" peaked at #1 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs for 2012.

In 2015 and 2016 he released a number of singles under his last name "Listenbee". These did not chart in the US or the UK, but had moderate success elsewhere in Europe.

Early history

David Jamahl Listenbee was born in Princeton, New Jersey and raised in nearby Trenton. He lived in Chicago for some years before moving to Los Angeles, California at an early age. He attended junior high school with Redfoo, later of LMFAO, and will.i.am. [2] Early in his career, GoonRock focused largely on hip hop and sold some beats to artists such as Dr. Dre. He at different points produced for Ne-Yo, Music Soulchild, Dr. Dre, Kanye West, and Juvenile. [3] He worked on the Watch the Throne album (Kanye and Jay-Z) specifically the song "Lift Off" featuring Beyoncé. He's also worked with Ryan Tedder.

LMFAO had their first single "I'm in Miami Bitch" on will.i.am's label in 2008, and GoonRock began actively working with the duo in 2009. GoonRock and LMFAO started as hip hop musicians but were highly influenced by the late DJ AM, who introduced them to the house and electro music that they fell in love with such as Justice and the Crookers. [2]

He co-produced, co-wrote, and performed guest vocals on the LMFAO song "We Came Here to Party". [2] In mid-2010, LMFAO and Goonrock were featured in David Guetta's song "Gettin' Over You", which was an international hit, peaking top ten in eleven countries and three of them at number one, including in the United Kingdom. It also peaked 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 12 in Canada. [5]

Sorry for Party Rocking

GoonRock co-produced, co-wrote, and featured in a number of songs on LMFAO's 2010 sophomore album Sorry for Party Rocking . They released the full album on June 17, 2011, in the U.S. [5] It was certified gold in early 2012, at which point it was approaching platinum. [6] [7]

"Party Rock Anthem"

The album's main single, "Party Rock Anthem", was first created by RedFoo of LMFAO and GoonRock. [2] According to GoonRock, he originally wrote the song and the hook for Flo Rida, who passed on the song. RedFoo and GoonRock then changed the beat to "feel more epic, inviting, and fun" and recorded it themselves for LMFAO. [7] "Party Rock Anthem" features British singer Lauren Bennett. Besides co-producing and co-writing the song, GoonRock also sang guest vocals on the song. [5]

Reception

The song was released to DJs on New Year's Eve 2010, and debuted a week later at number 1 in Canada. [2] It was officially released on January 25, 2011, [5] and soon after began climbing the charts in 18 countries. [2] The song spent six consecutive week on the US Billboard Top 100 at #1, and the video, as of December 2016, has over 1.21 billion views. [8] The song also peaked at number-one in [5] Canada, the UK, and over ten other countries, as well as the top ten in many others. [9]

In 2011, the track was the #2 top selling song of 2011 on iTunes in the US, and was the #1 selling song on iTunes in the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden. It was also featured in a number of television commercials and shows, [6] and was performed at the 2012 Super Bowl with Madonna. [8]

"Champagne Showers"

The second single from Sorry for Party Rocking was released on May 27, 2011 and co-written by GoonRock. [7] Titled "Champagne Showers," it features English singer-songwriter Natalia Kills. [9] The song was performed on American Idol in April 2012. [6]

"Sexy and I Know It"

He also co-wrote the third single, "Sexy and I Know It", which was released on October 3, 2011. It reached #1 on the iTunes charts worldwide and #1 on the Australian and Canadian Hot 100. [10] “Sexy and I Know It” also reached #1 in UK, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Austria, Japan and New Zealand, and hit #1 on both Billboard's R&B/Hip Hop Top 100 chart and the Billboard Hot 100 chart. [8]

On April 18, 2012, he won two ASCAP Pop Awards for his work co-writing and producing the tracks "Party Rock Anthem" and "Sexy and I Know It". [8] The awards were for "Most Performed Song." [1] Shortly after, he and LMFAO were nominated for 17 different categories of the 2012 Billboard Music Awards, including Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Duo/Group and Top Pop Artist. [6]

