The E.N.D. of the Black Eyed Peas
Downloaded the new Black Eyed Peas album on Monday. Gimme a break. Times are tough and jus don’t have the money I used to have. But I digress.
I’ve listened to The E.N.D. a few times and it has me pondering the future of the group in a post Will.i.am and Fergie world. Granted I haven’t followed the group that long – Elephunk was when I discovered them and Monkey Business was hot. Of course since then, Will.i.am and Fergie have both stepped out and established themselves as hot comodities themselves. That brings me to The E.N.D.
While the album title actually stands for “The Energy Never Dies”, I find this album to be quite a departure from the previous two. This album feels more like the Will.i.am/Fergie show. The funky “monkey business” has been traded in for a relentless string of club beats. Thus far the track “Meet Me Halfway” has been the standout track – but only because everyone else seemed to take a step back.
This is one of those CDs that leaves me wondering in what direction hip-hop is going. Clearly “commercial” would seem to be the answer. The energy never dies on this cd, but my interest in this album is clearly on life support. Sound off – what do u think?
I downloaded the “green” version, been waiting to go to Target to get the extended “red” version. I like it, but it left me wondering where would it leave the old school fans of BEP. This was clearly a lot of eurobeats and 808 and techno. BEP has always been known for fusion of hip hop with other genres, but always with a very strong hip hop core. This felt different. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, I’m more dance than hip hop. But I’m not an old school BEP fan, like you I came on board post-Fergie.
I really enjoyed their collaboration with Sergio Mendes in Timeless and Encanto, and this new album sort of cements the fact that they’re not interested in pleasing this or that fanbase, but rather that they’re in a path of musical growth and discovery and evolution, for which I am glad.
I do have to say, after giving The E.N.D. a few listens, especially when you play it on shuffle, some of the songs sort of blend together, which detracts from its originality and freshness. One of the things I loved about Monkey Business and Elephunk was how diverse each song was from each other, but how good they all were and how they managed to feel cohesive.
All in all, I like the album. Still prefer the previous one, though.