Masters of the Sun Vol. 1

Masters of the Sun
Studio album by The Black Eyed Peas
Released 2018 (2018)
Genre Hip hop
Label Interscope
Producer will.i.am
The Black Eyed Peas chronology
The Beginning
(2010)		 Masters of the Sun
(2018)

Masters of the Sun is the upcoming seventh studio album by American musical group The Black Eyed Peas. A political album loosely inspired by the graphic novel of the same name and the contemporary social climate of the United States, it is a departure from The Black Eyed Peas' electronic dance and pop-influenced albums The E.N.D. and The Beginning, marking a return to the group's hip hop and boom bap style of their early career. The album will be The Black Eyed Peas' first in eight years, and the first not to feature Fergie since her departure from the band in early 2018. Preceded by numerous singles and music videos, the album will be released through Interscope Records.

Background

Described by will.i.am as "party album[s]", The Black Eyed Peas released the electronic dance-influenced The E.N.D. and The Beginning in 2009 and 2010,[1] following the 2008 election of Barack Obama as President of the United States.[2] The band welcomed Obama's election;[2] will.i.am had recorded and released "Yes We Can", a single that promoted Obama's election campaign during the Democratic Party primaries,[3][4] and often claims the song had helped Obama get elected.[2][5] The band's most commercially successful single during this period, "I Gotta Feeling", was inspired by the band's perception of being "in the center of a ginormous change in America".[6] The track became the best-selling digital song of all time until it was surpassed by Pharrell Williams' "Happy" in 2014.[7][8] By the end of 2010, The E.N.D. had sold over eleven million copies worldwide, while The Beginning had sold over two million copies worldwide.[9][10] The band had intended to return to the studio to create their seventh studio album soon after the release of The Beginning, though frequent delays and Taboo's diagnosis with testicular cancer in 2014, along with his subsequent treatment and recovery, led to the project being put on hiatus.[11]

The deteriorating political and social climate in the United States towards the end of Obama's presidency caused concern in the band, with deaths by law enforcement and the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri inspiring the band to write "Ring the Alarm" in 2014.[12] In August 2016, the band released a remake of "Where Is the Love?", with updated lyrics and numerous featured artists, addressing topics such as the Black Lives Matter movement, gun violence in the United States, the Syrian Civil War and refugee crisis, and terrorism in Europe.[13][14][15] The band purposed the remake as a "[call] for calm" that asked "to stop the hate and violence that has resulted in many lives lost."[16] It was the final Black Eyed Peas recording featuring Fergie, after her departure from the band was announced in February 2018.[17] In 2017, The Black Eyed Peas collaborated with Marvel Comics to release Masters of the Sun, a science fiction superhero graphic novel that references social issues and street culture in Los Angeles.[18][19] The novel's adaptation for augmented reality devices featured a downbeat jazz and soul soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer,[20] which inspired the "mood" of the next Black Eyed Peas album.[21] will.i.am was adamant about departing from the pop-centric sound of The E.N.D. and The Beginning, to the dismay of the group's record label Interscope.[22]

Composition

Masters of the Sun is a political album that addresses social issues such as gun violence, police brutality, race relations, and the effects of social media.[23][24] will.i.am allegorizes the album's lyrical themes to a GPS, feeling that the "world wants some direction."[25] The group stuck to a general philosophy of "art, smart, and heart" during the creative process, aiming to depict their philanthropic career through their music, in contrast to their earlier production-centric albums,[26] and challenging themselves to constantly re-write lines to make them better.[27] Musically, the album is a return to the group's hip hop and boom bap style from Behind the Front and Bridging the Gap, their first two albums released in 1998 and 2000, respectively.[28][29] The Black Eyed Peas also took inspiration from Atban Klann, an early 1990s hip hop group that involved a teenage will.i.am and apl.de.ap; the group often envisioned what their teenage selves would have written about the world today.[30]

"Big Love" is a pop-rap track penned with the premise of "reminding the world the importance of love", drawing comparisons to "Where Is the Love?" from The Black Eyed Peas' 2003 album Elephunk.[31][32] The song is based on a simple piano progression and gritty drum pattern, with lyrics referencing government corruption, drug addiction and gun control in the frame of a "day in the life of a kid in America", the song's opening line.[33] "Street Livin'" was inspired by the downbeat jazz and soul soundtrack to the Masters of the Sun graphic novel,[21] and features 1990s hip hop-style production and critical commentary on institutional racism and Reaganomics.[34]

Promotion

Panoramic view of The Black Eyed Peas' performance at the 2018 AFL Grand Final.

