Back in February, Redfoo dropped a collaboration with Italian DJ duo VINAI titled “Everything I Need.” With a softer melody and romantic lyrics, it sounded, for a moment, as if the former LMFAO star was ready to put his “Party Rock” days behind him.
“Nope,” Redfoo says. “[‘Everything I Need’] is a single but the ‘Party Rock’ sound is still the ‘Party Rock’ sound. I haven’t really been playing that [newer] song in my sets. I’m still playing the Party Rock Mansion album, if we gotta be real about it.”
You can actually hear Redfoo’s voice tick up with a little more excitement when he says the words “Party Rock,” building anticipation for his August 25 performance at Hyde Bellagio. The return to Las Vegas conjures memories of LMFAO taking over Tao Beach and how Redfoo and Sky Blu’s greatest hits—admit it, you still love “Sexy and I Know It”—helped usher in the era of EDM and resident DJ headliners at the beginning of the decade.
Even after going solo in 2013, Redfoo remains the king of the Party Rock movement, which has not only inspired fellow dance artists but also a fanbase of cosplayers committed to keeping the sound, and the look, alive.
Back in the day “Party Rock” took the Vegas club scene to another level. How do you top yourself? Every time I perform I always kind of outdo myself. The performance is getting so seasoned that we know when the crowd needs a little Champagne spray on top of their bodies. We know when it’s time for shots. We feel it and we’re able to improvise and take the club to a higher level. That’s what Party Rock is.
What do you need to transform Hyde into Party Rock Mansion? Lots of CO2, lots of confetti, lots of animal print, lots of Champagne showers and lots of shots.
If you were writing a song about Las Vegas nightlife, what would you call it? “I’m in Las Vegas bitch!” That [song] started in Miami, but every time I go to Vegas I play it. That kind of sums I up, that’s how you feel when you’re in Vegas. You feel so excited, for about two or three days, and then when you lose all your money you’re like, “I gotta get the hell outta here.”
What are the essentials for Party Rock cosplay? The concept is having fun and dressing up, you know? [It] was kind of inspired by Mardi Gras. When I was a kid, I saw Mardi Gras in New Orleans. So to me Party Rock was always wear your animal print, bring your no-lenses glasses, dress up in a bunch of colors and have fun. Animal print is a must.
You are famously a financial whiz. What’s a better investment, tequila or vodka? I say tequila, because it’s gluten-free.
