Elephunk [PA] - Black Eyed Peas (CD 2003)

Im not going to sit here and pretend like i know EVERYTHING there is to know about the Black Eyed Peas. I do know that their last two albums were successful on a mainstream level and that the underground accepted them for giving us positive, thought-provoking hip-hop. I do know that they have a nice cultish following of loyal fans. I do know that they are composed of four members: three emcees and a singer, and that they have just recently released Elephunk, their new album which im reviewing right now. I also know that the lead-single is getting a nice dose of radio, MTV, and MTV2 play, which is refreshing to have positive hip-hop so well-recieved by the mainstream. BUT... Is the album any good?



Track List & Rating

1. Hands Up (***)
2. Labor (It's A Holiday) (***)
3. Let's Get Retarded (*)
4. Hey Mama (*)
5. Shut Up (***)
6. Smells Like Funk (**)
7. Latin Girls (****)
8. Sexy (*)
9. Fly Away (*)
10. The Boogie That B (**)
11. The Elephunk Theme (*)
12. The Apl Song (***)
13. Anxiety (****)
14. Where Is The Love f/ Justin Timberlake (******)
* Untitled Bonus Track (**)



"Hands Up" and "Labor (Its a Holiday)" kick off Elephunk. Dont expect to see any sort of music similar to that of the single on these tracks. The first track starts out with some slightly annoying trumpets, and some bass, which i personally did not enjoy. The Black Eyed Peas basically deliver a nice party track. The verses are well-written, reminiscent of some of the earlier Outkast work, with a certain vibe, but nothing lyrically jaw-dropping. The lyrics are decent, but the production is on the bad side. The next track is a slight improvement, featuring a faster beat, but still nothing special. This time, its got some fast horns, and piano. The improvement on this track is the slight increase in vocabulary when it comes to lyrics. Otherwise, the production is very irritating to me. I have nothing against dance music, but this is not really easy to dance to. Black Eyed Peas give us a party track, but fail when it comes to making it danceable enough. If you want VERY danceable music, check out Sean Paul's album. If you're a backpacker like me who is into introspection, i suggest not checking this out unless you're really interested.

"Lets Get Retarded" and "Hey Mama" are in a word... terrible. The first of the track, as the name implies, really IS "retarded". The track begins with a mockery of Alicia Keys, which immediately kicks into a nice, yet irritating piano loop. The beat is alright, but a bit too much personally for my ears. The lyrics are well-written, but the subject matter, premise, and chorus of the song are in a word... awful. What is SUPPOSED to be a dance / party track sounds like some goofy attempt at being funny or something, which fails horribly. The Next track isn't much of an improvement at all. Featuring some harmonizing in the background, along with some synthesizers, we once AGAIN get a party track, but a badly produced one. The verses aren't terrible, but simplistic. This track is a bit easier to dance to, almost getting a jamaican dancehall feel, but not quite achieving. Its not unlistenable, but not something i would listen to.

Elephunk takes a slight turn for the better on "Shut Up". The production is the first good part, with some pounding drums and violins, giving it an easy-to-listen, if at times, poppy feel to it. However, dont let the popish, quick feel distract you from the actual creative subject matter found. Each member of the Black Eyed Peas plays a different part in this situation, as they each play a character in a rocky relationship and they all compromise to find a way to fix this problem. Fergie assumes the main role, and does an excellent job with her vocals, showcasing her honestly powerful voice.

"Smells Like Funk" is the definition of a party track done right. With an extremely funky beat, featuring pianos and synthesizers, the Black Eyed Peas give us a catchy beat and a track laced with the age-old hip-hop style of battle rhymes. The Black Eyed Peas are nowhere near being anything near a Ras Kass, Gza, or Canibus when it comes to sheer creative venom, but they do give the song a nice nostaligic feel of the punchline-driven style of battle exhibited by emcees in the late 80s. A lot of the punchlines are admittedly funny, and well-written.

"Latin Girls" is another banger as the Black Eyed Peas dedicate a track to those delicious butter-pecan hispanics. Me being hispanic, i truly understand their obsession for the brown skinned angels that they rap about. The track has some dope lyrics, including a few spanish lines to add variety. The latin production is one of the best pieces, featuring an accoustic spanish guitar and drums, along with claps giving it a very spanish, feel-good feel. Later on in the track, we get a beautiful change in beat to a pure salsa treasure. Growing up, my parents (who are Cuban like me), shoved this salsa music down my throat. Though it was mainly annoying, i admittedly enjoyed a few pieces, and this is one of the best ones on the album. Featuring bongo drums, a nice trumpet, trombone, and some background latin vocals, its a pleasure to listen to it in my opinion,

On "Sexy", The Black Eyed Peas try to recreate the magic from the last track, but fall short due to commercialized subject matter and poor lyrics. Though the track can pass for a single, its not one of those songs in which i would listen to on a regular basis, specially not the radio. A lot of this part of the album is average, and far from good. Either the lyrics are poor or the beat is uninspired and boring.

The Black Eyed Peas sink very low on the next track. "Elephunk Theme" is the worst song ive ever heard by The Black Eyed Peas. Featuring a nonsensical piece of music, with a few too many instruments at once, some extremely annoying samples, and bad lyrics we have an unorganized piece of trash music which is as close as The Black Eyed Peas are going to get to becoming unlistenable. Its a shame that a group with so much potential as the 'Peas a reduced to an annoying piece of gibberish. Skip this trash at all cost.

After that piece of garbage, The Black Eyed Peas improve very much with "The Apl Song" and "Anxiety". Both tracks follow a very soft, introspective feel to them, showing me what the Black Eyed Peas hidden talent level is actually at. If more songs on the album were like this, then perhaps it would've recieved a higher rating. On the first of the two songs, Alp.De.Ap gives us a beautiful solo about his past, reminiscing on the darker times of his youth. Featuring some soft accoustic guitar, driving bass, a drum loop, and some keyboard effects. The second of the two tracks features a harder rock beat, easy to listen to, but also only a distraction from the incredible lyrics. The Black Eyed Peas touch on a topic which is suprising to hear them rap about, and thats anger. They rap about how difficult it is to hold back anger without lashing it out on the world, which is something im sure we can all relate to.

Finally, after all of that waiting, good or bad, we get to the only classic on Elephunk. The lead-single and final song on the album: "Where is the Love", (along with a bonus track).

Positive, Introspective Hip-Hop is the name of the game here, as the Black Eyed Peas drop knowledge about the lack of love and the rise of hatred plagueing this planet, using a variety of examples from racism, to terrorism, to the abuse of our natural resources. The lyrics are well-written, thought-provoking, and in a word: dope. The production is very nostalic, with some bass, and a variety of soft music, giving it a light-hearted, but great feel-good vibe. Justin Timberlake drops by to deliver a beautifully sung chorus, honestly showing the true power of his voice. Im not a huge fan of pop music, but i respect it like hell, specially Timberlake, and this track only increases my respect. This song is one of the best hip-hop songs of 2003, right next to Cunninlynguists' "Seasons", Canibus' "Poet Laureatte II", and Bubba Sparxxx's "Deliverance".

The Black Eyed Peas deliver the goods on Elephunk, unfortunately its not GOOD enough. A lot of the album is loaded with meaningless dribble and useless wanna-be party songs which rarely work. I wouldnt neccessarily call it "filler", but im sure that it could've been better. It seems to me that the 'Peas got lazy on this one, and only focused on the lead-single, which is excellent in my opinion. So i suggest buying the single and straying away from the album unless you are a huge fan.


1 1/2 Stars, rounded up to 2