Hip-Hop's Outcasts

10/09/2000 2:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Billy Johnson Jr

The Black Eyed Peas don't care about winning popularity contests. If they did, they'd be rapping about jewelry, nice cars, and fast women. Instead, on Bridging The Gap, the follow-up to their 1998 Interscope debut Behind The Front, the trio's will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and taboo continue to dish out an eclectic blend of hip-hop that put them in a class of their own.

"For as many people that like what we do, there is half that hate it, that think, 'Them n-ggas ain't real hip-hop, them n-ggas ain't talking about no f--king bling bling,'" says an unfazed will.i.am, the group's lead rapper. "But just as many people be like, 'I'm down with their sh-t.'"

Though Behind The Front could be considered a commercial failure because it didn't crack gold status (which is pretty bad for Interscope, a label steadily stacking multiplatinum records by Eminem, Dr. Dre, and Limp Bizkit), the album actually made quite an impact. MTV embraced the Peas early on, placing their radio-friendly "Joints 'N Jam" video in regular rotation. And the group far out-toured their platinum-plus-selling contemporaries, hitting the road with OutKast and Everclear as well as with the Smokin' Grooves, Snowcore, Lyricist Lounge, and Warped tours; they even toured Europe on their own.

The Peas would rather be classified as hip-hop outcasts than be members of rap's flavor-of-the-month club. And they refuse to take any flak from rap peers who might dub them "too soft" just because they refuse to brag about their humble upbringings. "We came from the same hoods that they came from," will says of artists who gauge their hip-hop credibility based on the number of ghetto stripes they've earned. "I seen the same things Tupac seen. It's just Tupac is releasing his life experiences in a different way. I come from the same ghettos. Half of my friends are dead, in jail, pregnant, or on drugs. I could talk about the same things. We all come from those same things. I'm trying to bridge the gap to those closed-minded people that think hip-hop is only a certain way."

So, instead of laying a rap about their poor childhoods over a sampled '80s R&B hit, on "Weekends," one of the Bridging The Gap's first singles, the Peas party to Debbie Deb's '80s dance classic "Lookout Weekend." Other songs, like the rousing and sweet "Hot," the electronically syncopated "Go-Go" (a surprising interpolation of Soul Sonic Force's "Planet Rock"), and the string-bass-and-harp-heavy title track, are creatively miles ahead of the music other current rap groups are making. Since will and apl handle most of the album's production, it was easy to keep B.E.P.'s musical vision in place.

But when discussing "Rap Song"--the fun, Wyclef-produced track in which the Peas string together catchy one-liners from their favorite hip-hop picks--will is quick to note that he actually doesn't like the tune. "We wanted to make a song that has nothing to do with hip-hop morals whatsoever," he explains. "It ain't like it's a song that showcases composition or our lyrical capabilities opposed to lyrical wit.

"'On My Own' with Les Nubians and Mos Def, production-wise, I just like the way that sounds, meaty and dark," will continues when asked about the type of music he prefers. "At the same time, it's clubbable, but also viable. The vocal texture is really, really smooth, but the song contradicts itself. It could be a singing song, but it ain't, and it's like jazzy, but at the same time, it got that scant. I just like that. And on 'Weekends,' I like, could dance to that in a club, even if someone else did it."

L.A.'s club scene played a big part in the Peas' landing a record deal. After will and apl met in 1989, they started hanging out, rapping, and dancing together in Los Angeles clubs. The late Eazy-E signed them to his Ruthless Records in 1992, back when they were still known as the Atbam Klan. Though they never ended up releasing a Ruthless album, they remained signed to the label until the gangsta rap pioneer's death in 1995. Later that year, taboo--who was a part of Grassroots, a collective of rappers, poets, and actors--joined the Peas, and they began performing at any club or college that would have them. Talk of their lively stage show quickly drew interest in several major labels and resulted in a deal on Interscope in 1997.

Interestingly enough, B.E.P.'s debut, Behind The Front, is more commercially viable than Bridging The Gap--and that's a good thing. It's a rare album that includes 15 appealing album cuts that all avoid the annoying-yet-infectious attributes that crop up on most hit rap records. And although Bridging The Gap is clearly not typical hip-hop fare, it should help expand the musical boundaries that confine hip-hop records to drum-machine patterns and R&B samples.

"With this album, hopefully, we can open up their minds a little bit more," will says of fans who don't quite get the B.E.P. vibe. "We're not directly preaching, but just through our actions we want to bridge the gap mentally for them to understand where we are coming from musically, and in life in general."