Black Eyed Peas

In their pre-Fergie days, the Black Eyed Peas were a relatively obscure, "socially conscious" hip-hop group that collaborated with the likes of De La Soul and Jurassic 5. Seems weird, doesn't it? For the past seven years or so, they've shrewdly transitioned to making the biggest of hits with the...

By Albert Ching

March 25, 2010

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In their pre-Fergie days, the Black Eyed Peas were a relatively obscure, "socially conscious" hip-hop group that collaborated with the likes of De La Soul and Jurassic 5. Seems weird, doesn't it? For the past seven years or so, they've shrewdly transitioned to making the biggest of hits with the dumbest of hooks. They've woven a rich tapestry of absurdity stretching from "Let's Get Retarded" in 2003 to "My Humps" in 2005 and "Boom Boom Pow" in 2009. Really, it's almost as if will.i.am is daring the masses to reject their increasingly ridiculous material. Instead, they just get more popular: either "Boom Boom Pow" or "I Gotta Feeling" was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for literally half of last year. So it makes sense that for their current tour, they're paired with LMFAO, their spiritual heirs in getting rich from utter nonsense. The duo caught attention with the gleefully stupid "I'm in Miami Bitch," and their album Party Rock also boasts "What Happens at the Party" and "I Am Not a Whore," predictably packed with Chomsky-esque commentary. Rounding out the bill, appropriately, is Ludacris. Y'know, the guy who, in one of his biggest songs, repeatedly says "move bitch, get out the way."

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