David Jamahl Listenbee, better known by his stage name GoonRock, is an American record producer, musician, singer, songwriter and rapper. Raised in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, early in his career he focused on

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and sold beats to artists such as

Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Regarded as a leading figure of Contemporary R&B#2000s, 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, includi ...

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

, and Juvenile. He later began incorporating

club music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and festivals. It is generally produced for playback by DJs who create s ...

. GoonRock co-wrote and co-produced a number of songs on

LMFAO LMFAO (an initialism for Laughing My Freaking Ass Off) was an American electronic dance music duo consisting of Redfoo and Sky Blu (rapper), Sky Blu. Redfoo is the youngest son of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and Nancy Leiviska. Sky Blu ...

's 2011 album ''

Sorry for Party Rocking ''Sorry for Party Rocking'' is the second and final studio album by American electronic duo LMFAO. It was released on June 21, 2011, physically and digitally by Interscope Records as the follow-up to their debut album '' Party Rock'' (2009). " ...

,'' including hit singles "

Party Rock Anthem "Party Rock Anthem" is a song by American electronic dance music duo LMFAO. The song features British singer Lauren Bennett and American producer GoonRock. It was released as the first single from their second and final studio album '' Sorry fo ...

" and "

Sexy and I Know It "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, ...

." In 2013, GoonRock co-wrote and produced " A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)" for the international blockbuster film ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' () is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious mi ...

'' for Fergie featuring

Q-Tip Cotton swabs (American English) or cotton buds (British English), also Q-tips ( proprietary eponym), are wads of cotton wrapped around a short rod made of wood, rolled paper, or plastic. They are most commonly used for ear cleaning, although th ...

. In 2012 he co-wrote and produced two songs for

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

, including "Clothes Off" and " Goin' In". "Goin' In" peaked at #1 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set list ...

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 The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

and raised in nearby Trenton. He lived in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

for some years before moving to

at an early age. He attended junior high school with

Redfoo Stefan Kendal Gordy (born September 3, 1975), better known as Redfoo, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, record producer, DJ, dancer, and tennis player. He came to prominence as one half of the duo LMFAO, formed with his half-nephew Sky ...

, later of

, and

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...

. Early in his career, GoonRock focused largely on hip hop and sold some beats to artists such as

. He at different points produced for

, Music Soulchild, Dr. Dre,

, and Juvenile. He worked on the ''

Watch the Throne ''Watch the Throne'' is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West. It was released on August 8, 2011, by Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc Nation, and Def Jam Recordings. Prior to its release, Jay-Z and West had collaborated ...

'' album (Kanye and

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

) specifically the song " Lift Off" featuring

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

. He's also worked with

Ryan Tedder Ryan Benjamin Tedder (born June 26, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder, frontman, and lead vocalist for the pop rock band OneRepublic, while also serving as a prolific cont ...

had their first single "

I'm in Miami Bitch "I'm in Miami Bitch" (edited for radio as "I'm in Miami Trick") is the debut single of American hip hop/electronic duo LMFAO. It was officially released to radio in 2008. It peaked at No. 51 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in July 2009. T ...

" on will.i.am's label in 2008, and GoonRock began actively working with the duo in 2009. GoonRock and LMFAO started as

musicians but were highly influenced by the late

DJ AM Adam Michael Goldstein (March 30, 1973 – August 28, 2009), known professionally as DJ AM, was an American DJ. Born in Philadelphia, Goldstein became interested in deejaying as a child after watching Herbie Hancock perform his 1983 single " ...

, who introduced them to the

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

and electro music that they fell in love with such as

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

and the

Crookers Crookers is the musical project of Italian DJ and producer Francesco "Phra" Barbaglia. Crookers was originally a duo consisting of Phra and fellow producer Bot, who worked together from 2003 to 2012. When the two artists met, both were trying to ...

. He co-produced, co-wrote, and performed guest vocals on the LMFAO song "We Came Here to Party". In mid-2010, LMFAO and Goonrock were featured in

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta (; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and record producer. He has sold over 10 million albums and 65 million singles globally, with more than 30 billion streams on Spotify. Guetta was voted the number one DJ in the DJ Mag ...

's song "

Gettin' Over You "Gettin' Over" is a dance song by French DJ David Guetta and American singer Chris Willis, from Guetta's fourth studio album, '' One Love''. An additional version, known as "Gettin' Over You", features vocals by the Black Eyed Peas member F ...

", which was an international hit, peaking top ten in eleven countries and three of them at number one, including in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It also peaked 31 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

and 12 in Canada.

''Sorry for Party Rocking''

GoonRock co-produced, co-wrote, and featured in a number of songs on LMFAO's 2010 sophomore album ''

''. They released the full album on June 17, 2011, in the U.S. It was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in early 2012, at which point it was approaching

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

"Party Rock Anthem"

The album's main single, "

", was first created by RedFoo of LMFAO and GoonRock. According to GoonRock, he originally wrote the song and the hook for

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), known professionally as Flo Rida ( ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 debut and breakout single "Low (Flo Rida song), Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the ...

