Skip to main content

6. Black Eyed Peas - Elephunk (2003)

People who don't like rap usually cite a lack of musicality and an overabundance of brutality. They ignore that rap is really an overarching term for three broad categories: party rap, socially conscious rap, and gangsta rap. Usually none of it gets played on VH1, yet in the last couple of months the Black Eyed Peas' Where Is The Love has jockeyed for the top spot on that channel's top 20 countdown. Of course having Justin Timberlake singing the hook doesn't hurt, but the song also subverts that aforementioned stereotype: it's a very singable ode to tolerance and peace.

What a welcome bit of turnabout! Not since the early '90s (when P.M.Dawn and Arrested Development managed to have hits) has any socially conscious rapper not named Outkast met with commercial success. They have watched their counterparts thug and party it up and meet with big dividends, and found little for themselves. Sure they got props from critics and the assurance that they were elevating the artform, but money was more elusive. So let's take a moment to pity the Tribe Called Quests and the De La Souls of the world.

With their first couple of records, Black Eyed Peas were certainly in the pitiable category too. On Elephunk they are seemingly tired of the noble fight. No, they haven't gone gansta, but rather, they made the ingenious conclusion that a marriage between party rap and socially conscious rap might be a fruitful one. So 9 of the 13 songs here are fun, and by turns encourage the listener to "celebrate," put their "hands high to the sky," and "get retarded." In The Boogie That Be they even sample the sound of Uncle Scrooge's pogo cane in the old Ducktales game for Nintendo (I don't know this for sure, but that's what it sounds like to me).

The marriage was a risky move, but it works, mostly because the group is dedicated to it, and because the socially conscious songs that are here are great. Anxiety addresses the usual youthful angst and The Apl Song is about holding on to your cultural roots, but the showstopper is Shut Up, a kickin' call and response about a relationship falling apart. The album also gets points because it is atypically succinct; 13 songs and no skits. I wish more rap artists would exercise this ability to self edit.

So kudos to the Black Eyed Peas. You may have given up a bit on the good fight, but hey, you gotta get yours.

Rating: B
Fave Song: Shut Up

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

12 by Weezer

Here's the drill: 12 songs to summarize an artist's career, in chronological order (of course). This one features... I decided to take an unconventional route for this 12 by, and pretend Weezer have already released a "greatest hits." Here's what I think that would look like:  1) "Buddy Holly", 2) "Undone - the Sweater Song", 3) "My Name Is Jonas", 4) "The Good Life", 5) "El Scorcho", 6) "Hash Pipe", 7) "Island in the Sun", 8) "Dope Nose", 9) "Keep Fishin'", 10) "Beverly Hills", 11) "We Are All On Drugs", 12) "Pork and Beans".  Here's a different take: 1. " Say It Ain't So"  (from Weezer , 1994)  A little bit heavy, a little bit catchy, quiet-loud dynamics. So basically, it's Pixies lite. The song is interesting lyrically because it's basically nonsense until the "Dear daddy..." bridge, which lets out a t

12 by John Mayer

Here's the drill: 12 songs to summarize an artist's career, in chronological order (of course). This one features... With all of his failed celebrity romances and foot-in-his-mouth interviews, John Mayer the person isn't always easy to love. But John Mayer the musician is a different story . His virtuosity never supersedes his pop songcraft, and his lyrics are searching, wise, vulnerable, and relatable. In my mind, he's the closest thing we'll get to a Gen X James Taylor. This list covers the first 8 years of his career. K eep an eye out for 12 More by John Mayer, coming soon! If you have Amazon Music Unlimited, you can listen along here .  1. "No Such Thing" (from Room for Squares , 2001) I'm on record with the opinion that Weezer are the ultimate Gen X musicians, but John Mayer is a very close second. This song captures that feeling of disillusionment and freedom that comes with going out into the "real world" and discovering it's not a

12 by Vicious Vicious

Here's the drill: 12 songs to summarize an artist's career, in chronological order (of course). This one features... If you need a reference point for the work of Vicious Vicious mastermind Erik Appelwick, the most appropriate would be Beck. Like Mr. Hansen, Minnesota-based Appelwick has the ability to navigate between making you laugh and making you cry and making you want to dance, and embraces genres from country to R& B to folk to pop.  I've included songs from the two albums Appelwick did under the name Tropical Depression, because honestly there's not a lot of difference between that and Vicious Vicious.  I very literally  wrote the book  on Appelwick, so please feel confident you are hearing from an authority here.  If you have Amazon Music Unlimited, you can listen to an alternate version of list here  (sadly, not all of VV's music is on the service). 1. "Shake That Ass on the Dance Floor" (from Blood + Clover , 2003) A loungy, laconic come-on