Global music powerhouse Major Lazer is back with a bang, reuniting with dancehall legend Busy Signal on their first single of 2025, “GANGSTA,” while also introducing British-Jamaican artist and content creator America Foster as the newest member of the group alongside Diplo, Ape Drums, and Walshy Fire.
The track marks a reunion with Busy Signal, who previously appeared on their 2013 hit “Watch Out For This (Bumaye),” and features Italy-raised, Amsterdam-based DJ/producer Kybba of Basshall Movement. “GANGSTA” fuses high-energy dancehall rhythms with Major Lazer’s signature big-room beats, backed by Busy Signal’s rapid-fire, badman-style lyrics.
America Foster made her live debut with the group during four sets at Paris’s Fête de la Musique in June and confirmed her membership on Instagram after Major Lazer’s headline set at Austria’s Electric Love Festival in July. She wrote, “Major Lazer are back…and, it looks like I’m the fourth member for the foreseeable future!…Thank you Diplo, Walshy Fire, Ape Drums, Major Lazer for taking me under your wings! I love you guys dearly…”
A multi-talented performer, Foster brings her humor, distinctive style, and genre-fluid creativity to Major Lazer, having first caught the group’s attention during a collaboration in Jamaica. Her perspective, shaped by diverse cultures, promises to inject fresh energy into the collective’s globally influenced sound.
This summer, Major Lazer has been surprising fans with pop-up performances, including a rave at a Bronx bodega. The group returned to London for the first time in a decade, performing at Notting Hill Carnival and a secret Shoreditch location to celebrate the release of “GANGSTA.” Upcoming appearances include a headlining set at Arizona’s Goldrush Music Festival and spontaneous college pop-ups across the U.S., with more North American and European dates to follow.
“Coming back out now with America and Busy Signal feels like starting a new chapter while revisiting an old one,” said Diplo. “Busy Signal was a big part of our journey with Major Lazer, blessing us with his incredible vocals on ‘Bumaye.’ Now, more than a decade later, we’re starting another journey with America joining the group. It’s amazing how much she complements the dynamic we’ve already established with Walshy and Ape Drums.”
Formed in 2009 by Diplo and U.K. producer Switch, Major Lazer debuted with the dancehall-punk album Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do. Following Switch’s departure in 2011, the group expanded with Walshy Fire and Jillionaire, later joined by Ape Drums in 2019. Over the years, Major Lazer has become a festival powerhouse, blending big-room dance sounds with Caribbean influences, and topping charts with hits like Lean On, Cold Water, and Light It Up.
With their 2025 return, Major Lazer continues to fuse reggae, dancehall, Caribbean, and pop influences, reaffirming their global mission: making the world smaller by making the party bigger.
