Looks like the Black Eyed Peas are ready to get it started again.
After several years with no new music — not counting the 2016 remake of their iconic hit “Where Is The Love” — the group composed of will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (Fergie is currently taking a break BEP to promote her sophomore solo album Double Dutchess) released the new single “Street Livin'” on Tuesday morning (Jan 9). The song revolves around social issues such as the prison industrial complex, immigration, gun violence and police brutality, and is accompanied by a hard-hitting black and white video in which the group’s mouths are superimposed on characters in historical scenarios.
Street Livin. Available now on Spotify, Apple Music, and all streaming platforms. #BEPstreetlivin
Stay woke. Rise up with us. https://t.co/81rlh8Eseq pic.twitter.com/nfcseBDhTN
— apl.de.ap (@apldeap) January 9, 2018
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“We have the POWER to make change together,” the Black Eyed Peas official Twitter account posted early Tuesday (Jan. 9) morning. “These issues are critical for our families, friends, communities, and world. Stay Woke, Take Action Now.” The socially conscious single, available now on iTunes, is the first new original song from the group in seven years; BEP’s most recent album was 2010’s The Beginning.
We have the POWER to make change together.
Prison Industrial Complex. Immigration. Gun Violence. Police Brutality. These issues are critical for our families, friends, communities, and world. Stay Woke, Take Action Now. #BEPStreetLivin
— Black Eyed Peas (@bep) January 9, 2018
The song covers an array of social issues faced by many across America and the video for “Street Livin'” brings those predicaments to life through black and white photographs that show the subjects in the photos, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and a Black Lives Matter protestor, now animated and synced to move their mouths with the powerful and provocative lyrics.
Lines such as “another cop got off with no charge, if you black in the hood, you at large” and “listen, you can get f—– by the system or you can say f— the system,” clearly showcase the groups frustration and rage as well as their clear desire to promote change through music. “Street livin’ ain’t no joke/ It’s a cold world better bring your coat,” they rap on the chorus over the spare beat and mournful saxophone loop.
To see the politically charged video, watch below.
The group’s homepage includes a manifesto for change in which they ask fans to take action and sign a pledge to receive alerts on how to act on issues such as prison reform, immigration, policing and guns. noting. “In a world where our most basic human rights are often ignored and the system doesn’t respect us, a just future is only achievable if we come together and use our collective power to make change.,” they write along with links to organizations including the Hip Hop Caucus, i.am.angel foundation, Black Alliance for Just Immigration, Community Justice Reform Coalition, PICO’s LIVE Free Campaign, #SchoolsNotPrisons, The Gathering for Justice and United We Dream.