Interscope: The Beginning
The Black Eyed Peas’ 2009 album, The E.N.D., stood as a new beginning for the Los Angeles based hip-hop abstracts. It’s release transformed them from talented MC’s whose knack for hitmaking garnered mainstream success, to four music gods whose brave leap into uncharted melodic lands has spurned major worldwide fame and prominence. Led by fearless leader will.i.am, these global juggernauts have heavily influenced the type of pop music crafting in the last year or so, and have brought attention to a dormant music scene that is on the verge of exploding with popularity.
Initiate absurd wordplay. Consequently, The E.N.D. was not the end for BEP; it was the beginning of something new. For the Peas, beginning with The E.N.D. ended them up at The Beginning. So basically The Beginning is the culmination of The E.N.D., and without The E.N.D. they wouldn’t have both a new beginning and The Beginning. They have The E.N.D. to thank for The Beginning when in most cases we have the beginning to thank for the end.
Confused? Understandable. The Beginning, the newly released follow-up album to The E.N.D., is a glimmering example of the shockwaves that the Black Eyed Peas are making in the music industry. It’s a tap-dance on the top of Mount Everest, just the Peas having fun coasting off their recent success. The E.N.D. was a smash hit. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, spent 38 weeks in the top 10 and has sold 11 million copies worldwide to date. It blends a highly energetic fusion of hip-hop and electro music. Since its debut, electro music has soared in popularity and publicity with long known disc jockeys like David Guetta and Tiesto gaining a substantial amount of radio play. No one is at the heels of this electro-surge than will.i.am who has essentially produced an album with 10 or so electro-house instrumentals topped with hip-hop verses and hooks.
The reason The E.N.D. worked so well was because it was a perfect mixture of electro and hip-hop. It didn’t overwhelm hip-hoppers with an overflow of high octane rave music and it didn’t overwhelm ravers with bob-your-head hip-hop. The Beginning favors shufflers this time around. It’s 80 percent Guetta-sounding and 20 percent BEP-sounding. Songs like “The Time (Dirty Bit),” “Don’t Stop The Party” and “Light Up the Night” that have the constant bass/ hi-hat combo pulsating with either a whispy, echoed-string or scratchy synth melody.
“XOXOXO” – a song that doesn’t totally conform to the electro vibe- has a 90’s bounciness. There is a keyboard melody that opens with a vintage dance thump. The melody backs up to let the keys and bass drum intertwine as will.i.am autotunes – “Girl I’ll put you in a trance like Tiesto/ but I’m not talking about techno.”
An interview with will.i.am by “The Big Issue” revealed his take on this new work. He said it “symbolizes growth, new beginnings and starts a fresh perspective.” That fresh perspective is growing amongst music lovers; in the form of house, techno, trance and other rave associated music that is growing in popularity. I believe that shift wouldn’t be possible with will.i.am and The Beginning, it’s a totally fresh album that is hard to for to compare to others. It doesn’t have the prowess to fully make that shift, but it does have the ability to influence other artists to make music like it so that one day that type of generational swing can occur.
Buy the album at our record store on Amazon
Were you all up on this blog? Here are some others you can get close and personal with:
- Free Song Download – “Waiting for Snow” by the Wagner Logic
- Album Review – The Monitor by Titus Andronicus
- Covers Revue – Blink 182 covers Jan and Dean
- Richard’s review of MGMT’s Congratulations
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