Recent producing

As of late 2011, GoonRock has worked with Far East Movement and remixed a song for Rihanna. It has been reported that GoonRock is recording a new album on which he will write and produce tracks featuring different artists he's an admirer of. GoonRock is quoted as saying, "every beat I do I'm writing lyrics to as I make it. A lot of the times I have a vocal melody in my head and build the beat around it." [3] He has also reportedly been in meetings with Ciara. [11]

Work with Jennifer Lopez

On April 27, 2012 Digital Spy reported that Lopez had recorded two songs produced by GoonRock: "Clothes Off" and "Goin' In". [4] Regarding GoonRock, Lopez was quoted as saying he is "very forward with his sound". [12]

"Goin' In" was co-written by GoonRock, who also produced and mixed the song which speaks of the freedom found in dance. [13] On May 10, GoonRock posted this message on his Twitter account "Crazy day finishing 2012 's Song of the Summer for @jlo and @Official_flo #goinin." [14] The song made its radio premiere on May 24, 2012 on Ryan Seacrest's radio show On Air with Ryan Seacrest . [15] The song is featured on the soundtrack of the dance film Step Up Revolution (2012) and on her first greatest hits album Dance Again... the Hits (2012). Lopez debuted "Goin' In" on the season final of American Idol May 23, 2012. [16] [17] "Goin' In" peaked at #1 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart for 2012.

Initial critical reception to the song was positive. Robbie Daw of the website Idolator claimed that "Goin' In" was the "hardest club track we’ve heard from the J.Lo canon in recent years." [18]

Discography

LMFAO singles

YearSongRoleAlbum
2011"Best Night" (LMFAO featuring will.i.am, GoonRock and Eva Simons)Production, writing, vocals Sorry for Party Rocking
"We Came Here to Party" (LMFAO featuring GoonRock)Featured
"Party Rock Anthem" (LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock)Featured, Production, Writing
"Champagne Showers" (LMFAO featuring Natalia Kills)Production
"Sexy and I Know It" (LMFAO)Production
"One Day" (LMFAO)Writing, Production
"All Night Long" (LMFAO)Writing
"With You" (LMFAO)Production, Writing, Vocals

Listenbee singles

YearSong
2015"Save Me" (Listenbee featuring Naz Tokio)
2015"Nottamun Town"
2016"Until We Go Down" (Listenbee featuring Ruelle)
2017"Children" (Listenbee featuring Cosmos & Creature)

Other singles

YearSongRoleChartPeak
Position
2012"Goin' In"
by
Jennifer Lopez
co-writer
producer
mixer
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [19] 58
Brazil ( Billboard Hot 100) [20] 29
Brazil (Billboard Hot Pop Songs) [21] 12
Canada (Canadian Hot 100) [22] 54
US Dance Club Songs ( Billboard ) [23] 1
Music Video Appearances
YearSongAlbum
2009"Shots" (LMFAO featuring Lil Jon)Party Rock
2011"Party Rock Anthem" (LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock)Sorry for Party Rocking
"Champagne Showers" (LMFAO featuring Natalia Kills)
"Sexy and I Know It" (LMFAO)
2012"Goin' In" (Jennifer Lopez featuring Flo Rida) Dance Again... the Hits

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flo Rida</span> American rapper and singer (born 1979)

Tramar Lacel Dillard, known professionally as Flo Rida, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. His 2007 breakout single "Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital download sales at the time of its release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugar (Flo Rida song)</span> 2009 single by Flo Rida

"Sugar" is a song by American rapper Flo Rida, featuring American singer-songwriter Wynter Gordon. The song's chorus interpolates the song "Blue " by Italian electronic music group Eiffel 65. The song was written by Flo Rida, The Jackie Boyz, Jeffrey Jey, Maurizio Lobina, and Massimo Gabutti, and was produced by DJ Montay for Flo Rida's second album, R.O.O.T.S.. The song was released as the album's third official single in March 2009 as a digital download.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feel It (Three 6 Mafia song)</span> 2009 single by Three 6 Mafia, Sean Kingston and Flo Rida vs. Tiësto

