Christina Aguilera sure knows the National Anthem.

[Al B. Sure!]

Fergie has far more stage presence (an "It factor" if you will) for one.

Is it because she's white?

[Dinner]

Why am I not surprised that you've never heard of the Black Eyed Peas (though yes, they aren't really good, to not know them is kinda silly).

Of course, I've heard of the blackeyed peas and yes they suck.

[Asher]

Is it because she's white?

You're one racist arab!

[Al B. Sure!]

I'm just pointing out the facts... Here's where their albums charted on the US album charts:

Pre-Fergie:
Behind the Front 129
Bridging the Gap 67

Fergie Era:
Elephunk 14
Monkey Business 2
The END 1
The Beginning 6

There's a multitude of factors that could have motivated such a dramatic change in popularity but adding Fergie seems to have been what did it. The mere role of a female singer along with the 3 rappers isn't what did it since Kim Hill was around previously. It's Fergie.

Now is Fergie that amazing that her talent attracted craploads of new fans and catapulted BEP from an underground hip hop group to mainstream success? Maybe. Maybe it's not her but some synergy that was created by the rappers and her together and Kim Hill didn't foster that greater than the sum of its parts aspects. Maybe.

Not saying her race was a factor (I said that tongue in cheek), but it had a possible role. To be so successful, BEP had to appeal to 'White America' and it's telling that they started being characterized as 'dance/pop' and other 'white' genres as soon as they added Fergie.

[Al B. Sure!]

Same group. Same music. Was around for a decade. Replace the Black female singer with a white one and voila... pop explosion. Hmmm... considering the history of using white singers to sing 'Black music' in previous decades and the white singers being far more successful than the original Black singers that sang the very same songs... makes you wonder. It's not without a precedent.

Of course it may really be that Fergie is that good.

[Al B. Sure!]

The Wall Street Journal did an article on BEP a few months back entitled "The Most Corporate Band"

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303720604575169933636121658.html

The article talks about how BEP have endorsement deals with more businesses than any other musical act. Along with Will.I.Am treating the group like a brand or advertising firm, here's why:

Marketers love the Black Eyed Peas for the rainbow ethnicity of the band's four members.

Exactly. Let's not underestimate the power of the replacing of the Black woman with a white one.

[Dinner]

Rather the marketers want bands which check all the ethnic boxes not just white or black.

[a.kitman]

or could it be cus they got better at makeing music.

1998 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8kS7atmTis
2000 http://www.pp2g.tv/vYnl!ZnY_.aspx
2003 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYeekQkAdc

sounds like progress to me.

[Al B. Sure!]

Exactly but let's not get caught up in the myth in modern music that musical success comes first then the ability to market yourself and sponsors products. Today, especially in hip hop, you see little-known underground acts doing commercials, having songs appear in video games (Madden is famous for introducing many musical acts to the mainstream), etc. and that encourages interest in their music. People hear their song in a video game or commercial and then wonder about the group and check out their album.

For example, in that WSJ article...

Will.i.am says corporate partnerships are equally important. Not long ago, the band was lending its music for relatively paltry fees in exchange for exposure—a common strategy for emerging acts. In the ramp-up to their 2003 breakout album "Elephunk," the Peas made deals with Best Buy, Apple and the NBA, slingshotting their way into households on multimillion-dollar ad campaigns. "It wasn't about the check," says former manager Seth Friedman.

The Peas remember the 2001 Dr Pepper gig as a point of departure from what will.i.am calls the YPs, or "yesterday people" of the industry. The L.A. band had decamped to Bodega Bay near San Francisco to write songs for their next album, but the Dr Pepper jingle took priority in the initial sessions. "I remember thinking, this is important to the band, but it's taking up a lot of time," says Mike Fratantuno, former backup band member. "Ultimately the goal was to be a world-famous band."

Now, BEP used to be a Black guy (Will.I.Am), a Black/Filipino guy (apl.de.ap), a Mexican/Native American (Taboo), and a Black woman (Kim Hill). It had been multi-racial to begin with just it had no white representation.

[Al B. Sure!]

or could it be cus they got better at makeing music.

1998 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8kS7atmTis
2000 http://www.pp2g.tv/vYnl!ZnY_.aspx
2003 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYeekQkAdc

sounds like progress to me.

You are smoking crack. Old BEP was classic hip hop. I'm not in the very large camp of "**** those sell-outs" as you can see by all the comments on their youtube videos, but still... they did not improve. They're the same at best.

Look at the comments on their youtube video for What It Is, one of their old songs:

the years without fergie (top rated comment)
the very old black eyed peas... the best!!!!! (#2 rated comment)

Just in the past 24 hours:

This takes me back. Loved BEP pre-fergie!!
this is the good stuff. this is before i stopped listening to black eyed peas.

[Al B. Sure!]

Check the two top-rated comments on youtube of all their videos from back in the day...

Request Line:
I used to love them. What a shame.
one of ther best songs ever..

Joints & Jams:
these mother****ers sold out quicker than white bread in russia.
Will.i.am you ****ing sell out piece off ****

Karma:
What the **** happened?
Second is an ad

Hell, look at the other comments on Karma from their official youtube channel:
this is the BEP **** I like...they ****ed up and got all commercial with Fergie's ***** ass...that's so funny when she pissed her pants onstage at a concert...look it up...lol
Perfect song to sum up that Halftime performance. How's it feel Will?
They went from hip hop, to pop, to electronic, to techno. What's next? Country?
b4 they sold out and went pop

[a.kitman]

Old BEP was classic hip hop.

so what would you call them now?

[Al B. Sure!]

There are a lot of disgruntled vocal former fans of BEP (seems like they have more former fans than people who bought their old albums! Figure that one out! ). Now I don't agree with their assessment totally. Their lyrics seemed to drop down in quality a bit over the years but that happens to most acts anyway. I think the core is still basically the same, but I would never say they got better.

Their success seems entirely predicated on them adding Fergie. Like I cited from the WSJ article, the commercials came first, then the musical success. Adding the white woman opened up their ability to market themselves in commercials and that opened up their musical success.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

Christina Aguilera

[Al B. Sure!]

so what would you call them now?

Well as I alluded to earlier, I note how their characterization has changed from hip hop/rap to dance/pop with the addition of Fergie.

I still think they're basically the same as they used to be. I'm not in that **** these sell-outs! camp but I think it's telling how the change in genre is analogous to how Little Richard did Tutti Fruiti and it was on the R&B charts... Elvis did it, Rock charts.

BEP with Kim Hill... little-known rap group.
BEP with Fergie... world famous dance/pop/oh yeah and rap, too, I guess group.