will.i.am Albums (3)
What The Critics Say
Boasting the best album-length production of the year, will.i.am's Songs About Girls is a tour de force of next-generation contemporary R&B, all of it devoted to girls -- girls he wants, girls he wants back, girls who are gone, girls he's glad are gone, and, of course, girls trying hard to make a living for their family as strippers. Although the trailer single, "I Got It from My Mama," had threatened to become even more obnoxious and unescapable than Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps" -- replacing Fergie's awkward come-ons with will.i.am's clumsy rapping -- it's the lone note of pandering on this record. (Perhaps another should be guest Snoop Dogg lofting the word "donque" into the popular consciousness.) Recorded everywhere from Rio to The Record Plant, Songs About Girls percolates with more innovation, enthusiasm, and excitement than contemporary work by Pharrell, Kanye West, Mark Ronson, or anyone else remotely in the same league. Fortunately, will keeps the anthemic rapping to a minimum, instead sing-speaking or pleading plaintively behind a parade of filters and emoting rather than motivating. Musically, there's all manner of technical wizardry on display, including vocoderized electronics, surprisingly acid-washed synth on "The Donque Song" (how long has it been since Snoop Dogg rapped over a 303, doctored or not), and "Get Your Money," the latter of which may be the classic tale of a stripper with a heart of gold, but, powered by a swing-house M.A.N.D.Y. sample, should provide the requisite credibility to rehabilitate the man who unleashed "humps" on the populace. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Jay Dee and Pete Rock's extremely contrasting contributions to BBE's ambitious and rapidly unfolding beat-suite series has made it increasingly difficult to discern where the label's "true" musical vision lies. While Jay Dee's Welcome to Detroit was a more rhyme-orientated opus, Pete Rock's Petestrumentals was a distinctly jazzy, instrumental-based endeavor. will.i.am's "Lost Change" is a solid extension of this movement, as it cozily nestles itself in between these two releases, sprinkling in an equal assortment of both beats and rhymes. Though will has taken the instrumental-based series and put his own stamp on it, that stamp still contains occasional hues of Black Eyed Peas' (of which will is a member) organic stylings ("Ev Rebahdee" featuring Planet Asia). Yet, BBE's progressive format frees will up to dabble in a menagerie of musical styles. And he is up to the challenge, as "Lost Change" fuses together aspects of jazz, electronica, funk, Caribbean, and trip-hop rhythms. While the straight-up rhyming tracks border on sublime ("I Am") to humdrum ("Money" featuring Huck Fynn, Oezlem, and Horn Dogs), it is the instrumental format where will truly flourishes. Showing a true knack for experimentation, will leisurely darts back and forth between the reggae-scented "Possessions," "Lost Change" (which coalesces jazzy horns, with junkyard band riffing), and the hazy electronic fuzz of "Thai Arrive," which unfolds like a Radiohead track, minus the attitude. Similarly, "Lay Me Down" has the potential to be a breakout hit, as will's infectious snare claps and blissful horn snippets provide a cooled-out platform for Terry Dexter's soulful vocal scatting. On "Control Tower" will inserts a vocal clip that states, "I'm on the brink of a great achievement." Though "Lost Change" falls short of those expectations, will does an admirable job of implementing a host of different styles, without losing the listener in the process, as "Lost Change" is a sophisticated, musically enthralling endeavor, which still manages to be accessible. ~ Matt Conaway, All Music Guide