"Feel It" is a song by American hip hop group Three 6 Mafia. It features Tiësto, Sean Kingston and Flo Rida and was produced by Tiësto and DJ Frank E, co-written by Bei Maejor and mixed by Greg Wells. The song was released on December 1, 2009. The song debuted at number 65 on the Canadian Hot 100 and reached number 33 on the next week. The song debuted at number 78 on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Who Dat Girl</span> 2011 single by Flo Rida featuring Akon

"Who Dat Girl" is a song by American rapper Flo Rida. It features American singer Akon. The song was written by Flo Rida, Dr. Luke, Claude Kelly, Benny Blanco, Bruno Mars, and Philip Lawrence, and it was produced by Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco. It was released on January 11, 2011, as the third single from Flo Rida's third studio album, Only One Flo . It peaked at number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Party Rock Anthem</span> 2011 single by LMFAO

"Party Rock Anthem" is a song by American electronic dance music duo LMFAO, featuring singer Lauren Bennett and producer GoonRock. It was released as the first single from their second and final studio album Sorry for Party Rocking in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm Into You</span> 2011 single by Jennifer Lopez

"I'm Into You" is a song recorded by American singer Jennifer Lopez for her seventh studio album Love? (2011). It features American rapper Lil Wayne, who also co-wrote it alongside British singer-songwriter Taio Cruz and Norwegian musicians Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen. The latter two also produced the song, credited as Stargate. A mid-tempo pop and R&B song, it depicts Lopez about being lost in love, while Lil Wayne's verses interject clever wordplay. The song was originally due for release as a promotional single in the US and Canada on April 5, 2011, but was unlocked and released in those markets four days earlier on April 1, 2011, through a campaign on Lopez's Facebook page. The song was later serviced to rhythmic and urban radio on April 26, 2011, as the second single from Love?.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Where Them Girls At</span> 2011 single by David Guetta

"Where Them Girls At" is a song by French DJ and record producer David Guetta featuring American rapper Flo Rida and Trinidadian-born rapper Nicki Minaj. The track was released on 2 May 2011, via Virgin Records, serving as the lead single from Guetta's fifth studio album, Nothing but the Beat. The track was written by the artists alongside Jared Cotter, Play-N-Skillz, Giorgio Tuinfort, and Sandy Vee & Mike Caren, who produced the song with Guetta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexy and I Know It</span> 2011 song by LMFAO

"Sexy and I Know It" is a song by American duo LMFAO from their second and final studio album, Sorry for Party Rocking. It was released as the third single from the album on September 16, 2011. The song was written by Stefan Kendal Gordy, GoonRock, Erin Beck, George M. Robertson and Kenneth Oliver, and it was produced by Party Rock. It went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on January 7, 2012, and remained there for two weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)</span> 2011 single by will.i.am

"T.H.E. " is a song by American rapper will.i.am, featuring vocals from British singer Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones and American singer Jennifer Lopez. The song was released via the iTunes Store on November 20, 2011, just hours after its debut at the American Music Awards. The music video for the song was released on December 12, 2011. The song was intended as the lead single from will.i.am's fourth studio album, #willpower, but it was ultimately omitted from the album.

<i>Wild Ones</i> (Flo Rida album) 2012 studio album by Flo Rida

Wild Ones is the fourth studio album by American rapper Flo Rida. It was released on July 3, 2012. Wild Ones had four Top 10 singles on the US Billboard Hot 100, when the singles, "Good Feeling", "Wild Ones", "Whistle", and "I Cry" charted at three, five, one, and six respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wild Ones (Flo Rida song)</span> 2011 single by Flo Rida

