By By Madeline Kerins
To say that the Black Eyed Peas have outdone themselves would be a gross understatement. With their latest disc Monkey Business, they haven’t just grown as a band and produced a brilliant hip-hop album, but they’ve made the CD of the summer. Put away Love, Angel, Music, Baby immediately, cause Gwen’s been replaced by equally smokin’ Fergie as this summer’s pop siren.
As soon as their first single, “Don’t Phunk With My Heart” started making rotations on MTV, Z100 and every other popular media source, it was apparent that the Peas were back and better than ever. Complementing the Peas brand of hip-hop funk are several collaborations with top-notch music celebrities; in this case name dropping is a must-James Brown, Sting, Justin Timberlake, Jack Johnson, John Legend and Q-Tip all add their own personal touch to what seems as though it will be this summer’s party soundtrack.
There is quite possibly no way you could not love this CD, unless of course you’re a pretentious music snob, and in that case that didn’t mean you anyway-I know it would hurt to listen to anything that was this vivacious!
While they have basically exploded since the 2004 release Elephunk, the Peas have only improved on the funky style that has become their trademark. Though that was only female vocalist Fergie’s first album with the Peas, Monkey Business would be nothing without her. Not to put down the talents of the other band members, but her vocal range and ability is what makes this album so absolutely delicious.
Funky and fun, the first track, “Pump It,” was featured in commercials for Best Buy, and as a result is immediately recognizable. This serves as a basis for the rest of the album, in which the Peas tastefully sample from various artists and styles, including most notably the tacky reggae anthem “Pass The Dutchie.”
Other notable tracks include “My Style” featuring Justin Timberlake and “Union” featuring the unlikely guest Sting. On “My Humps,” Fergie dishes about her feminine wiles, while on “They Don’t Want Music,” the Peas get down with the Godfather of Soul James Brown. Quite possibly the most awkward combination is with Jack Johnson, who take his song “Gone” and rename it “Gone Going.”
If there was any question in your mind about purchasing this, there shouldn’t be. Even if you don’t like it, at least one of your friends will end up stealing it from you and bumping it relentlessly in their car, at the beach or barbequing.
The Chronicle gives ´Monkey Business´ by the Black Eyed Peas four 1/2 out of five stars.