walking upstream…
Black Eyed Peas
photo: billy hicks · cc by-sa 3.0 ↗Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas formed in Los Angeles in 1995 around rapper-producer will.i.am and apl.de.ap, emerging from the city's underground alternative-rap scene with two jazzy, live-instrument albums that leaned bohemian and conscious rather than commercial. The 2003 arrival of singer Fergie and the album 'Elephunk' pivoted the group toward a glossy dance-pop and pop-rap crossover that made them one of the best-selling acts of the 2000s. Across hits like 'Where Is the Love?,' 'Let's Get It Started,' and 'Boom Boom Pow,' will.i.am's maximalist, electronics-forward production reframed the group as a global chart and festival juggernaut.
the sound in question
2003
Where Is the Love?Black Eyed Peas
walk the tributaries ↓
A Tribe Called Quest1990s · Hip-hop / Jazz rap
Before their dance-pop turn, the Black Eyed Peas were an alternative-rap act steeped in the jazzy, live-instrument, positive-minded style that A Tribe Called Quest helped define, and critics routinely placed their late-1990s work in that post-Native Tongues bohemian lineage of loose grooves and conversational, upbeat rhyming.
listen: upstream & here
1993
Award TourA Tribe Called Quest
1998
Joints & JamBlack Eyed Peas
listen forCue Tribe's 'Award Tour' and then the Peas' 'Joints & Jam' — listen for the same unhurried, jazz-loop swing and trading, sing-song verses, where the rhythm rides a warm bassline instead of a hard-hitting beat.
Daft Punk1990s–2000s · House / French house / Electronic / Disco
For the group's late-2000s reinvention on 'The E.N.D.,' will.i.am pushed toward robotic, vocoder-heavy electro built on hard, four-on-the-floor synths — the machine-tooled dance palette Daft Punk had popularized, where the human voice is chopped into computerized, rhythmic syllables.
listen: upstream & here
2001
Harder, Better, Faster, StrongerDaft Punk
2009
Boom Boom PowBlack Eyed Peas
listen forPlay Daft Punk's 'Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger' before 'Boom Boom Pow' — notice the same chopped, vocoded robot-voice hook and stiff, filtered synth-bass pulse, the vocal sliced into stuttering electronic fragments.
Michael Jackson1980s · Pop / R&B / Dance
The group's crossover era chased the kind of universal, showmanship-driven dance-pop Michael Jackson perfected — relentless, joy-driven grooves engineered to move a crowd, wrapped in polished, radio-ready production; will.i.am has named Jackson among his formative influences.
listen: upstream & here
1979
Don't Stop 'Til You Get EnoughMichael Jackson
2004
Let's Get It StartedBlack Eyed Peas
listen forThrow on Jackson's 'Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough' and then 'Let's Get It Started' — feel the same driving, propulsive dance momentum and rising, exhortation-style vocals built to keep a whole room on its feet.