Black Eyed Peas

Los Angeles-based hip-hop trio Black Eyed Peas is the unofficial West Coast franchise of the
East Coast's iconic Native Tongues collective. Part of their hometown appeal lies in West
Coast heads' desperation to show the world that not all Left Coast rap devotees are 'bout
blingin', bangin' and bitches: Garbed in boho gear, comprised of various races and stressing
positivity, the trio is a pointed anecdote to gangsta and ghetto fabulousness. Wh... More >

"Refusing to preach about politics, guns and bitches," as one admirer puts it ("Thankfully there's no inkling of misogyny or homophobia--how refreshing!"), these well-meaners are the Jurassic Five's answer to Arrested Development. Proficient, bland, and dauntingly dull, their only threat is a promise to "take it back to the days of Mantronix" (no, please, anything but that). I can only guess why they clock corporate cash while accessible and manifestly civilized West Coast alt-rap megatalents like Lyrics Born, Del, and Aceyalone explore bootstrap entrepreneurship. Maybe they lucked into connected management. Maybe they take good meeting. Or maybe their very lack of content has the advantage of cosseting the commercial preconceptions that count for so much more with sellers than buyers. (Grade: B-)