Black Eyed Peas Thesis
The quartet of the Black Eyed Peas, which are currently apl.de.ap, Fergie, Taboo, and will.i.am, are an inspirational and very musically inclined group that have an amazing way of displaying emotion and feeling in their music. Their unique style used to create music makes people from all over the world from Australia to America enthralled by them. According to their official website, BEP(BlackEyedPeas).com, the seven and a half million albums sold worldwide, the four Grammy nominations, the Grammy award, and the unforgettable performance on the 2005 broadcast on the Awards show that their musical talents are idolized by the public. The group's powerful lyrics and the selection of melodies and tempos during their songs give the Black Eyed Peas' music a very motivating and intense tone. But their road to success was far from being easy. In the 1990s, the guys of the group, apl.de.ap, Taboo, and will.i.am, were first in the band/break dancing crew called Tribal Nation. They focused more on hip-hop then anything else. Then they met Eazy-E who was the owner of Eazy-E'z Ruthless Records, who later on signed them
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1992. Tribal Nation made an astonishing album, but the company shelved it because they were unsure how to market a group whose style was not dependent on violent braggadocio, like the other popular, hip-hop artists and bands during the time. To make things worse, Eazy-E passed away in 1995, and the band was on their own. But they later reappeared as the Black Eyed Peas in 1998 and began playing shows around Los Angeles, impressing hip-hop fans with their mike skills and stunning them with their break dancing as well. Later that year, they released an album called Behind the Front with a new vocalist Kim Hill with guest appearances from the hip-hop band, Jurassic 5's, Chali 2na, De La Soul, and Macy Gray (Kergan n. pag.). They began to define their own style of music and the public seemed to recognize the value of their unique approach of music. Then in the year of 2000, they released yet another album called Bridging the Gap. Their success was mounting higher then ever before. Then in 2003, the group made another album, Elephunk, which featured a new member to the group, Fergie, who replaced their vocalist Kim Hill. This album became their biggest one yet, storming the Top 40 with three singles ("Where Is the Love?," "Hey Mama," and "Let's Get It Started"). Two years later, the band had their latest album released, Monkey Business which is on the Top 40 today (Kergan n. pag.).
The Black Eyed Peas seemed to have one thing that seemed to be obscure about their genre of music though.
Since they changed from their hip-hop, break dancing style, they have been classified as an Alternative, an Alternative Rap, a Club/Dance, a Hip-Hop, a Pop, a Pop-Rap, an R&B and a Rock band (Bush n. pag.). This is because of the group's varied music and vocals in every song, which makes it confusing to determine what type of music they are. Most people consider it Pop, some thinks it is Rock. But in my opinion, they are their own genre of music. It is amazing how they can pull this off in this time of Hip-Hop and R&B and be well-known for their diversity in music. But their vocal talents and unique ways of creating music makes them my utmost, favorite band because they express themselves in a different way like no other artist nor artists have
before.
In their newest CD, Monkey Business, it shows their matchless type of music very well. In the album, most of the song's lyrics are about relationships or strong emotions you feel when you're cheerful, gloomy, or irate. I feel I can relate to the music because they vividly describe and put feeling in their voices when they sing. Even the beats in the choruses have a slow or fast rhythm, whether they are talking about something enjoyable or frustrating.
The song, "Don't Lie" is a perfect example to show how the group makes their music so passionate and real. The song has a couple verbally fighting but doing it vocally. You can also hear what they are thinking while they are fighting. For example, when the female vocalist in the group, Fergie, says, "No, no, no, no baby, no, no, no, no dont lie. Yeah, you know, you know, you know, you know, you gotta try" (Black n. pag.). And when Taboo, one of the male singers rhymes, "Yo, I'm lying to my girl. Even though I love her, and she all in my world," it shows what the guy is thinking (Black n. pag.). Thus, you can figure out the song is about the couple lying and cheating on each other during a relationship. "Don't Lie," is a song will.i.am says was born of true experience of deceptively bending the truth to an ex-girlfriend. He stated that, "It's a song about owning up and apologizing and realizing your faults. It's about being a man or a woman an adult and confronting situations honestly" (Christensen 44). The beats and tempos, like I mentioned before also go with the mood of the song also, which makes it overall very powerful and deep. But along with their great triumph with their new style of music came some negative reviews from older listeners. Filmore Holmes of tinymixtapes.com argued, "..there was a time when the West Coast collective known as the Black Eyed Peas made actual hip-hop music. Yes, way back in 1998, they released Behind The Front.." (Holmes n. pag.). But I believe the band still has their hip-hop roots but with a little change. Their newer material has soared through the charts and has obviously been more successful then their previous attempts in the music business. The band just undertook a few modifications and happened to make the mind-blowing band they are today. But overall, this band has very strong and impressive music and lyrics unlike some artists of today. They are highly rated for this talent in magazines, TV, and radio, and that is what makes the Black Eyed Peas my utmost, favorite band. Even in the mass media they are well like, and have had minimal negative reviews against them. They are an inspiration to developing artists and an excellent choice in music.
