- Pump It
- Don't Phunk with My Heart
- My Style
- Don't Lie
- My Humps
- Like That
- Dum Diddly
- Feel It
- Gone Going
- They Don't Want Music
- Disco Club
- Bebot
- Ba Bump
- Audio Delite at Low Fidelity
- Union
5
1
0602498804803
CD(Digi-Pak)
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Overview
Hip-hop artists with commercial aspirations need never appear pandering to their audience, since a tough, defiant stance -- aka keeping it real -- is exactly what will draw in most crossover listeners anyway. Nevertheless, the Black Eyed Peas quickly embraced the pop world after the surprising success of third album Elephunk, and only continued their repositioning as a mainstream act with 2005's Monkey Business. That focus is immediately clear on the opener, "Pump It Up," where they gladly welcome listeners on a track whose sample -- Dick Dale's "Misirlou," already ubiquitous before it appeared in Pulp Fiction -- has to replace "Walk This Way" or "I'll Be Missing You" (more on Sting later) as the most conspicuous case of an unmissable rock riff being used on a rap track. With the Wal-Mart audience safely in tow, the group moves on to motivate its hip-hop base by reaching for every trick in the grab bag of contemporary urban music. These attempts are either serviceable or wildly unsuccessful. "Disco Club" is one of the few serviceable tracks, an apt re-creation of Cassidy's "Hotel." Wildly unsuccessful is the group's utilization of its newest member, Fergie, to function as an imitator of the hyper-sexual Kelis/Ciara archetype on "My Humps," which makes for one of the most embarrassing rap performances of the new millennium (sample lyric: "My hump (9x)/My lovely little lumps"). Unlike Elephunk, the Justin Timberlake feature here ("My Style") is placed early in the program, and it's bolstered by a Timbaland production, which eases the strain of an otherwise featherweight jam. Most of the songs on Monkey Business are the same type of party rap singalong that Black Eyed Peas made their name with on Elephunk. But other than "Disco Club," the only one that works as anything but background party music is "Feel It," a rare production by the group's apl.de.ap (will.i.am handles most of the rest). At the very tail end of the disc, there's one brief glance at Black Eyed Peas' history as a socially conscious group -- "Union," featuring Sting and Branford Marsalis, which floats the usual bromides about peace and equality (and swipes the sound and speak of Bob Marley in the process). Monkey Business could easily sell just as well, or better, than Elephunk, but what the group made sound effortless in the past sounds strained and canned here. ~ John Bush
Product Details
Release Date: | 06/07/2005 |
---|---|
Label: | A&M |
UPC: | 0602498804803 |
Rank: | 50409 |
Tracks
Album Credits
Performance Credits
Black Eyed Peas Primary ArtistJohn Legend Primary Artist,Vocals,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
CeeLo Green Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Talib Kweli Primary Artist,Rap,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Jack Johnson Primary Artist,Guitar
James Brown Primary Artist,Guest Artist
Sting Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Bass,Featured Artist,Vocals
Q-Tip Primary Artist,Rap,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Justin Timberlake Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Dante Santiago Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)
Taboo Vocals
A.P.L. Vocals
Sid Page Violin
Branford Marsalis Saxophone
Brian Dembow Viola
Kenny Kirkland Keyboards
Bruce Dukov Violin
Ray Brady Guitar
Robert "Mousie" Thompson Bass,Drums,Organ,Clavinet
Mike Fratantuno Bass
Jacqueline Brand Violin
Chaos Bass
Joel Derouin Violin
Cecilia Tsan Cello
Ron Fair Conductor,Harmonica,String Conductor
Tim Izo Orindgreff Flute,Saxophone
Sarah Thornblade Violin
Stephen Erdody Cello
Apl.de.Ap Vocals,Strings,Clavinet
