What Does Lmfao Mean in Texting and Music? the Complete Cultural Guide
By James H. Sterling
Stefan Kendal Gordy and Skyler Austen Gordy, better known as Redfoo and SkyBlu, are members of the Motown royalty Gordy family. Redfoo is the son of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, while SkyBlu is Berry Gordy's grandson. When the pair joined forces in Los Angeles in 2006 to produce electro-hop club records, their initial choice for a moniker was "The Sexy Dudes."
The pivot occurred during a casual messaging exchange. As reported by entertainment retrospectives and confirmed in interviews with American Songwriter, SkyBlu sat at his computer messaging his grandmother, Nancy Leiviska. When he typed out that he and his uncle planned to perform under the name "The Sexy Dudes," her response was instantaneous and ruthless: "LMFAO."
The pair realized their proposed name was terrible, but her reaction gave them an abrasive, memorable brand. Within five years, that chatroom shorthand was plastered across arenas worldwide. Their 2011 studio album, Sorry for Party Rocking, generated the smash singles "Party Rock Anthem" and "Sexy and I Know It," which collectively spent dozens of weeks inside the Billboard Hot 100 top ten and racked up billions of streams.
James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.