1992. Tribal Nation made an astonishing album, but the company shelved it because they were unsure how to market a group whose style was not dependent on violent braggadocio, like the other popular, hip-hop artists and bands during the time. To make things worse, Eazy-E passed away in 1995, and the band was on their own. But they later reappeared as the Black Eyed Peas in 1998 and began playing shows around Los Angeles, impressing hip-hop fans with their mike skills and stunning them with their break dancing as well. Later that year, they released an album called Behind the Front with a new vocalist Kim Hill with guest appearances from the hip-hop band, Jurassic 5's, Chali 2na, De La Soul, and Macy Gray (Kergan n. pag.). They began to define their own style of music and the public seemed to recognize the value of their unique approach of music. Then in the year of 2000, they released yet another album called Bridging the Gap. Their success was mounting higher then ever before. Then in 2003, the group made another album, Elephunk, which featured a new member to the group, Fergie, who replaced their vocalist Kim Hill. This album became their biggest one yet, storming the Top 40 with three singles ("Where Is the Love?," "Hey Mama," and "Let's Get It Started"). Two years later, the band had their latest album released, Monkey Business which is on the Top 40 today (Kergan n. pag.).
The Black Eyed Peas seemed to have one thing that seemed to be obscure about their genre of music though.
Since they changed from their hip-hop, break dancing style, they have been classified as an Alternative, an Alternative Rap, a Club/Dance, a Hip-Hop, a Pop, a Pop-Rap, an R&B and a Rock band (Bush n. pag.). This is because of the group's varied music and vocals in every song, which makes it confusing to determine what type of music they are. Most people consider it Pop, some thinks it is Rock. But in my opinion, they are their own genre of music. It is amazing how they can pull this off in this time of Hip-Hop and R&B and be well-known for their diversity in music. But their vocal talents and unique ways of creating music makes them my utmost, favorite band because they express themselves in a different way like no other artist nor artists have
before.
In their newest CD, Monkey Business, it shows their matchless type of music very well. In the album, most of the song's lyrics are about relationships or strong emotions you feel when you're cheerful, gloomy, or irate. I feel I can relate to the music because they vividly describe and put feeling in their voices when they sing. Even the beats in the choruses have a slow or fast rhythm, whether they are talking about something enjoyable or frustrating.
The song, "Don't Lie" is a perfect example to show how the group makes their music so passionate and real. The song has a couple verbally fighting but doing it vocally. You can also hear what they are thinking while they are fighting. For example, when the female vocalist in the group, Fergie, says, "No, no, no, no baby, no, no, no, no dont lie. Yeah, you know, you know, you know, you know, you gotta try" (Black n. pag.). And when Taboo, one of the male singers rhymes, "Yo, I'm lying to my girl. Even though I love her, and she all in my world," it shows what the guy is thinking (Black n. pag.). Thus, you can figure out the song is about the couple lying and cheating on each other during a relationship. "Don't Lie," is a song will.i.am says was born of true experience of deceptively bending the truth to an ex-girlfriend. He stated that, "It's a song about owning up and apologizing and realizing your faults. It's about being a man or a woman an adult and confronting situations honestly" (Christensen 44). The beats and tempos, like I mentioned before also go with the mood of the song also, which makes it overall very powerful and deep. But along with their great triumph with their new style of music came some negative reviews from older listeners. Filmore Holmes of tinymixtapes.com argued, "..there was a time when the West Coast collective known as the Black Eyed Peas made actual hip-hop music. Yes, way back in 1998, they released Behind The Front.." (Holmes n. pag.). But I believe the band still has their hip-hop roots but with a little change. Their newer material has soared through the charts and has obviously been more successful then their previous attempts in the music business. The band just undertook a few modifications and happened to make the mind-blowing band they are today. But overall, this band has very strong and impressive music and lyrics unlike some artists of today. They are highly rated for this talent in magazines, TV, and radio, and that is what makes the Black Eyed Peas my utmost, favorite band. Even in the mass media they are well like, and have had minimal negative reviews against them. They are an inspiration to developing artists and an excellent choice in music.