Bridging The Gap:
Once upon a time, hip-hop was about having a good time and (brace yourselves) getting down! The Black Eyed Peas are bringing that mentality back to the future. They reinvigorated blasé dance floors and seduced discriminating heads with their debut, Behind the Front, and they do it again on Bridging the Gap. In the open-minded old-school tradition of producers like Afrika Bambaataa, the album is diverse and delicious, a grab bag of influences from reggae to drum & bass and beyond. Songs like "BEP Empire," produced by Gang Starr's notorious DJ Premier, give the Peas a harder-edged beat to roll with, which they rock rapturously. Then "Weekends," featuring Toronto down-tempo diva Esthero, is a fun dance floor number. And these two tracks are just the tip of the iceberg. Bridging the Gaps is a listen-all-the-way-through album. Every drum roll is vivacious, rollicking, and the judicious sample choices meld beautifully with the organic beats. Similarly open-minded, talented guests such as Macy Gray, De La Soul, and Mos Def also stop by to bless the mic. As James Brown would say, "Get up off of that thing, and dance 'til you feel better."
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Behind The Front:
The Black Eyed Peas' debut, Behind the Front, may sound thoroughly familiar: like A Tribe Called Quest, they sprout positive, deftly delivered lyrics out of their light jazz, R&B, and funk tracks; like the Roots, this multi-ethnic outfit's three MCs drop science in front of a live band that builds its grooves organically; and at their best, such as on the pop and reggae-flavored "Karma," the group can out-Fugee the Fugees. For some reason, though, the mostly mild, largely scratchless and sample-free record can--at times--be downright tepid. But for the most part, it works--sometimes brilliantly--and as a break from the mostly belligerent voices in hip-hop's mainstream, we can definitely use more of what the Peas have to offer.
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