Discography
The Black Eyed Peas has released four studio albums, with 29 million albums and singles sold worlwide. They also have announced a new album coming soon, for late 2007, called From Roots to Fruits, as will.i.am announced.
Behind The Front (1998)
Flags: Contains explicit content
Rating: 4 stars
Styles: Alternative Rap, Hip-Hop
Track Picks: "Joints & Jam"
Black Eyed Peas bring some positivity and fun back into hip-hop. Musically there is almost no realm this group does not touch -- right from the jump, the stylistic innocence of "Fallen Up," complete with striking guitar licks, sums up what BEP is all about. They attack the so-called hardcore MCs playing the role of dress-up: "I see you try to dis our function by stating that we can't rap/Is it cuz we don't wear Tommy Hilfiger or baseball caps?/We don't use dollars to represent/We just use our innocence and talent." The wonderfully crafted, old-school-influenced first single, "Joints and Jam," is perfect for the summertime frame of mind. With "Karma" they explore the notion of reaping what you sow. "Love Won't Wait" is a simultaneous infusion of R&B and hip-hop, as the group deals with a deteriorating romance. But the undisputed champ of this recording is "Positivity" -- you can't help but reminisce about yesteryear's MCs kicking conscious lyrics to educate the hip-hop masses. "Nowadays it's hard to make a living/But easy to make a killing/Cuz people walk around with just one inch of feeling/I feeling nauseated from your evil drug dealing/Blood spilling, the definition of top billing." In all honesty, the MCs who make up BEP -- Taboo, Will, and A8 -- are not going to be confused as being super-lyrical by any means. But their chemistry and insightful, original topic matter is used with enough efficiency to mask that slight blemish.
~ Matt Conaway, All Music Guide
Bridging The Gap (2000)
Flags: Contains explicit content
Rating: 4 stars
Styles: Alternative Rap, Hip-Hop
Track Picks: "Hot," "Request + Line"
Is this the real thing or a substitute? In 1998, Black Eyed Peas released their debut, Behind the Front, and by most accounts, it snugly filled a hole left behind by the absent, optimistic talents of A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul. So in the same year that Jurassic 5 complete their first proper release and De La Soul finally return, is there any room for a group like BEP anymore? Well, maybe. While the album fails in its titular intention of bringing together the two exclusionary worlds of rap and rock, it still diligently follows in the footsteps of its predecessor's highs. Maybe one might have to look toward Kim Hill -- the group's backing vocalist -- who seems to have a larger impact this time. Hill hovers over terrific sun-streaked ditties like "Tell Your Mama Come" and the irrepressible "Hot" without a hitch. The other collaborations follow her lead too. From Macy Gray to Les Nubians to Mos Def to, yes, even Jurassic 5 and De La Soul, none of these guest artists feel out of place or contrived. Undoubtedly, this second release finally proves that BEP get to mark their own territory in the history of old-school, soulful -- and playful -- hip-hop. Because Bridging the Gaps is a terrific follow-up full of warmth. Unlike what the advertisements might say, this is a multi-ethnic, multi-faceted substitute that should be accepted immediately.
~ Dean Carlson, All Music Guide
Elephunk (2003)
Flags: -
Rating: 4 stars
Styles: Dance-Pop, Pop-Rap, Club/Dance
Track Picks: "Hands Up," "Let's Get Retarded," "Where Is the Love?"
Nominally a rap group, in truth Black Eyed Peas call on so many forms of songwriting and production that slotting them into hip-hop is like slotting Prince into R&B -- technically true, but very limiting. Elephunk, the group's third straight winning LP, doesn't have top-notch rapping, but as driven by frontman Will.I.Am, it does possess some of the most boundary-pushing productions in contemporary, (mostly) uncommercial hip-hop -- right up at the level occupied by Common and OutKast. The smart, brassy opening club thump "Hands Up" hits another level with a sly bridge flaunting some heavy metallic slide guitar, while the highly pressurized love jam "Shut Up" features great interplay between Taboo and new member Fergie. Space doesn't allow for description of each track, but suffice to say any Will.I.Am track is going to feature loads of ideas and fresh sounds, not to mention plenty of stylistic change-ups -- from the digital-step ragga of "Hey Mama" (featuring Tippa Irie) to the Latinized, loved-up "Latin Girls." Like a latter-day Digital Underground, Black Eyed Peas know how to get a party track moving, and add a crazy stupid rhyme or two ("bop your head like epilepsy" from the suitably titled "Let's Get Retarded").
~ John Bush, All Music Guide
Monkey Business (2005)
Flags: -
Rating: 2,5 stars
Styles: Alternative Rap, Party Rap, Pop-Rap
Track Picks: "Disco Club," "Don't Phunk with My Heart," "Feel It"
Hip-hop artists with commercial aspirations need never appear pandering to their audience, since a tough, defiant stance -- aka keeping it real -- is exactly what will draw in most crossover listeners anyway. Nevertheless, the Black Eyed Peas quickly embraced the pop world after the surprising success of third album Elephunk, and only continued their repositioning as a mainstream act with 2005's Monkey Business. That focus is immediately clear on the opener, "Pump It Up," where they gladly welcome listeners on a track whose sample -- Dick Dale's "Misirlou," already ubiquitous before it appeared in Pulp Fiction -- has to replace "I'll Be Missing You" or "Walk This Way" as the most conspicuous case of an unmissable rock riff being used on a rap track. With the Wal-Mart audience safely in tow, the group moves on to motivate its hip-hop base by reaching for every trick in the grab bag of contemporary urban music. "Disco Club" is a serviceable re-creation of Cassidy's "Hotel," and the group's newest member, Fergie, tucks into the hyper-sexual Kelis/Ciara archetype on "My Humps." Unlike Elephunk, the Justin Timberlake feature here ("My Style") is placed early in the program, and it's bolstered by a Timbaland production. Most of the tracks on Monkey Business are the same type of party rap singalongs that Black Eyed Peas made their name with in the past. Other than "Disco Club," the best is "Feel It," a rare production by the group's apl.de.ap that has the streamlined sound and detailed production of the hits off Elephunk. At the very tail end of the disc, where Timblerlake was slotted previously, there's one brief glance at their socially conscious past -- "Union," featuring Sting and Branford Marsalis, which floats the usual bromides about peace and equality. Monkey Business might sell just as well, or better, than Elephunk, but what the group made sound effortless in the past sounds labored and canned here.
~ John Bush, All Music Guide
EP: Renegotiations: The Remixes (2006)
Renegotiations: The Remixes is a Remix EP originally released on iTunes on March 21st, 2006 then released a week later at all Best Buy stores.
More information regarding this album shall follow.
From Answers.com