Track Picks: "Hands Up," "Let's Get Retarded," "Where Is the Love?"
Review
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
Tracks
Track Title
iTunes
Composers
Performers
Time
Hands Up
Billy May, Will Adams, Mike Fratantuno, Jean Baptiste, Allen Pineda, Jaime A. Dávila "Tame" Gómez
Elephunk is the third album by The Black Eyed
Peas, first released in 2003. It was their first commercially successful album and their first album to feature their new
female vocalist, Stacy Ferguson (aka. Fergie). Some of its hits were "Where Is the Love?", "Shut Up", "Hey Mama" and "Let's Get Retarded". Many
of its songs became popular through being featured in advertisements; "Let's Get
Retarded" was re-done and renamed "Let's Get It Started" for the commercials
for the 2004 NBA Playoffs and "Boogie That Be" was featured in several
iPod commercials, as well as being featured in the movie Walking Tall (staring The Rock and
Johnny Knoxville). The video for "The Apl Song" (which reached number one in the
Philippines), featured cameo appearances by fellow Filipino Americans Dante Basco,
Chad Hugo and Abe Pagtama and is a tribute to the Filipinos who fought for the U.S. in World War
II. "The Elephunk Theme" also features a sample of Ilaiyaraaja's Unakkum Enakkum
Aanandham - a Tamil song from the movie Sri Raghavendra, starring
Rajinikanth[1] thus marking the beginning of the BEP foray into Indian music which continued
with "Don't Phunk With My Heart". The album title, Elephunk, is a
portmanteau of elephant and funk. Their song "Anxiety" was featured on WWE WrestleMania 21 for the
Xbox.
Search for answers directly from your browser with the FREE Answers.com Toolbar! Click here to download now. Get Answers your way! Check out all our free tools and products.