So, what could you expect of an album that was written in bathrooms, planes and bus lobbies? A lot, as long it is written by the Black Eyed Peas. Their new fourth album Monkey Business is out now, complete with the chart breaker "Don't Phunk With My Heart". BEP are touring it at the moment, and guess what? They are coming to Shanghai on the 20th of July. BEP got famous with their last album "Elephunk," released in 2003 and featuring songs like "Hey Mama" and "Shut Up", although the band officially formed in 1992. Nowadays they can proudly look upon 7.5 million albums sold, four Grammy nominations and one Grammy Award. With "Monkey Business", made for live performances, they have moved themselves away from the underground hip-hop scene and more towards the mainstream working together with stars like Justin Timberlake and Sting. The result is a mixture of hip-hop and pop with soul and Bollywood-style elements. However they have stuck to their motto: real instruments instead of sampling. Apl De Ap, Will I Am, Taboo and Fergie have never tried to imitate the bad-boy image of other hip-hop bands preferring to sing about love and peace, and encouraging joy rather than anger. Possibly the best example of this is their first hit "Where Is The Love", a hymn against war and violence.
