IT'S THE END ALRIGHT....

I remember a day when the Black Eyed Peas represented everything that I love about hip hop today. When they took it back to the essence. They weren't the best on a lyrical standpoint, but then again, when you heard their music, that really didn't matter, because it had that original feel-good vibe to their music. Shit you can blast out ya boombox (note MP3's players weren't that big and iPods didn't exist yet) Their music represented all that was the "elements" of the hip-hop culture if you will. I remember shit like this....



and........



and they had a white girl before the Ferg...



Years went by and they kinda disappeared for a bit. I didn't understand it, nor was I in that right state of mind to care, but then I noticed they returned...with a new white girl...and a way too happy song...a bit pop if you will...but still I was feelin' it...but I started to doubt.



The Elephunk album started to have me question everything about them. Especially, when I realized the Black Eyed Peas' "Let's Get It Started" or for those that don't give a fuck about Wal-Mart led censorship, "Let's Get Retarded"...won the Grammy for best rap song or whatever...the first thing I thought to myself was....that was a rap song???

Then came Monkey Business. Man....you wanna dumb down to sell records...you follow the Black Eyed Peas formula...



Around this time, everything Black Eyed Peas was hard for me to swallow (pause). Especially when cats like Kanye, Common, and T.I. were getting ready to reach the height of their popularity only to get shafted by the radio-friendly, corporate-backed sugary-sweet, tooth-rotting music that the BEP were putting out. I mean at least back in the day Taboo and Apl had mic time and verses...now...I dont know what they do, I mean what are they, hypemen? bodyguards? It's all Fergie wit Will.I.Am behind the beats.

So Fergie went solo for a bit and got crazy popular, Will.I.Am dropped a solo....(and no one cared)...but at the same time, he felt he needed to prove himself that he was just as hip-hop as any nigga in the game. So from there, he started producing for almost EVERYONE...from legends like Nas and Common to future greats like the Game to lesser knowns like Murs.

It had to be at least two years...and the BEP started working on a new album...and just when I think, all is gonna be well....I get this.....



Now "Boom Boom Pow" aint as bad as one would think it would be, BUT...I absolutely HATE when someone comes out and claim this as the BEP is changing the game...All I see this as is a rip off of Afrika Bambattaa's "Planet Rock" dosed with idiotic lyrics about the year 3008 manipulated by the fine workings of an Auto-Tune program....ROCK AND RAAAAAWWWLLL....

What is the point of this blog? It is simple. For years, I've been questioning to whether the Black Eyed Peas can return to that vibe that I had for years listening to their music. Fergie is talented, Will.I.Am is talented, Taboo and Apl....good for what they do....but that really ain't to say I am satisfied with the product they are putting out now. Nor do I believe I ever will now. They basically said "Fuck You" to hip hop and have now driving down the crash-and-burn lane of pop music and vow never to return...and if you don't believe....



Man...Jamie Foxx hit it on the head on the Foxxhole a little while ago...