"Wild Ones" is a song by American rapper Flo Rida featuring Australian singer-songwriter Sia from his fourth studio album of the same name (2012). It was by written by the artists alongside Jacob Luttrell, Marcus Cooper, Niklaas Vogel-Kern, and producers soFLY & Nius and Axwell, while the engineering and recording of the record was handled by Skylar Mones. Lyrically, the song contracts themes including partying, love and dancing while the musical composition is an uptempo dance-pop song that is influenced by house music and electro house.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whistle (Flo Rida song)</span> 2012 single by Flo Rida

"Whistle" is a song by American rapper Flo Rida from his fourth album Wild Ones (2012). It was released on April 24, 2012, as the third single from the album. "Whistle" was written by Flo Rida, David Glass, Marcus Killian, Justin Franks, Breyan Isaac and Antonio Mobley while production was handled by DJ Frank E and Glass. Recently, the song blew up when Josh hutcherson, in an edit from 2014 posted by an abandoned YouTube channel sung the song “whistle” with Josh hutcherson photos appearing in the back round. This video would claim over 10 million views on YouTube making this a super popular meme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goin' In</span> 2012 single by Jennifer Lopez featuring Flo Rida

"Goin' In" is a song recorded by American singer Jennifer Lopez. The song features American rappers Flo Rida and Lil Jon, although the latter is uncredited for his part in the song. It was co-written by Joseph Angel, Tramar Dillard, David Quiñones, Sebastian Kole, Michael Warren and Jamahl "GoonRock" Listenbee, who also produced the song. It is featured on the soundtrack of the dance film Step Up: Revolution (2012) and on her first greatest hits album Dance Again... the Hits (2012). This is also the third song from the Step Up series to feature Flo Rida, after "Low" from Step Up 2: The Streets (2008) and "Club Can't Handle Me" from Step Up 3D (2010).

<i>Dance Again... the Hits</i> 2012 greatest hits album by Jennifer Lopez

Dance Again... the Hits is the first greatest hits album of American singer Jennifer Lopez. It was released on July 20, 2012, by Epic Records, to coincide with the launch of her first world tour, the Dance Again World Tour. Lopez previously conceived plans for a greatest hits album in 2009, but instead opted to use the material recorded for her seventh studio album, Love? (2011), which was released by Island Records in May 2011 after her departure from Epic Records in 2010. As Lopez owed the label one last album to fulfill her contract, she began work on a new greatest hits album in November 2011. She later became unsure whether she wanted to go along with plans to release a greatest hits album or a new studio album, eventually deciding on the former.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Cry (Flo Rida song)</span> Song by Flo Rida

"I Cry" is a song by American hip hop artist Flo Rida. The track was first released on June 28, 2012, as the fourth single from his fourth studio album, Wild Ones. The song is based on Bingo Players' "Cry " which uses the chorus lyrics from the song "Piano in the Dark" by Brenda Russell. "I Cry" was produced by the French production duo soFLY & Nius and the Futuristics, and it was written by Flo Rida, The Futuristics, Scott Cutler, Calvin Harris, Jeffrey Hull, Brenda Russell, and soFLY & Nius.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sweet Spot (Flo Rida song)</span> 2013 single by Flo Rida featuring Jennifer Lopez

"Sweet Spot" is a song recorded by American rapper Flo Rida for his fourth studio album Wild Ones (2012). It features guest vocals from American singer Jennifer Lopez. The song was written by Flo Rida, Raphael Judrin, Pierre-Antoine Melki, Breyan Issac and Julie Frost. "Sweet Spot" was produced by SoFly and Nius; Jacob Luttrell produced Flo Rida's vocals for the song, while Kuk Harrell produced Lopez's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Stevens</span> American singer

