Black Eyed Peas:
Monkey Business

Release Date: 30 May 2005

Reviewed By: Melisa Tang

1. Pump It

2. Don't Phunk With My Heart

3. My Style

4. Don't Lie

5. Mu Humps

6. Like That

7. Dum Diddly

8. Feel It

9. Gone Going

10. They Don't Want Music

11. Disco Club

12. Bebot

13. Da Bump

14. Audio Delite At Low Fidelity

15. Union

16. Do What You Want

17. If You Want Love

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It was their No.1 smash hit ‘Where Is The Love?’ that propelled the Black Eyed Peas to commercial success back in 2003, and since then, the group have seen their fanbase across the world multiply ten times over.

Their new album, ‘Monkey Business’, is the group’s fourth LP, and their second as a foursome, (vocalist Stacy ‘Fergie’ Ferguson joined in 2003, just before the release of ‘Elephunk’). Having scored hit after hit with tracks like ‘Hey Mama’, ‘Let’s Get Retarded’ and ‘Shut Up’, the BEP were finally put on the map, and for their latest project, the formula is kept pretty much the same.

The album starts off promising with the energetic ‘Pump It’, and the sounds of the saxophone in the background add to the rather jazzy feel of the song. The song is a good opener to the album, telling people to ‘pump it louder’, as they proceed to their latest single, ‘Don’t Phunk With My Heart’, which got to No.3 in the UK singles charts.

There are five collaborations on ‘Monkey Business’, and Justin Timberlake makes his second appearance for the BEP on ‘My Style’, an upbeat Timbaland-produced track, which would do really well as a single. Radio-friendly and suitable dancefloor material, ‘My Style’ is sure to see a release sometime in the near future, if not as the next single. However, if you expect to hear ‘Mr JT’ singing a bit more than the chorus, you’d better look elsewhere, as his vocals are only used for the hook, just like they were on ‘Where Is The Love?’

Another well thought out collaboration is ‘They Don’t Want Music’ featuring the soul/funk legend himself, James Brown, and is a brilliant track, showing that the old school still know how to put it down. The BEP and their ‘phunky’ ways work well with Brown, and the result is something spectacular. The same can be said about ‘Like That’, which sees Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, Cee-Lo and John Legend join the Peas for a rather special line-up; one that is definitely worth checking out.

‘Don’t Lie’ is also one of the better tracks on the album, one of few that still try to deliver a message. The moral is encapsulated by the title, and the song basically tells how a relationship can be destroyed by lies.

One of the weirdest cuts on the album though, is ‘My Humps’, a strangely catchy tune about ‘lady lumps’! On first listen, you’d probably be inclined to press the ‘skip’ button, but after hearing it a couple more times, you’ll find yourselves singing along to the chorus too! Fergie takes the lead on this one, with some help from Will.i.am on the second verse. ‘Dum Diddly’ is another fun-loving track, which will have you singing along with it in no time.

However, not all the tracks deserve to have made the final cut. ‘Disco Club’ is a poor attempt at a club banger, and it becomes apparent that the Peas only produce hot tracks when they don’t go out of their way to do so. ‘Bebot’ is a largely written by Apl de Ap, and is recorded in a foreign language, with the repeated echoes of ‘Filipino’ in the background. The track is certainly different, but it is likely to pass over the majority of BEP fans and listeners without having any effect on them whatsoever.

In spite of it all, the Black Eyed Peas have made a reasonably good album, particularly as it was mostly written and recorded whilst on the road. The UK version also has two bonus tracks, the second of which, ‘If You Want Love’, is a welcome addition to ‘Monkey Business’. The BEP have shown some degree of growth since their last release, and even though this album is directed towards the mainstream market, there are still some cuts that will be enjoyed by fans of earlier releases. The bottom line is, if you liked ‘Elephunk’, you’ll like ‘Monkey Business’ even more.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Top tracks:
3) My Style
10) They Don’t Want Music
6) Like That

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