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My song of the week comes from the considerably well-known name of the Black Eyed Peas. Something I can’t say I’ve said before. If I was old enough to frequent HMV by myself in the late 90s, this might be a different story, but their recent releases have been pretty weak. However this song is different, exciting, and has many fans sitting up to the sound of the Black Eyed Peas once more.
The band have never really left the popular music scene; whether it be politically-fuelled raw hip hop, or in more recent years, a different path through the land of electro pop and rap. Many hopped off the BEP bus after hearing the latter and that isn’t to say that ‘I Gotta Feeling’ and ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ weren’t absolute tunes in their own special way. Yet, thankfully, I think this was just one of their many paths taken in the music industry.
Starting off as the Atban Klann, this was where their real roots began, in hip-hop. After being signed by Eazy E, the core of the group Apl.de.ap, Will.I.Am, Taboo formed the Black Eyed Peas; joined later by Fergie, they became something that had been previously unseen. As you flick through their albums, particularly pre-2006, you can see a really creative approach taken, each feeding off the last, with a number of featuring artists thrown in for fun: names we now see regularly in the charts. My song of the week is a somewhat nostalgic tune, titled ‘Yesterday’, with the music video referencing their first few albums and countless influences from the world of hiphop. All in a record shop. Damn cool.
It’s been a long time coming for the Peas to release a track like this, delving deep into their past and showing us more than a switchboard and some lyrics. Here they don’t disappoint; the unpredictable and wild sound mixes with the slightest hints of electro. This song has forced me to dig out their older albums once more and they’ll be on repeat for a long time after this. More please, Peas. Whether my new neighbours think the same is a different story...
Every Wednesday, one of our young contributors picks a piece of music that has meant something to them in the past seven days. Get in touch if you have a track to tell us about!