I used to be a huge fan of The Black Eyed Peas. Back when their first two albums; Behind The Front & Bridging The Gap were selling roughly 250,000 copies apiece. I liked that. I liked seeing them in small venues. With their ace backing band. And their dancing. And their freestyling. But then, something vicious happened. They ditched street-cred for mainstream success. They hired former Kids, Inc. muppett Stacie "Fergie" Ferguson. They put out a shameless and quite frankly sub-par album entitled Elephunk. I begrudgingly went to see them perform live for the subsequent tour. I stood in the front row and gave them the finger. How could my beloved Peas do such a harsh 180? Even lead Pea Will.I.Am's brilliant solo jaunts Lost Change & Must B 21: Music To Get A Party Started couldn't satiate my resentment at this dismantling of one of the last true hip hop groups, just so their bank accounts could get a little, or as the case is now, a whole helluva lot fatter.

But then, something quite marvelous occured.

I stumbled across a track of off the Pea's upcoming release Monkey Business And you know what I heard? Q-Tip. Talib Kweli. Will.I.Am. Apl.de.Ap. Rhyming. Stealing. Trading verses with each other. Sampling bits of old school A Tribe Called Quest tracks! My Peas were back! And wait! Was that Cee-Lo eulogizing on the chorus? Wonderfully wacky Cee-Lo? Yes it was! And the beat! Sparse! Yet full! What a groove. To be quite honest with you, my expectations for the new album aren't that high, but just hearing this song makes me catch a glimmer of the old Black Eyed Peas, and for that, color me stoked. For your listening (dis)pleasure:

The Black Eyed Peas: Like That (feat. Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, Cee-Lo, & John Legend)

Also, I'm going to repost a track from yesterday, because quite frankly I went home last night and realized what a fucking gem of an R&B single it is. If Nicole Wray and "If I Was Your Girlfriend" doesn't hit #1 and stay on the charts for at least 2 months, then there is no justice in this world. Dig it:



Nicole Wray: If I Was Your Girlfriend

Hotness for your viewing (dis)pleasure.