The tight trio did it again with their second release album Bridging the Gap. Like their 1998 debut album, Behind the Front, Black Eyed Peas came back with wicked lyrics, bangin' beats and unbelievably great collaborations.
The group's diverse members include will.i.am, an African-American from East Los Angeles; apl.de.ap, a Philippines native who moved to the Statezs in 1989 and taboo, who's of Native American and Hispanic descent, according to a Black Eyed Peas news release.
Will.i.am, the group's lead emcee, explained the album title by saying "I'm trying to bridge the gap to those closed minded people who think hip-hop is only a certain way because they've been listening to it for so long."
They certainly accomplish this on the tracks. Unlike their first album, Bridging the Gap moves slightly further away from the usual hip-hop beats, yet don't misunderstand: Every song has an unmistakably hip-hop flavor to it.
This was done by incorporating certain sounds of other genres of the likes of smooth jazz, funk, soul, folk, Latin, not to mention often recurring futuristic beats.
A listener might be pleasantly surprised to hear some of background sounds making up the tracks. Random buzzing, purring, rapid vibrato, echoing and even accordion melodies are some of the sounds that make the music so original and phat. They managed to take all these sounds and create surprisingly relaxing and flowing music.
The guest appearances from all-stars like Les Nubians, Mos Def, Wyclef Jean and Macy Gray are reasons alone to purchase the album.
Personal favorites and what are sure to be hip-hop classics are the tracks "On my Own" featuring Les Nubians and "Cali to New York" featuring De la Soul.
These songs, along with most of the others, have either an introduction or ending that is of a completely different but complementary tempo.
The intros ease you into the more upbeat verses, while the endings send the listener into state of relaxation after hyper music, or they prepare the listener for the next song by playing a more upbeat ending. The group's inspirations range from Portishead, Ronnie Size, De la Soul, Digable Planets and A Tribe called Quest, according to the release.
The album is good. It's more than good. It's one of those rare albums that are complete, in that the buyer can play the whole CD from front to back without skipping over any "bad" or "OK" songs. It's the type of music that one can play after the CD's aged decades. The listener can light incense, lay back and just enjoy the music. Or the listener could get up and dance, depending on the mood. On top of that, as the songs become more familiar, one's appetite for the music increases.
Important to clarify is the fact that the album is being compared to every artist in the hip-hop genre. In that sense, Bridging the Gap is dynamite and original. But, compared to other artists with a similar sound — that underground a.k.a. "real hip-hop" sound — Black Eyed Peas just continued to meet the standards of quality set by peers of the likes of The Roots, Mos Def, Digable Planets and even Black Eyed Peas' own first album. Regardless, Bridging the Gap is very pleasurable music and is worth buying.
