French deejay/producer David Guetta has deeply influenced the way American mainstream music sounds since 2009. From hits with Black Eyed Peas, Akon and Rihanna, the EMI Records global star has merged urban and Pop music with a sound that’s been appealing to today’s superstars.
For Guetta’s fifth album, planned for later this year, he adds to that growing catalogue with “Where Dem Girls At”
featuring Flo Rida and Nicki Minaj. This afternoon, David spoke with HipHopDX about the chart-topping single’s premature release. “I have a really big record at the moment (“Sweat” Remix) in Europe that wasn’t really [worked] in the U.S., a Hip Hop remix with Snoop [Dogg]. It’s absolutely huge here [in Europe] and everywhere. I wasn’t planning to put out [“Where Dem Girls At”] so soon, but some hackers stole the accapella and made some really-not-good music around it, and put it on the ‘net under my name. That was really terrible for me,” admitted Guetta.
Acting fast, the deejay with a background in House teamed with EMI to strike back, putting out the actual version of “Where Dem Girls At.” David explained, “So we had to put out the record without any promotion, without having the video ready, and still the record is #1 [throughout] the world, it’s #3 in the U.S., so it’s really incredible. It shows the power of music.”
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While Young Money’s Barbie was reportedly a late addition to the single Guetta sang the multi-talented Queens, New Yorker some praises in saying, “She’s really crazy and an amazingly talented artist. I’ve been chasing her for [months]. She delivered like 300%.”
With that #3 appearance, Guetta has achieved another major success in the States. The producer was asked, given years of experience, how he knows what works in the clubs as compared to what exclusively sounds good in studio monitor speakers. “There’s a very big difference, between being in the studio and seeing the record happen. For me, all my inspiration comes from the clubs. It’s also the best way to [evaluate] the record.” He revealed, “I will always test it. You’ll see me deejaying in the clubs, and writing stuff down [as I play it, based on crowd reaction]…even with Hip Hop records, I like when they make you dance.”
Along those same lines, Guetta was asked about others running with his sound. The Electronic renaissance in Hip Hop has been strong since 2009, as traditionally street emcees like 50 Cent are toying with possibly heading in Guetta’s direction. “For two months I was in Los Angeles, recording vocals for my album. I was listening to the radio, and to be honest, everybody and everything that was on the radio sounded pretty much like what I do. Before I produced “I Gotta Feeling” and “Sexy Bitch” with Akon, all those records, no one was playing these type of records on America radio, up-tempo. It’s really incredible. I’m proud of it, not just for me, but my community – all the deejays, producers that have been working in this music.”
