Black Eyed Peas featuring Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, Cee-Lo and John Legend - It's Like That (2006)
**1/2 (of four)
The Black Eyed Peas have gone blander than the actual peas in a Weight Watchers TV dinner, thanks to their TRL-happy frontwoman Fergie. But it's hard not to support the hip-hop collective in "It's Like That" - the BEP guys have procured three of the thinking man's greats (Tip, Kweli and Cee-Lo) and returned, here at least, to their pre-Ferg routine of just spitting flows off each other to an appealing beat. "It's Like That" comes closer to resembling the spirit of the Peas' first two albums than any of the act's recent singles.
Only problem is, this whole affair seems like an all-star Sprite commercial. The clip-art computer animation backdrops swirl, slide, pan and flip with the rapper's bodies stashed throughout the frames. Lots of animated, pulsing speakers, reprinted lyrics and, at least three times, a huge Black Eyed Peas logo. Just so we don't forget whose video this is. Also, if you have the super-expanded-basic cable package, you might be thrown off by the video's abstractly painted city buildings in reds and browns look like the between-videos promos you see on the MTV Jams and VH1 Soul channels.
Q-Tip's verse basically advertises the Peas and hip-hop in general, and Cee-Lo never gets to do more than sing along with one chorus (Legend gets the other) and clutch his toy-breed dog while wearing a pink suit coat and matching tie. But every BEP member's verse is a good one, and Talib's tops them all. Unnecessary after all this self-promotion, though - the closing "X is in the house, Y's in the house, my man Z is in the house," name checking of everyone involved in the project and several others who aren't there. Come on, guys, save that shit for the liner notes. We don't need a roll call of all your friends.
The Black Eyed Peas have gone blander than the actual peas in a Weight Watchers TV dinner, thanks to their TRL-happy frontwoman Fergie. But it's hard not to support the hip-hop collective in "It's Like That" - the BEP guys have procured three of the thinking man's greats (Tip, Kweli and Cee-Lo) and returned, here at least, to their pre-Ferg routine of just spitting flows off each other to an appealing beat. "It's Like That" comes closer to resembling the spirit of the Peas' first two albums than any of the act's recent singles.
Only problem is, this whole affair seems like an all-star Sprite commercial. The clip-art computer animation backdrops swirl, slide, pan and flip with the rapper's bodies stashed throughout the frames. Lots of animated, pulsing speakers, reprinted lyrics and, at least three times, a huge Black Eyed Peas logo. Just so we don't forget whose video this is. Also, if you have the super-expanded-basic cable package, you might be thrown off by the video's abstractly painted city buildings in reds and browns look like the between-videos promos you see on the MTV Jams and VH1 Soul channels.
Q-Tip's verse basically advertises the Peas and hip-hop in general, and Cee-Lo never gets to do more than sing along with one chorus (Legend gets the other) and clutch his toy-breed dog while wearing a pink suit coat and matching tie. But every BEP member's verse is a good one, and Talib's tops them all. Unnecessary after all this self-promotion, though - the closing "X is in the house, Y's in the house, my man Z is in the house," name checking of everyone involved in the project and several others who aren't there. Come on, guys, save that shit for the liner notes. We don't need a roll call of all your friends.
posted by daytime at 3:57 AM
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