Josh Stevens is an American singer, record producer, songwriter, audio engineer and music executive, located in Los Angeles. His works are Grammy Award winning, Emmy Award Winning, RIAA Platinum certified, Billboard Award nominated, Juno Award nominated, ARIA Music Awards Platinum certified and twice Superior Hit Product Award winner. He is currently the lead singer and co-executive producer of the super group LS+B alongside legendary hiphop producer Shafiq Husayn & Emmy Winning Composer Ikuma Matsuda. His early career was based around hip-hop and dance working for Warren G, Snoop Dogg, LMFAO, Pitbull, Steve Aoki, Jennifer Lopez, The Game and Clyde Carson. He however found his modern sound in future-funk, pop & indie-rock. As of 2019, he is also the musical voice of Sapporo Beer Chu-Hi 99.99 worldwide commercial campaign. In 2022, he was a music composer and songwriter for Lizzo’s reality show Watch Out For The Big Grrrls which won a Critics Choice Award for Best Competition Series and Emmy Award for Outstanding Competition Program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redfoo discography</span>

The discography of Redfoo, an American rapper, singer and songwriter, consists of two studio albums, eleven singles, five promotional singles, eight music videos and other album appearances. He formed the duo with his nephew Sky Blu in 2006 and they released two studio albums, before going on an indefinite hiatus in 2012. He is the youngest son of Motown Record Corporation founder Berry Gordy, Jr.

Breyan Isaac is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist based in Daytona Beach, Florida. He has written, produced, and performed on songs by a number of artists including, David Guetta, Flo Rida, Pitbull, Wiz Khalifa, Nicki Minaj, Charlie Puth, G-Eazy, Waka Flocka Flame, Lecrae, and others.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Goonrock Wins Two Pop Awards on His Birthday". Female First. April 22, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Shepherd, Julianne Escobedo (August 5, 2011). "LMFAO: The Billboard Cover Story". Billboard . Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 "Interview With Producer GoonRock (Producer of LMFAO PartyRock)". So Let's Talk Music. July 15, 2011. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Jennifer Lopez works with LMFAO producer GoonRock – Music News". Digital Spy. April 27, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Trust, Gary (July 6, 2011). "LMFAO Brings the 'Party' to Top of Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "LMFAO Receives Nominations In 17 Categories For The 2012 Billboard Music... -- SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --". Interscope Records via PR Newswire. April 23, 2012. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 "Our Exclusive Interview with GoonRock". Eva Simons Daily. June 19, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. 1 2 3 4 "GoonRock Wins Big at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards". ShowBiz Junkies. April 18, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  9. 1 2 Singles Release Diary – Music Archived 2012-04-24 at the Wayback Machine . Digital Spy. Retrieved on 2011-10-05.
  10. "LMFAO Live in Malaysia, Philippines & Singapore". mistazam.com. Retrieved April 22, 2011.
  11. "Ciara Working With Goonrock for 5th Album". Ultimate Ciara. January 29, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  12. "Jennifer Lopez Talks About Her New Single "Goin' In"". 925maxima.radio.com. May 28, 2012. Archived from the original on December 16, 2012. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  13. Island Def Jam. "WORLD PREMIERE: Listen to Jennifer Lopez's New Single 'Goin' In' Featuring Flo Rida [AUDIO]| Ryan Seacrest – The official entertainment news site of American Idol host and American Top 40 on air radio personality!". Ryan Seacrest. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  14. "Twitter / GoonRock: Crazy day finishing 2012 '". Twitter.com. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  15. "Jennifer Lopez – Goin' In (feat. Flo Rida) iTunes". Apple, Inc. January 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
  16. "Jennifer Lopez debuts new single 'Goin' In' on 'Idol' – video – American Idol News – Reality TV". Digital Spy. May 24, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  17. Reid, Neil (May 27, 2012). "Request hip-hopping to the top". Stuff.co.nz . Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  18. Daw, Robbie (May 24, 2012). "Jennifer Lopez & Flo Rida Are "Goin' In": Hear The New Song". Idolator . Retrieved June 15, 2012.
  19. "Jennifer Lopez feat. Flo Rida – Goin' In" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  20. "Brasil Hot 100 Airplay". Billboard Brasil (Brasil: bpp) (2): 96. July 23, 2012.
  21. "Brasil Hot Pop & Popular Songs". Billboard Brasil (Brasil: bpp) (99): 189 July 2012
  22. "Jennifer Lopez Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  23. "Jennifer Lopez Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard.

Further reading