In an attempt to move out of the underground hip hop scene, I find myself still stuck in the underground only nearly a decade removed from when I started. A Tribe Called Quest's and Black Eye Peas's debut albums are connected through one individual. Neither performer nor producer, sound engineer Tim Latham worked on both debuts as a mixer in charge of the recordings' final mixes (at least in part).
Released in 1998 through Interscope Records, Black Eyed Peas's debut album feels a decade late. By this time on the underground circuit, De La Soul and the Tribe's zeitgeist had run its course. As the curtain closes, Black Eyed Peas don't hesitate to follow both groups' themes, style, and diverse sampling catalog from their earliest years. The Peas even déjà vu when they intersperse game show skits amongst their songs, a concept previously used by De La Soul to better humor and success on 3 Feet High and Rising. Behind the Front feels like an album that missed the alternative boat and got stuck on the docks for a good six years.
As generic as that analogy is, that's about exactly what happened to the Peas. Amidst the group's history, they were originally known as A.T.B.A.N. Klann (A Tribe Beyond A Nation). They signed to Ruthless Records and were scheduled to release their debut album Grass Roots in 1992, but the death of Ruthless co-founder Easy-E left both the album and the group in limbo. In a state of flux, the Klann lost three of their members (originally a group of five) with only will.i.am (Will Adams) and Filipino rapper apl.de.ap (Allan Lindo, Jr.) remaining. They would reform as the original core of Black Eyed Peas. In 1995, the duo added a third in Mexican rapper Taboo (Jaime Gómez). A possible reason for the album's dated sound is the fact that the demos from which Behind the Front originated harken back to the Peas's A.T.B.A.N. Klann (early nineties) days. Most of the songs, in fact, simply added extra lyrics from Taboo before being mixed for the LP.
Unlike in other hip hop groups, the jobs of each Pea aren't clearly defined as MC, DJ, or hypeman. All three members of the Peas rap and the DJ work probably comes from the musical mind of will.i.am and the producers he worked with. Although they do sample music, the album also supplements the sound with session musicians, making the album sound fresh with smooth transitions. Although the album harkens back to a more innovative past, Behind the Front was released to positive reviews from critics but barely left a ripple on the commercial charts.
Here is the discography surrounding Black Eyed Peas's debut album:
Grass Roots (1992 unreleased album as A.T.B.A.N. Klann)
Fallin' Up / ¿Que Dices? (1997 single)
Behind the Front
Joints & Jam (1998 single)
Karma (1999 single)
"Karma" by Black Eyed Peas
If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.
Pass the Headphones!!
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