Prior to the announcement and release of Masters of the Sun, The Black Eyed Peas released numerous singles throughout 2018 featuring tracks from the album; "Street Livin'" on January 9,[35] "Ring the Alarm" on May 18,[36] "Get It" on July 10,[37] and "Constant" on August 30,[38] each with accompanying music videos, the former three of which politically-charged.[35][36][37] Coinciding with the release of "Ring the Alarm", the group's website was updated with interactive features that allowed users to earn digital tokens for positive interactions with the group on social media, which were redeemable for exclusive content and meet and greets with the group.[39] Masters of the Sun was announced via a press release by The Black Eyed Peas and Interscope Records on September 12, 2018.[40] "Big Love" was simultaneously released as the lead single promoting the album.[31][41] Its two-part music video raising awareness of gun control and anti-seperation movements in the United States was released on September 21,[42][43] and profits from sales of the single were donated to gun control activist group March for Our Lives and the anti-seperation activist group Families Belong Together.[40] Masters of the Sun was planned to be released on October 12, 2018 by Interscope Records as the group's first album in eight years after the release of The Beginning in 2010.[40][24] On October 11, will.i.am announced on social media that the album's release would be postponed indefinitely.

The group performed as one of two pre-match entertainment acts at the 2018 AFL Grand Final, along with Australian rock musician Jimmy Barnes,[44] performing "Big Love" along with a number of their earlier hits with The Voice of the Philippines finalist Jessica Reynoso.[45] The performance was met with criticism, especially for a moment in which will.i.am pulled out his phone mid-performance,[45] prompting an apologetic response from will.i.am and Taboo on Twitter.[46][47] The group will embark on the Masters of the Sun Tour to promote the album, performing fourteen shows across Europe in October and November 2018.[40][41] A second leg of the tour in Asia will occur in 2019.[28]

References

Sources

  1. Adams, William; Gomez, Jaime; Lindo, Allan; Ortiz, Edwin (May 18, 2018). "Exclusive: Black Eyed Peas on "Ring the Alarm" and Their Plans to Bring About Positive Change". Complex. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  2. Adams, William; Gomez, Jaime; Lindo, Allan; Weingarten, Christopher R. (January 25, 2018). "Does Will.i.am Know the Future of Music? Black Eyed Peas on Tech, VR, Fergie". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.

