Replace the anonymous hook girl on will.i.am’s “I Got It from My Mama” with Fergie and you’ve got yet another repetitive, eye-scratchingly annoying Black Eyed Peas song. The only reasonable explanation for why the track was included on Songs About Girls, let alone released as the album’s first single, is that will.i.am (born William Adams) and his label (born without balls, apparently) decided to play it safe. Though it gets off to a deceptive start with slow-to-mid-tempo tracks like “Over” and “Heartbreaker,” the rest of Daddy Pea’s debut, particularly its middle-stretch, epitomizes the function of solo ventures by members of big-name collectives: will.i.am’s work with the Peas, Fergie, and Ciara already proved he’s an able beatsmith, but who knew he was a next-generation house producer? “One More Chance” and “The Donque Song,” featuring Snoop Dogg (surprisingly comfortable in Euro-dance terrain), bridge the hip-house gap all the way back to Heavy D and the Boys. The album marks another point of nostalgia with “Billie Jean”-meets-“When Doves Cry” beats on “Invisible,” and dips even further back with the Moroder-esque “Impatient” and the Jackson 5-sampling “Fantastic.” And who else would think to sample Electric Light Orchestra? Unfortunately, will.i.am’s lyrics are almost appallingly bad enough to retract my impending endorsement of the album. Evidently, his mama never told him that lines like “I know you want more than a dick in ya” aren’t exactly the kinds of things that make girls with “beautiful buns” swoon.
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