Belmont and Belcourt Biographies - Lmfao: An Unauthorized Biography

LMFAO

An Unauthorized Biography

Copyright 2012 by Belmont & Belcourt Biographies

All rights reserved. Neither this book nor any parts within it may be sold or reproduced in any form without permission.

ISBN: 9781619841185

Table of Contents

Introduction

LMFAO is an American, award-winning, electro-pop duo consisting of the uncle and nephew team of DJ Redfoo (Stefan Kendal Gordy) and DJ SkyBlu (Skyler Austen Gordy), son and grandson respectively of music legend Berry Gordy, Jr.

LMFAO became an overnight internet success with their song, Im in Miami Bitch. However, it was the single, Party Rock Anthem, that launched them to international stardom, topping music charts all over the world. Hailed as party anthems, their songs are in permanent rotation on dance floors everywhere.

The LMFAO duo has certainly made a name for itself in the music industry, collaborating with international superstars, such as Lil Jon and Pitbull, and remixing hits by Lady Gaga, Fergie, and Kanye West.

Known as party rock, their music incorporates a theme of partying and drinking. This unauthorized biography profiles the music careers of Redfoo and SkyBlu, stemming from their careers as independent DJs to releasing two full-length albums and becoming international superstars.

One thing is clear LMFAO has just one mission: to turn the world into a party rock planet, one city at a time.

Stefan Kendal Gordy

Stefan Gordy: We're definitely not a band that's shy. We love to hear ourselves talk. We want to be seen as much as possible. We want to be so big that we can't even walk down the street.

Stefan Kendal Gordy, also known as DJ Redfoo or simply Foo, was born September 3, 1975, to parents Berry Gordy, Jr. and Nancy Leiviska, and was raised in Pacific Palisades, a prestigious Los Angeles neighborhood.

Stefan is the youngest of Gordys children and his only one with Nancy Leiviska, but Stefan has seven older siblings spread across Gordys other relationships, Hazel Joy, Berry Gordy IV, Terry James (from Berry Gordy, Jr.s first marriage with Thelma Coleman), Sherry (whose mother is Jeena Jackson), Kennedy (whose mother is Berrys mistress, Margaret Norton), Kerry (from his second marriage to Raynoma Mayberry Liles), and Rhonda Ross (whose mother is Diana Ross).

Aside from his famous parents, Stefan Gordy was also a childhood friend of Will.i.am, frontman of the successful musical group, the Black Eyed Peas. Although Will.i.am lived in the housing projects in East Los Angeles, his mother sent him to school in Pacific Palisades in order to have the opportunity to work on his music. Will.i.am and Stefan attended Palisades Charter High School together. (Other notable alumni of the school include J.J. Abrams, Jeff Bridges, Christie Brinkley, and Forest Whitaker.)

When Stefan and Will.i.am were in tenth grade, they approached Stefans father, music legend Berry Gordy, Jr., about acquiring recording equipment for their personal use. Berry Gordy, Jr. obliged, and bought his son an Ensoniq keyboard. Stefan and Will.i.am spent countless hours crafting a demo tape. This demo tape eventually landed Will.i.am a record deal with Ruthless Records at the age of seventeen. Stefan went on to run his own recording label, working on various independent projects.

Stefan Gordy is a former day trader and remains an avid investor to this day, and has been featured as a guest on Mad Money with Jim Cramer. His portfolio contains stocks from various technology companies, including Apple (AAPL), STMicroelectronics (STM), Marvel Technology (MRVL), Broadcom (BRCM) and Google (GOOG).

Skyler Austen Gordy

Skyler Gordy: We rock the party and lead by example.

Skyler Austen Gordy, also known as DJ SkyBlu or simply Sky, was born August 23, 1986, to parents Berry Gordy IV and Valerie Robeson. Like his uncle, Stefan Gordy, Skyler grew up in the prestigious Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades. His first job was at a skateboard shop and he has been described as being heavily into meditation and martial arts.

Skyler claims he never excelled at school, and later dropped out of high school to pursue his musical career.

All of our lives people have been talking about rules. Like, youve got to go to collegeI dropped out of high school. I dont even have a GDE or anythingI just dropped out. Thats just what I wanted to do. No rules: thats definitely true to what we say. We dont like rules.

Skyler maintains that dropping out of school was the right choice for him and does not regret the decision.

Skyler Gordy received a lot of media attention in February 2010 when he had a well-publicized encounter with politician Mitt Romney aboard an Air Canada flight from Vancouver, British Columbia, headed to Los Angeles. Romney had been in Vancouver with his wife to watch the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. LMFAO was heading home after performing at a concert the night before.

According to Skyler, the confrontation started when he leaned his seat back while the plane was still on the tarmac awaiting takeoff. Romney was sitting behind Skyler, and loudly asked Skyler to put his seat back into an upright position. Skyler claims that Romney then reached forward and grabbed Skylers shoulder. Skyler retaliated by hitting Romneys forehead. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police boarded the plane and escorted Skyler off the flight. Skyler, a Democrat, responded to the situation by saying that he was sure that Mitt Romney was a nice guy, but, not somebody Id want to vote for. Romney elected to not press charges. The police maintain that they formally arrested and then released Skyler. Skyler claims that he was never actually placed under arrest.

Early Music Career

Stefan Gordy: If music is a way to communicate with people, were almost like scientists. Some people make software applications. Drama movie writers write a story that can make you cry. Were designing something for use in the clubs for DJs and we know exactly what we built it for.

Stefan and Skyler were each passionate about music, starting in their early teens. They both started off as DJs, often remixing songs from the 1980s, and were soon DJ-ing private parties for some of the biggest celebrities in Los Angeles. They admit they gleaned a lot from their days as DJs, learning how beats go together and what tracks make fans go crazy.

Interestingly, Berry Gordy, Jr. did not want his son, Stefan, or his grandson, Skyler, to be musicians. Skyler said:

He actually wanted us not to do music; he wanted us to be lawyers or doctors or something. Foo and I are the rebels of the fam, never graduated high school, always did what we wanted to do. I'm a passionate person; we just followed our passions and here we are. We just had our wisdom. In the beginning, it was just me and Foo.

Stefan and Skyler formed LMFAO in 2006. The duo was originally called Sexe Dude (pronounced sexy dude). However, their grandmother sent them an instant message, chiding them about their name, and then added, LMFAO, an internet acronym for laughing my f*cking ass off. They started using their new name on April 1st of 2007. They felt an instant connection with this new persona for their group:

The reason why we gravitated toward LMFAO is because we felt, and still feel, and hopefully the world feels, is that were funny individuals. And we wanted funny to be in our name. It reminds us of our mission all the time. We make music, some songs are seriousbut we live life pointing out the humorous things about life. Thats, like, our fuel. Thats what keeps us going and happy all the time.