Black Eyed Peas have at times been accused of sounding too Tribe for their own good, but this time out Will.i.am and crew have consciously expanded their horizons. Problem is, perhaps they've tried too hard. As the title suggests, Elephunk borrows from every single element of funk known to man and (with the exception of the one straight-out rock & roll track, "Anxiety") tries to cram them all into a semi-hip-hop format. While such willingness to experiment is admirable, in this case the attempt comes off as slightly desperate and too diffuse. Elephunk settles itself into a groove when BEP's newest member Fergie's lush girlie vocals are allowed to dominate, as they do on the discofied "The Boogie That Be." --Rebecca Levine
As with their last hit, Elephunk, Black Eyed Peas' new disc Monkey Business is a joyful cross-genre journey with musical props to hip-hop, rock, folk, funk, and pop. The reason the Black Eyed Peas have audience appeal that crosses over many styles is because the band members are such obvious fans of diverse music. Nowhere is this more apparent than on Monkey Business's high-profile guest list. After Justin Timberlake's contribution to the massive "Where Is the Love" breakout hit from Elephunk, their inclusion of big names once again was a smart, respectful move on the part of the band as well as their guests. "My Style" is Timberlake's BEP foray number two; while the song is funky pop fun, those looking to hear Justin in the forefront are likely to be disappointed, as his vocals are mixed evenly, no sweet soulful solos this time. Other guests of note are Jack Johnson, who cowrote the bling-bashing "Gone Going," Sting on "Union" (sonically inspired by the former Police-man's "Englishman in New York"), while funk legend James Brown contributes to a scorching soul track dubbed "They Don't Want Music." The contribution of female vocalist Fergie--who joined the band partway through their last CD--has raised up considerably on the band's fourth disc, their second as a quartet. Sassily fronting her way through songs like "My Humps," the "Hey Mama"-esque "Dum Diddly" and the first single "Don't Phunk With My Heart," Fergie's melodic contributions make for a record that will likely be heard by wider audiences than ever, making this a truly accessible `hip-pop' CD. --Denise Sheppard
Bridging the Gap