, 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. "Party Rock Anthem" features British singer

Lauren Bennett Lauren Diane Bennett (born 24 June 1989) is an English singer. She is known for being a member of the American girl group G.R.L. Bennett has also worked with the Paradiso Girls, CeeLo Green, Robin Antin, The Pussycat Dolls, and LMFAO. She was ...

. Besides co-producing and co-writing the song, GoonRock also sang guest vocals on the song.

Reception

The song was released to DJs on New Year's Eve 2010, and debuted a week later at number 1 in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It was officially released on January 25, 2011, and soon after began climbing the charts in 18 countries. The song spent six consecutive week on the US

Billboard Top 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), on ...

at #1, and the video, as of December 2016, has over 1.21 billion views. The song also peaked at number-one in Canada, the UK, and over ten other countries, as well as the top ten in many others. In 2011, the track was the #2 top selling song of 2011 on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

in the US, and was the #1 selling song on iTunes in the UK, Canada,

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. It was also featured in a number of television commercials and shows, and was performed at the 2012 Super Bowl with

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

"Champagne Showers"

The second single from ''Sorry for Party Rocking'' was released on May 27, 2011 and co-written by GoonRock. Titled " Champagne Showers," it features English singer-songwriter

Natalia Kills Natalia Noemi "Teddy" Sinclair (' Cappuccini; born 15 August 1986) is a British singer-songwriter and actress. She has recorded music under various aliases, most famously as Natalia Kills and Verbalicious. She is currently the lead vocalist of ...

. The song was performed on ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

'' in April 2012.

"Sexy and I Know It"

He also co-wrote the third single, "

", which was released on October 3, 2011. It reached #1 on the iTunes charts worldwide and #1 on the Australian and Canadian Hot 100. “Sexy and I Know It” also reached #1 in UK, Canada, Denmark,

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and New Zealand, and hit #1 on both Billboard's R&B/Hip Hop Top 100 chart and the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 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". The awards were for "Most Performed Song." Shortly after, he and LMFAO were nominated for 17 different categories of the

2012 Billboard Music Awards The 2012 ''Billboard'' Music Awards is a music award ceremony that was held on May 20, 2012 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It aired live on ABC at 8:00/7:00 PM central. The show was hosted by ''Modern Family''s Julie Bowen ...

, including Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Duo/Group and Top Pop Artist.

Recent producing

As of late 2011, GoonRock has worked with

Far East Movement Far East Movement (abbreviated FM) is an American Hip hop music, hip hop and electronic music group based in Los Angeles, composed of Kev Nish, Prohgress, J-Splif, Jon Street, Ray Ro, DJ Virman, and Jerm Beats. They signed with Martin Kierszenba ...

and remixed a song for

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

. 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." He has also reportedly been in meetings with

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. She was discovered by record producer Jazze Pha in the early 2000s, and rose to prominence with her debut studio album, ''Goodies ...

Work with Jennifer Lopez

On April 27, 2012

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...

reported that Lopez had recorded two songs produced by GoonRock: "Clothes Off" and " Goin' In". Regarding GoonRock, Lopez was quoted as saying he is "very forward with his sound". "Goin' In" was co-written by GoonRock, who also produced and mixed the song which speaks of the freedom found in dance. On May 10, GoonRock posted this message on his

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account "Crazy day finishing 2012 's Song of the Summer for @jlo and @Official_flo #goinin." The song made its radio premiere on May 24, 2012 on

Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American television presenter and producer. Seacrest is the host of '' Wheel of Fortune'', having hosted since replacing long-time host Pat Sajak in September 2024. Seacrest co-hosted and ser ...

's radio show ''

On Air with Ryan Seacrest ''On Air with Ryan Seacrest'' is a weekday radio syndication, syndicated radio program hosted by Ryan Seacrest. It was launched in 2004 as a drive time show at the same time on Los Angeles contemporary hit radio, Top 40 station 102.7 KIIS-FM a ...

''. The song is featured on the soundtrack of the dance film ''

Step Up Revolution ''Step Up Revolution'' (released in some countries as ''Step Up 4: Miami Heat'') is a 2012 American dance film directed by Scott Speer and written by Amanda Brody. The film is the sequel to '' Step Up 3D'' (2010) and the fourth installment in ...

'' (2012) and on her first greatest hits album '' Dance Again... the Hits'' (2012). Lopez debuted "Goin' In" on the season final of ''

'' May 23, 2012. "Goin' In" peaked at #1 on the US ''

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."

Discography

LMFAO singles

Listenbee singles

Other singles

References

External links

GoonRock
on

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...