Monkey Business

by

The Black Eyed Peas

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Some people expect hip-hop to be confined in the tight spaces of "50 Cent," "Eminem," and the current trend of "crunk" hip-hop; fortunately for us, the Black Eyed Peas are not willing to be defined in the current state of hip-hop. They are themselves and yet continuing to bend and stretch into new boundaries. That is what makes the Black Eyed Peas special. It is also makes this album much more special.

When Elephunk came out, there was much dismay over the addition of Fergie and the seeming thrust into the mainstream for the Black Eyed Peas. Who knows how Fergie came about as a group member but it was obvious that she was welcomed and loved by the boys as well as the masses. What made her addition special is that she was not going to be the "new" member but rather an equal partner in the group. She was not relegated to being a backup singer but a true memebr of the band. Good for her, good for the boys, great for all of them. It makes you wonder how it is okay for men to change and grow into new areas (such as Andre from Outkast) but when a woman can create change for a group, it is seen as selling out. It would seem that some people's attitudes towards Fergie is rather sexist.

For me, the egalitarian partnership is "formulatively" refined in "Monkey Business" with applause. Witht he hip-hop scene relegated to either trendy Reggaeton (sp?), the tiresome "bling-hop," and "crunk," it is great to hear a hip-hop band stretch the boundaries into new areas. The album is simply fun and it takes you everywhere. I love it. There is a little bit of everything of everybody and everybody different moods. From the inclusion of raggae, dancehall, trip-hop, jazz, old soul, it invigorates a rather dead hip-hop scene. You can tell that BEP just has a lot of love for many different types of music. I would consider Los Angeles' BEP akin to the East Coast's Mos Def, Common, and Talib Kweli (though I would not say they have the same sound) who are willing to tread in groumds that "mainstream" hip-hop treads. Simply put, this album is great. For those who criticize BEP for not being great lyricists or not political, it's true that they are no Mos Def or Common, but they are very political. I think more political than they've ever been. Take a listen to Union, Don't Lie, My Humps, and Gone Going and you'll hear that they are really pushing a good message. Plus they are really creative in how they use beats, samples, and rhythm. Love it!

Pump It - energetically weird and great to dance too! 4/5

Don't Phunk With My Heart - Love the 80ish, Bollywood, drum-and-bassish sound. 4/5

My Style - It really sounds like everyone involved had a lot of fun with this one. Not my fave but seemed like a great group jam! 3/5

Don't Lie - Oooh! I love this song! Love the lyrics and Fergie's reggaish chorus! Such a great message! 5/5

My Humps - What could easily be misconstrued as an inappropriate sexist music is really a parody towards materialism specically materialistic women (aka golddiggers). If you listen to it, BEP isn't condoning but actually giving a warning about 'dem girls. Fergie is great in this one! I didn't think she could actually rhyme but she's way better than Ciara or any of them could be. 4/5

Like That - OOOOOHHHH!!!! My fave of the album! Love the collabos of the artists! Love Talib as guest on this one. 5/5

Dum Diddly - Had a little bit of dancehall and raggaeton in it. Great dance track. 3/5

Feel It - Yes I can feel it. Mellow party music! 4/5

Gone Going - I love how they are such speaking out against the "blingers." Love the chorus. I hope they put this video out. I wish our youngster would take a listen to this one. 5/5

They Don't Want Music - Unfortunately, tis true! It's not my favorite arrangement but it is one of my favorite set of lyrics. 4/5

Disco Club - Didn't really feel this one as much but maybe it'll grow on me. 3/5

Bebot - Apl's Song Part 2. Not my favorite music arrangement but I can understand it and can relate. I'm impressed Apl can actually rhyme in Tagalog. Good for him and good for the BEP for including this all Tagalog track! Salamat! 3/5

Ba Bump - Didn't feel this one but like Disco Club, maybe it'll grow on me. It has my head bobbin though. 3/5

Audio Delite at Low Fidelity - At first, I didn't like it all all, but I grew to really like the old skool approach of this un. This is an homage to th old skoolers. 4/5

Union - Another favorite! I love the arrangement. The best arrangement of the album. And Sting's addition was a serendipitous surprise. Maybe it's because I'm getting to my late 20s. It has such a great message and rather political. I really hope a video can come out for this one. 5/5

Go BEP!

I'm not sure how I feel about this album. After the first let's see....5 listens I still can't get into it. I think BEP are going way over the top with their beats and rhymes. A lot of the songs sound forced like they're trying too hard. I know they're considered an "eccentric, out there" band but something about it makes it distasteful. The loud out there beats get sickening after awhile and one can only bear "Don't funk with my heart" a few times. I'm not sure how far BEP are going to go with this if they keep it up. I did like Elephunk to an extent but again after awhile I could barely pick it up to put it in my cd player. This shouldn't be the case. Normally if you like a good cd you play it over and over and it doesn't wear you out. Not so with BEP's Monkey Business.

I agree with Monkey Business and Elephunk being completely different from their old stuff but hey they wanted to go pop and make the money so let them. In reality they should have changed their name because the music is completely different and the band is completely different. Fergie's a strong force in the BEP's and they're now making the big benjamins with their pop status. I always thought they were content being in their non-mainstream status and I've seen Taboo a few years ago(before Elephunk) rapping solo a few times at Gotham Hall out here in Santa Monica sounding nothing like the BEP of today.

I just hope they straighten up their sound and come with something less predictable next time or eventually people are gonna get sick of them and they can wave bye bye.