It was the big headline in the music trade papers last Friday. The Black Eyed Peas (BEP) made numbers one and two in the Hot 100 list. Billboard said: “After 11 weeks at No. 1 with Boom Boom Pow, The Black Eyed Peas are right behind themselves at No. 2 with the debut of I Gotta Feeling on the Billboard Hot 100 this week.”
With that the BEP became the first group since OutKast to occupy the top two slots in the Hot 100. OutKast did that with Hey Ya! and The Way You Move in Feb. 2004. And that is not the only cause for celebration for the Peas this week. I Gotta Feeling is No. 1 in the Hot Digital Songs chart and the new CD, The E.N.D is No. 1 in the Top 200 Albums and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.
My discovery of the Black Eyed Peas stands as one of the bright moments of writing this column. It was six years ago when I listened to a CD titled Elephunk by a new rap group. Since I had not heard or read anything about the Peas having a Filipino guy in the group, it was almost mindblowing to hear the rap in The Apl Song. Are these guys saying api as in downtrodden in Tagalog?
I listened closer and then realized the chorus is indeed in Pilipino. So I checked on-line and found out the members of the BEP were will.i.am, Taboo, Fergie and Apl.de.ap who is Allan Pineda Lindo from Pampanga and The Apl Song is his rap autobiography. I felt proud. I wanted to shout from the house tops that there is a true-blue Pinoy in the great new group.
We all did and we felt even prouder over the years as we watched the Peas become more talented, start winning awards and go from one big success after another. They have now sold over 20 million albums worldwide. Fergie is a well-established solo acts and will.i.am is one of the best and most in demand producers in the business. His work with the music of Sergio Mendes is one of the greatest ever.
Among the biggest hits were Where Is The Love and Hump It! which came with Elephunk and Don’t Phunk With My Heart and Let’s Get Retarded out of Monkey Business. That was also the CD where Apl.de.ap got to teach the world what bebot in Pinoy slang means as he went hip-hop with Bebot! Bebot! Bebot!
Three years after that, The Black Eyed Peas have become even bigger. Dominating the Billboard charts the way they do this week must feel fantastic. And take note I Gotta Feeling is only the second single release from the new album. I am sure there are still more to come. Showdown is great. Alive, I Gotta Feeling and Rock Your Body are fantastic movers. Of course, Boom Boom Pow is already one of their biggest.
Although The E.N.D is more dance with techno overtones than hip-hop, I do not see any reason for fans not to like the CD. It is lighter than their previous ones. It is also noticeable that all these guys now inhabit a happier place and have unloaded a lot of excess baggage. They still get into the social commentary but for the most part, they are out to have fun. And that is what happens when you listen. As you will find out the title says, no end is in sight for The Black Eyed Peas. What The E.N.D means Energy Never Dies.
Aside from the Peas, the other titles in the hit lists this week are: In the Top 200 Albums: Big Whiskey And The GrooGrux King by the Dave Matthews Band; Relapse by Eminem; Chickenfoot by Chickenfoot; The Last by Aventura; The Fame by Lady GaGa; Hannah Montana: The Movie Soundtrack by Various Artists; 21st Century Breakdown by Green Day; The Ecstatic by Mos Def; and The Introduction of Marcus Co by Pleasure P.
In the Hot 100: Knock You Down by Keri Hilson featuring Kanye West and Ne-Yo; I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) by Pitbull; LoveGame by Lady GaGa; Birthday Sex by Jeremih; Poker Face also by Lady GaGa; Fire Burning by Sean Kingston; Second Chance by Shinedown; and Halo by Beyoncé.