by Gail Mitchell, L.A. |
May 22, 2009 6:26 EDT
Picking up on the same escape theme is "Out of My Head." Channeling R&B veteran Millie Jackson, a slurring Fergie opens with three little words, "I'm so tipsy"-which she literally was while recording the song. "This song reminds me of the fun character of 'My Humps.' I told Will we have to get some wine if I'm going to do this correctly. I'm not going to front on this song. So we all got a little tipsy."
"Now Generation," another notable track in the 16-song set, is a nod to the young generation who helped move President Barack Obama into the White House-galvanized by Will.i.am's viral "Yes We Can" video. Powered by a guitar and bass intro that morphs into fist-pumping rock'n'roll, the song captures the emotion of what it feels like to be part of that generation. "This is the first time in history where we have a powerful new youth generation connected by technology, not by religion or government. So they want things now," Will.i.am says.
The "E.N.D." goal, he adds, is to make people move and escape. "If you had to pick one genre that's migrating at the highest frequency, it would be the dance world," Will.i.am says. "That's where music as a culture really lives. It's a genre-making music for the sake of music."
In The Beginning
The Black Eyed Peas initially got started when best friends Will.i.am ("the only black dude in a Mexican neighborhood") and apl.de.ap-a non-English-speaking adoptee from the Philippines-began break dancing and freestyling together. In 1991 the teens signed to Eazy E's Ruthless Records as part of the band Atban Klann. But their vision of hip-hop and dance didn't mesh with that of the gangsta label. So the pair left and formed the Peas after meeting Chicano Taboo (whose "musical heroes were A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul") while battling at a local club.
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