Josefina Vergara Violin
Simon Oswell Viola
The Bittersweets Vocals (Background)
Julie Gigante Violin
Manu Katche Drums
will.i.am Bass,Drums,Organ,Vocals,Clavinet,Synthesizer,Fender Rhodes,Organ (Hammond),Moog Synthesizer
Fergie Vocals
Roberto Cani Violin
Natalie Leggett Violin
David Low Cello
Suzie Katayama Cello
The Horndogs Saxophone
Kevin Rudolf Guitar
James H. Brown Vocals
Charlie Bisharat Violin
Printz Board Bass,Drums,Trumpet,Mellotron,Synthesizer,Fender Rhodes,Moog Synthesizer
Mino Cinelu Percussion
Endre Granat Violin
Tippa Irie Vocals (Background)
Jeff Watkins Saxophone
Songa Lee Violin
Katia Popov Violin
Alan Grunfeld Violin
Robert "Dandy" Thompson Bass,Drums,Organ,Clavinet
Matthew Funes Viola
Mario de Leon Violin
Tamara Hatwan Violin
Jimmy Limon Bass,Organ,Guitar,Clavinet,Percussion
Charlie Baccarat Violin (Electric)
Venus Brown Scratching,Vocals (Background)
Rene Mandel Violin
Cynthia Morey Vocals (Background)
Sheila Wheat Vocals (Background)
Phillip Levy Violin
Victoria Miskolczy Viola
Damon Wood Guitar
Keith Harris Drums,Keyboards,Percussion
George Pajon Jr. Guitar
Cynthia Moore Vocals (Background)
Damon Woods Guitar
Kelly Jarrell Vocals (Background)
Michael Matthews Guitar
Mike Fratantuono Bass
Technical Credits
Timbaland Audio Production,Producer,Instrumentationwill.i.am Audio Production,Mixing,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Instrumentation,Drum Programming,Executive Producer
Larry Blackmon Composer
Jack Joseph Puig Mixing
Jack Johnson Composer,Composer
James Brown Composer,Sample Source
Ray Brady Composer
Robert "Mousie" Thompson Drum Programming
Talib Kweli Composer
Dylan Dresdow Engineer,Vocal Engineer
Drew Peters Composer
Ricky Walters Composer
Chaos Engineer,Drum Programming
Mark "Spike" Stent Mixing
Leslie Bricusse Composer
Ron Fair Arranger,Producer,Executive Producer,String Arrangements,Additional Production
Robert Lyn Composer
Brian Gardner Mastering
Justin Timberlake Composer
Ted Howard Engineer
Tal Herzberg Engineer,Pro-Tools,Digital Editing
Tim Izo Orindgreff Composer
Rick James Composer
Nicholas Roubanis Composer
Nate Hills Composer
Kamaal Fareed Composer
Danja Mowf Producer
Neil Tucker Engineer
Jason Villaroman Engineer
Apl.de.Ap Producer,Drum Programming
Timothy Mosley Composer
Ethan Willoughby Mixing,Engineer
Serban Ghenea Mixing
Tony Maserati Mixing
Anthony Newley Composer
David Payton Composer
Full Force Composer
Printz Board Composer,Producer,Drum Programming
Jaime Gomez Composer
Demacio Castellon Engineer
Anthony Tidd Composer
Dante Santiago Artist Coordination
Tim Orindgreff Composer
Fitzroy Simpson Composer
Lloyd Ferguson Composer
Darryl Barnes Composer
Stacy Ferguson Composer
Shepard Fairey Logo Design,Cover Design
Jean Baptiste Composer
Michael Evans Production Coordination
Justin Siegel Artist Coordination
John Stephens Composer,Composer
Mike Jurkovac Cover Art
Robert "Dandy" Thompson Drum Programming
Kalyanji Anandji Composer
Osinachi Nwaneri Engineer
George Bennett Composer
Thomas Jenkins Composer
Venus Brown DJ
Jimmy Limon Drum Programming
Chris Peters Composer
Benjamin Brown Composer,Composer
Albert Watson Photography
Michael Mathews Composer
William E. Pittwar Production Coordination
David Saevitz Composer
Lor e Phillips Stylist
Andrew Van Meter Production Coordination
Indeewar Composer
Jaime A. Davila "Tame" Gomez Composer
Geneva Randolph Production Coordination
Dennis Gomez Booklet Design
Sting Composer
Noize Trip Producer
Greg O. Mays Composer
Keith Harris Composer
Thomas Van Musser Composer
George Pajon Jr. Composer
Donat Mittoo Composer
Leroy Sibblis Composer
Marcella Araica Editing,Pro-Tools,Digital Editing,Assistant Engineer
Melvin J. Lewis Composer
William E. Pittway, Jr. Production Coordination
Allan Pineda Composer
William Adams Composer
Indivar Composer
Talib Kweli Greene Composer
Gregg O. Mays Composer
Nathaniel Hills Composer
From the B&N Reads Blog
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