There was a time when "underground hip-hop" really meant something. If a person described a hip-hop group as "underground" it immediately triggered an image in the listeners mind: an understanding and appreciation of the four elements, lyrics that emphasize vocabulary over violence and a knowledge the hip- hop is more than just music. It's a culture force and a means for liberation. Basically, everything mainstream rap was, underground hip-hop was not.
Today underground hip-hop is still going strong, spurred on by the digital-download era, where an independent record label (for example, EL-P's Definitive Jux Records or Slug's Rhyme Sayers Entertainment) can actually survive and market its product globally. But a handful of artists who once called the underground home have since left its low-budget playground for bigger and better things in the arena of mainstream rap.
Los Angeles emcee trio The Black Eyed Peas are the forefront of the underground-to-mainstream movement, along with fellow West Coast rappers Jurassic 5 and Philadelphia-natives The Roots. The Peas new album "Elephunk," just released this past Tuesday, is an energetic, funk-filled party record. Not the neo-bohemian lyrical masterpiece of BEP's brilliant debut "Behind the Front." "This is a hip-hop record," BEP mastermind will.i.am said, "but we didn't go into this with hip-hop on our mind."
Apparently what the Black Eyed Peas did have on their mind was the all-mighty dollar.
The first single off of the new record is a soft, boring and lyrically weak ballad featuring the loved and hated Justin Timberlake, called "Where is the Love?"
Justin on a Peas track? So, what went wrong in the wonderful world of hip- hop?
According to BEP emcee Taboo, the changes in major label hip-hop have come about because "rappers are a lot more business minded now. The music industry is really 90 percent business and 10 percent show. Labels know what to do with hip-hop groups [like BEP, the Roots and J5] now and they're willing to spend some money on us now."
But still, Justin Timberlake on a Black Eyed Peas track?
"I make hip-hop for the whole world to hear and enjoy, not just my homey on the block," Taboo explained. "We met Justin at clubs and really built a relationship to where we came at each other as human beings and not 'Justin Timberlake' and 'Black Eyed Peas.' It shouldn't matter that he is who he is, and I'm a Mexican from East LA. We just want to make music together. I'm not going to judge people by how much money they got or anything like that."
But it's not just the inclusion of a Justin Timberlake song that makes "Elephunk" a dissapointing listen. Overall, the new record just seems weak, lackluster, and nowhere near as grand as the seminal "Behind The Front" debut that captured the hearts and minds of critics and hip- hop heads alike.
With their third album, The Peas have expanded their lineup, adding a new member, Fergie. "We met Fergie at a club, actually," Taboo said. "We first brought her in to the studio to work on 'Shut Up' with us. After that we started to do more songs together and our chemistry just became impeccable. It was very natural, like love at first sight."
"We've really grown as artists and as human beings. Black Eyed Peas have taken a different outlook in life but still remain the Black Eyed Peas. We understand- the world more; we're travelers, we're nomads who present hip hop with live instrumentation. "
What is the "Elephunk" then? "Elephunk is a term we came up with to metaphorically represent the elephant sound, like a big, deep funky sound. Everyone thinks the king of the jungle is the lion. But if you think about it, if you make an elephant mad, they'll stampede that ass - and there's no escaping that. That's how we feel about our music. Our music is like a stampede; we're peaceful people, but if provoked we'll take that ass on stage and stomp that shit."
Group leader Will I. Am has kept himself busy in between BEP albums doing soundtrack work for the cartoons "Dexter's Laboratory" and "Samurai Jack," as well as working on his own "solo" record, "Lost Change." As for Taboo, "I'm working on a project called The Montezuma Project," the East LA-born emcee says. "It's hip-hop directed towards to the Latino market; a collaboration of Latin rhythms and hip-hop in Spanish. I feel that I've already established myself in the American market and no I want to cross over into the Spanish-speaking market and sell records there."
Are The Black Eyed Peas sellouts then? "Every person that we talk to asks if we think we're sellouts," Taboo said. "Every interview we do, people want to know if we think we sold out. I don't get it. If I'm a sellout it's only because now we're selling out arenas. We're still making the music we want and staying true to what Black Eyed Peas has always been about."
Every interview? Well, then maybe I'm not the only one who notices this sort of stuff.
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