LA's Major Lazer Rounds Up Travis Scott, Pusha T and 2 Chainz on "Night Riders"

“Night Riders” is a 2015 posse cut from Major Lazer, the dancehall-rooted electronic group Diplo co-founded in Los Angeles, featuring Travis Scott, 2 Chainz, Pusha T and Jamaican dancehall veteran Mad Cobra. The track premiered in April 2015 as an early taste of the group’s third album, Peace Is the Mission, released June 1, 2015, on Mad Decent.

Who made Night Riders

Major Lazer started in 2008 as a project from Diplo and Switch, and by 2015 the lineup included Diplo, Walshy Fire and Jillionaire. The group has always leaned on Jamaican sounds: its 2009 debut, Guns Don’t Kill People... Lazers Do, was recorded at Tuff Gong Studios in Jamaica. “Night Riders” is credited to Major Lazer and producer Djemba Djemba, and it sits at track 8 on the standard edition of Peace Is the Mission, running 3:53.

The guest list bridges two worlds. Travis Scott handles the hook, 2 Chainz and Pusha T each take verses, and Mad Cobra, born Ewart Everton Brown, brings the dancehall energy. Cobra is best known for “Flex,” which reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the US Rap Singles chart.

How the song landed

The FADER reported that the song dropped on the night of April 16, 2015, paired with a cartoon clip timed to the premiere of Major Lazer’s own animated series. It was listed as a promotional single from April 20, 2015, one of several the group used to build toward the album alongside “Roll the Bass” and “Too Original.”

Complex praised the high-powered lineup, describing Scott’s heavily Auto-Tuned hook as a fit for the dense, dark production and noting how the contrasting verses from 2 Chainz and Pusha T played off each other. The writer singled out Mad Cobra’s intense closing contribution as the standout of the track.

A proper music video followed in June 2016. Exclaim! described the neon-lit clip as focused mostly on Travis Scott, and the rest of the guests do not appear in it.

Where it fits on Peace Is the Mission

“Night Riders” shared the album with “Lean On,” the DJ Snake and MØ collaboration that reached No. 4 on the Hot 100 and became one of the biggest streaming hits of its era. Peace Is the Mission debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 with 16,000 copies sold in its first week. “Night Riders” later got remixes from Cesqeaux and Neo Fresco on the album’s remix edition.

Quick answers

What album is Night Riders on? Major Lazer’s Peace Is the Mission, released June 1, 2015.

Who is featured on Night Riders? Travis Scott, 2 Chainz, Pusha T and Jamaican artist Mad Cobra.

Who produced Night Riders? Major Lazer and Djemba Djemba are credited as producers.

Sources

The FADER — “Major Lazer Recruits Travi$ Scott, 2 Chainz, Pusha T, and Mad Cobra For “Night Riders””

Complex — “Major Lazer Enlists Pusha T, 2 Chainz, Travi$ Scott, And Mad Cobra For New Single “Night Riders””

Wikipedia — “Peace Is the Mission”