Citations

  1. ↑ Adams et al. 2018, "...their EDM-tweaked sixth album, The Beginning..."
  2. 1 2 3 Adams et al. 2018, "...when we did The E.N.D., and that party album, that's because the world felt like a party. [...] no one thought Obama could be president, and I did a song called "Yes We Can" that helped got him elected. [...] And so when that happened, we celebrated."
  3. ↑ Alexovich, Ariel (February 4, 2008). "Obama Supporters Sing, 'Yes We Can'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  4. ↑ Martin, Michel (February 8, 2008). "Producer will.i.am's Obama Video A Hit". National Public Radio. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  5. ↑ BANG Showbiz staff (March 15, 2018). "Will.i.am claims 'Yes We Can' song won Obama his 2008 presidency". Eyewitness News. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  6. ↑ Adams et al. 2018, "We never would have written "I Got a Feeling" if we weren’t in the center of a ginormous change in America [...] And we were in the center of all that change, all that love, and the result of that was "I Got a Feeling."
  7. ↑ BBC News staff (May 5, 2010). "Black Eyed Peas song is top selling digital track". BBC News. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018. Hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas song I Gotta Feeling is the best-selling digital song of all time, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
  8. ↑ Garland, Emma (May 3, 2018). "Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling" Is the Most Depressing Song in Existence". Noisey. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018. It was the most successful song of the 21st century worldwide until 2014, when it was surpassed by Pharrell's "Happy".
  9. ↑ Interscope Records (October 26, 2010). "The Black Eyed Peas to Release Brand-New Album — The Beginning — On November 30th, 2010". PR Newswire. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018. Released in June 2009, The E.N.D. has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide...
  10. ↑ "Vivendi 2011 Annual Report" (PDF). Vivendi. March 30, 2012. p. 146. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  11. ↑ Adams et al. 2018, ""We thought we were gonna come back in a year," explains Will.i.am. "Then the year turned into two years. Then Taboo caught cancer like the flu – and beat it – and three years turned into four years, and four years turned in five years.""
  12. ↑ Adams et al. 2018, "So "Ring the Alarm," we wrote in 2014, '13? It was after all the police shootings and Ferguson..."
  13. ↑ McIntyre, Hugh (September 1, 2016). "The Black Eyed Peas Remake 'Where Is The Love?' To Battle Gun Violence". Forbes. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018. The group has changed some of the lyrics to reflect current situations, hoping to bring attention to the terrible gun violence that has plagued the United States recently.
  14. ↑ Yee, Lawrence (September 2, 2016). "Black Eyed Peas Remake 'Where Is The Love' Following Terror Attacks". Variety. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018. The band has remade the song in response to the numerous terror attacks on 2016, the ongoing crisis in Syria...
  15. ↑ Bowden, Ebony (September 5, 2016). "The Black Eyed Peas reunite for powerful update of Where Is the Love?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved September 20, 2018. ...a powerful message on the refugee crisis and the Black Lives Matter movement.
  16. ↑ Associated Press (August 31, 2016). "Black Eyed Peas Reunite for Anti-Gun Violence Song". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018. A statement says the song and accompanying video "calls for calm, asking citizens of the world to stop the hate and violence that has resulted in many lives lost."
  17. ↑ Ingham, James (February 18, 2018). "Will.I.Am hints Nicole Scherzinger could replace Fergie in Black Eyed Peas". Daily Star. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018. will.i.am has confirmed Fergie has left Black Eyed Peas after 15 years in the all-conquering group.
  18. ↑ Whitbrook, James (March 16, 2017). "Will.i.am Is Making a Comic With Marvel and It Sounds Totally Wild". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018. ...tackling elements like music and L.A. street culture. Scifi, alien invasions, zombie apocalypses, social issues...
  19. ↑ Tom, Lauren (March 16, 2017). "Black Eyed Peas Team With Marvel Comics for 'Masters of the Sun' Graphic Novel: Exclusive". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018. ...Masters of the Sun embodies real life social allegories that include L.A. gangs, hip-hop and street dance culture.
  20. ↑ Manalo, Gregory (November 24, 2017). "Black Eyed Peas' graphic novel, 'Masters of the Sun,' gets the AR treatment". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018. ...musical score from Academy Award winning composer Hans Zimmer.
  21. 1 2 Adams et al. 2018, "And so, as we were finishing Masters of the Sun ... when we were scoring the worlds, you know, the mood of jazz, soul ... that was the mood. And so when we finished "Street Livin'", we're like "Yo. Play that shit again. Yooo. You feel that shit?"
  22. ↑ Adams et al. 2018, "The record company is like, [mocking voice] "We really want the Black Eyed Peas super big, you know, you guys been gone for so long. We want to make sure we have big explosion with the Black Eyed Peas being back. You know, what I mean by explosion? Will, you guys are big pop group! You got the big pop songs!" ... Like, nah nigga, we did that. Nah, this is what we're doing."
  23. ↑ Adams et al. 2018, ""Ring the Alarm," a three-part record that tackles issues society has been dealing with [...] "Ring the Alarm" follows "Street Livin'" which dealt with police brutality, gun violence, among other issues."
  24. 1 2 Espinoza, Joshua (September 13, 2018). "Black Eyed Peas Drop "Big Love," Announce First Album in Nearly Eight Years". Complex. Retrieved September 20, 2018. "Big Love" tackles everything from gun violence and police brutality to race relations and the effects of social media.
  25. ↑ Adams et al. 2018, "This next record is like GPS directions on how to get there. There's a lot of messages out there, but I think the world wants some direction."
  26. ↑ Adams et al. 2018, "We’ve made amazing careers out of being audio scientists [...] This is different [...] all this music that we’re doing right now reflects [...] the philanthropy side of who we are as people.
  27. ↑ Adams et al. 2018, "So we said to ourselves, "We gotta out-do every fuckin' line. It has to be better than the last line.""
