bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Will. i. am
Songs About Girls
(Interscope)
For anyone who finds  successful pop/hip hop outfit Black Eyed Peas a tad one-dimensional, and founder member Will.i.am's 2006 collaborations with  Sergio Mendez a bit cheesy, this solo  album will be a pleasant surprise.
The only hint of repetitive percussive thud and the vacuous female vocals of BEP's My Humps is  on  its first single, I Got It From My Mama, which   is rescued by Run DMC-style bells towards the end.
Elsewhere on his third solo album, the rapper/producer,  known to his family as William James Adams, gets into more soulful terrain, proving his worth as a singer/songwriter.
Opener Over sets the pace, with a slick and audacious reworking of Electric Light Orchestra's It's Over. Next up, Heartbreaker starts the loose narrative to follow - based on a hip hop producer who loses his love  after being tempted by a star.
The Donque Song  is the only track with a guest spot and it's such a  big slice of retro electronica  that not many would recognise Snoop Dogg's  contribution.
This has also been released as a single, as has One More Chance, where  Will.i.am shows how good his singing is.
The second half of  the album is much funkier, and  with less vocals sounds a lot like Incognito.
What a shame more quality control wasn't exercised over the last two songs - SOS (Mother Nature) smacks of green bandwagon-ism and Spending Money is quite a yawn. But, overall, it's a decent effort.



Will. i. am