# Pon de Floor

"Pon de Floor" is a song by Major Lazer, a collaborative musical project consisting of the American DJ Diplo and the British DJ Switch. The single was released in 2009 by Mad Decent and Downtown Records as the second single from Major Lazer's first studio album, Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do. The duo wrote the song and produced it with Afrojack, Nebat Drums and vocals by Vybz Kartel. "Pon de Floor" is a dancehall and baile funk song and was positively received by music critics. It appeared on the charts in the United Kingdom in 2010, where it reached number 125. Eric Wareheim directed the music video for "Pon de Floor", which shows people dry humping, and incorporates daggering choreography. The song has been heavily sampled in Chiddy Bang's "Shooter" and Beyoncé's "Run the World (Girls)".

## Composition

"Pon de Floor" was written and produced by Major Lazer – whose members at the time were Diplo and Switch. It features vocals from Vybz Kartel, and Afrojack provided additional production and mixed the song. "Pon de Floor" is a dancehall and baile funk song. The song uses a rapid marching snare drums beat and synth riffs. Its hook is a chopped-up vocal line, and according to Josh Heller of Drowned in Sound Kartel's input is "laughing and occasionally shouting 'Major Lazer!'".

## Reception

John Bush of Allmusic lauded the production of "Pon de Floor" and named it a tour de force. NME's Pete Cashmore called the song "shitfacedly loopy", while Andy Freivogel from Dusted Magazine noted it as one of the best tracks from Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do. "Pon de Floor" is used during the video game DJ Hero 2. "Pon de Floor" entered the UK Singles Chart of 17 April 2010 at number 187. It later peaked at number 125.

## Music video and live performance

The music video for "Pon de Floor" was directed by Eric Wareheim, and shows people daggering against a cartoon background depicting suburbia. It incorporates daggering choreography. Ted Maider from Consequence of Sound wrote "This song is already fucking whacked, but the video takes it to a whole other level ... 'Pon de Floor' seems equally as offensive as watching porn on hallucinogenic substances." Major Lazer performed "Pon de Floor" at the Go! music festival at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore in September 2010.

## Samples and cover versions

"Pon de Floor" was sampled in Chiddy Bang's "Shooter", a song on his mini-mixtape, Air Swell (2010). In 2011, Beyoncé released "Run the World (Girls)", which heavily samples "Pon de Floor". "Run the World" was produced by Switch and The-Dream, and co-produced by Knowles and Shea Taylor.

## Release history

| Country | Date | Format | Label |
| United States | 2009 | 12" | Mad DecentDowntownV2 |
| Austria | 19 April 2010 | Digital EP 1 | Mad DecentDowntownV2 |
| Belgium | 19 April 2010 | Digital EP 1 | Mad DecentDowntownV2 |
| Denmark | 19 April 2010 | Digital EP 1 | Mad DecentDowntownV2 |
| Finland | 19 April 2010 | Digital EP 1 | Mad DecentDowntownV2 |
| France | 19 April 2010 | Digital EP 1 | Mad DecentDowntownV2 |
| Germany | 19 April 2010 | Digital EP 1 | Mad DecentDowntownV2 |
| Ireland | 19 April 2010 | Digital EP 1 | Mad DecentDowntownV2 |
| Italy | 19 April 2010 | Digital EP 1 | Mad DecentDowntownV2 |
| Netherlands | 19 April 2010 | Digital EP 1 | Mad DecentDowntownV2 |
| Norway | 19 April 2010 | Digital EP 1 | Mad DecentDowntownV2 |
| Portugal | 19 April 2010 | Digital EP 1 | Mad DecentDowntownV2 |
| Spain | 19 April 2010 | Digital EP 1 | Mad DecentDowntownV2 |
| Sweden | 19 April 2010 | Digital EP 1 | Mad DecentDowntownV2 |
| United Kingdom | 19 April 2010 | Digital EP 1 | Mad DecentDowntownV2 |
| Australia | 16 July 2010 | Digital EP 2 | Downtown |
| New Zealand | 16 July 2010 | Digital EP 2 | Downtown |