  28. 1 2 Saeed, Saeed (September 18, 2018). "Exclusive: Black Eyed Peas coming to the UAE as part of world tour". The National. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018. ...the UAE show will happen as part of the Asian leg of the tour in 2019 [...] their upcoming album Masters of the Sun, which is out on October 12 and will see them return to their hip hop roots...
  29. ↑ Eustice, Kyle (September 12, 2018). "Black Eyed Peas Announce "Masters Of The Sun" Album With "Big Love"". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018. ...the track is heavier on the pop side than their previous releases "Ring The Alarm" and the Slick Rick-assisted "Constant Part 1 & 2", which find the trio heading back to their boom bap roots.
  30. ↑ Adams et al. 2018, "It's almost like what you and Apl were doing with Atbann Klann in the early Nineties [...] We kept saying, like "What would our 17-year-old self think of where we’re at now?" So we'd try to outdo our 17-year-old self; when we were hungry and we was all about battling and rhyming and dancing and b-boying."
  31. 1 2 Spira, Madison (September 13, 2018). "Everything we know about Black Eyed Peas' new album". Who. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018. ...its strong political stance resembles that of the group's multi-platinum global smash hit, Where is the Love from their album Elephunk [...] "Big Love" features the band’s signature pop-rap song...
  32. ↑ Contreras, Cydney (September 12, 2018). "Black Eyed Peas Drop First Single in 10 Years—Without Fergie". E!. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018. The single echoes the sentiments reflected in their hit 2003 song, "Where is the Love?"
  33. ↑ Reed, Ryan (September 12, 2018). "Black Eyed Peas Tackle Gun Control, Social Justice on New Song 'Big Love'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018. Over a simple piano progression and gritty drum pattern, the rappers nod to depressing headlines about war, government corruption, drug addiction and gun control – contrasted with an optimistic chorus. will.i.am frames the song as a "day in the life of a kid in America,"...
  34. ↑ Adams et al. 2018, ""Street Livin'" marks a swing from the group's chart-topping cosmopolitan boom-boom-pow into a more formalist, Nineties-style rap with modern flavors. Its lyrics detail systemic racism, police brutality, post-Reaganomics capitalism and more."
  35. 1 2 Rice, Nicholas (January 9, 2018). "Black Eyed Peas Return with Politically Charged Single 'Street Livin': Watch the Video". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018. ...the politically charged video...
  36. 1 2 Saponara, Michael (May 18, 2018). "The Black Eyed Peas Want America to Wake Up With New Video 'Ring the Alarm Pt.1, Pt.2, Pt.3'". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018. The hard-hitting progressive video is broken down into three parts...
  37. 1 2 Blistein, Jon (July 10, 2018). "Watch Black Eyed Peas Show ICE Raids, Police Killings in 'Get It' Video". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018. Politically charged video features Trump look-alike, alludes to wrongful deaths of Eric Garner, Walter Scott.
  38. ↑ Blistein, Jon (August 30, 2018). "Watch Black Eyed Peas' Glitchy Video for New Song 'Constant Part 1 and 2'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  39. ↑ Adams et al. 2018, "The song/video release also comes with the announcement of a new interactive website in partnership with Sweet that will allow fans to earn digital tokens (called Sugar) for doing positive social and user actions on behalf of the group. The tokens are redeemable for rewards like VIP access, exclusive content, and meet and greets."
  40. 1 2 3 4 Biz 3 Publicity (September 12, 2018). "Black Eyed Peas Announce New Album 'Masters Of The Sun' & Release New Single "Big Love"". Pressparty. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018. Proceeds from the song will go to via the March for Our Lives [...] and the Families Belong Together foundation coalition [...] The Black Eyed Peas will also be heading out on 'The Masters of the Sun Tour.'...
  41. 1 2 Merrett, Robyn (September 12, 2018). "Black Eyed Peas Announce First Album in 8 Years — and Their First Since Fergie Left". People. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  42. ↑ Fekadu, Mesfin (September 21, 2018). "Black Eyed Peas tackle school gun violence and immigration in videos". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on September 27, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018. The Black Eyed Peas tackle gun violence at schools and immigration in two new music videos for their song, "Big Love." The trio released the videos Friday...
  43. ↑ Price, Joe (September 22, 2018). "Black Eyed Peas Highlight Migrant Separation and School Shootings in Striking "Big Love" Video". Complex. Archived from the original on September 27, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018. Highlighting the migrant separation crisis currently occurring across the United States as well gun violence...
  44. ↑ Herald Sun staff (September 27, 2018). "Black Eyed Peas and AFL boss Gill McLachlan talk Grand Final entertainment". News.com.au. Retrieved October 2, 2018. The American band will— led by Will.i.am— will entertain the crowd ahead of the Saturday’s Grand Final between Collingwood and West Coast Eagles.
  45. 1 2 Bednall, Jai (September 30, 2018). "Black Eyed Peas respond to criticism of AFL Grand Final performance". News.com.au. Retrieved October 2, 2018. The frontman was criticised for whipping out his mobile phone halfway through a song on Saturday [...] The trio received mixed reviews for a performance that included hits Let's Get It Started, Big Love, Where Is The Love? and I Gotta Feeling. [...] Reynoso is a former finalist on "The Voice of the Philippines"
  46. ↑ Moran, Rob (October 1, 2018). "Will.i.am hits back at criticism of Black Eyed Peas AFL grand final set". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved October 2, 2018. "That's me being a performer and camera man, showing the world how awesome Australia is... Sorry if I offended anyone by sharing my love," he wrote.
  47. ↑ Mojica, Nick (October 1, 2018). "Will.i.am Faces Backlash for Using His Phone During Black Eyed Peas' Performance in Australia". XXL. Retrieved October 2, 2018. "I will lead with ultimate Big Love and say u must have been in a different mode if u thought we where not interested We love Australia and enjoyed every minute of our set .. Love to u all 🇦🇺 [sic]," he tweeted.
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