Monkey Business | 
| Artist: Black Eyed Peas
Label: A&M
Category: Music
List Price: $13.98
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $13.97 (100%)
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Rating:  433 reviews
Sales Rank: 2715
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 000434102
UPC: 602498804803
EAN: 0602498804803
ASIN: B00096S3RC
Release Date: June 7, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Pump It | | • | Don't Phunk With My Heart | | • | My Style | | • | Don't Lie | | • | My Humps | | • | Like That | | • | Dum Diddly | | • | Feel It | | • | Gone Going | | • | They Don't Want Music | | • | Disco Club | | • | Bebot | | • | Ba Bump | | • | Audio Delite At Low Fidelity | | • | Union |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
As with their last hit, Elephunk, Black Eyed Peas' new disc Monkey Business is a joyful cross-genre journey with musical props to hip-hop, rock, folk, funk, and pop. The reason the Black Eyed Peas have audience appeal that crosses over many styles is because the band members are such obvious fans of diverse music. Nowhere is this more apparent than on Monkey Business's high-profile guest list. After Justin Timberlake's contribution to the massive "Where Is the Love" breakout hit from Elephunk, their inclusion of big names once again was a smart, respectful move on the part of the band as well as their guests. "My Style" is Timberlake's BEP foray number two; while the song is funky pop fun, those looking to hear Justin in the forefront are likely to be disappointed, as his vocals are mixed evenly, no sweet soulful solos this time. Other guests of note are Jack Johnson, who cowrote the bling-bashing "Gone Going," Sting on "Union" (sonically inspired by the former Police-man's "Englishman in New York"), while funk legend James Brown contributes to a scorching soul track dubbed "They Don't Want Music." The contribution of female vocalist Fergie--who joined the band partway through their last CD--has raised up considerably on the band's fourth disc, their second as a quartet. Sassily fronting her way through songs like "My Humps," the "Hey Mama"-esque "Dum Diddly" and the first single "Don't Phunk With My Heart," Fergie's melodic contributions make for a record that will likely be heard by wider audiences than ever, making this a truly accessible `hip-pop' CD. --Denise Sheppard Recommended Black Eyed Peas Discography 
Behind the Front |  Bridging the Gap | 
Elephunk |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 428 more reviews...
 Yes! I Want Music! June 7, 2005
Amanda Richards (Georgetown, Guyana)
111 out of 141 found this review helpful
A big phunky follow up to 2003's Elephunk from a group that invented and perfected a revolutionary new hip hop beat. With their trademark crazy lyrics, irresistible dance beats and catchy hooks, along with their unmistakable appeal and charisma, will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo and Fergie come across as fresh, different, and let's face it, interesting.
The album blasts off with an aptly named heart-pumper called "Pump It", and then smoothly slides into their first hit "Don't Phunk With My Heart", a dance floor conquering song. The next single may well be "My Style", thanks to the input of Justin Timberlake who was a lucky charm on the last album with "Where is the Love?"
The funniest song of the album is "My Humps", and another good one is "Dum Diddley" which adapts a Caribbean beat similar to Akon's "Belly Dancer". For a '70s trip down memory lane you can try "Feel It", and for a real old time funk experience you can't beat "They Don't Want Music" featuring the one and only James Brown.
Another interesting combination can be found on "Gone Going Gone" with Jack Johnson, and Sting's input on "Union" is unmistakable for anyone familiar with his "Englishman in New York".
Coming behind "Elephunk" this one does not disappoint, and is an "Audio Delite" at any fidelity.
Amanda Richards, June 7, 2005
Broader Horizons June 9, 2005
K. Fontenot (The Bayou State)
58 out of 75 found this review helpful
If "Elephunk" introduced the Black Eyed Peas to multiple genres of listeners, then "Monkey Business" is definitely the wake-up call for those lagging behind. With influences from pop, hip-hop, R&B, soul and roots music, BEP have melded their four minds together to make one heck of an album.
It's a definite step-up from "Elephunk," offering new and varied sounds on each song on the album. The initial release is "Don't Phunk With My Heart." It bridges the gap between "Elephunk" and "Monkey Business" but has a hard driving, almost techno feel to it. "Pump It" is probably my favorite song on this disc, being that it has some killer Dick Dale guitar loops in it. I wonder how many BEP fans actually know who Dick Dale is? Also, Justin Timberlake appears here again, but the real gems, the important ones, are James Brown and Sting. The Godfather of Soul lends some funk to "They Don't Want Music," another of my favorites that targets the modern music listener who doesn't really want music, just a beat to move to. "Bebot" is another cool tune on this disc.
The entire album is solid, no filler to be found.
If you enjoy funk, hip-hop, pop, or even a little surfer music, "Monkey Business" has a little of all of that here. Like I stated before, this is definitely an improvement on "Elephunk," because it will surely meet a larger audience AND the BEP won't sound like sell-outs. That's a hard thing to do these days.
 Monkey around, cause they can... June 7, 2005
M. Miller (TN)
16 out of 34 found this review helpful
Black Eyed Peas clearly established themselves nationally with Elephunk, and as you see they plan not to be outdone with their new album too, (and although I am not nessecarily a big fan of R&B I still choose to review this.)
Thankfully, as the other reviewers have mentioned, this album contains an array of diverse songs from funk to r&b, and this are the qualities to see. However, B.E.P. still at times fits into the mold only too well.
For example, 'Don't Phunk With My Heart', although clearly a pop-driven single is really quite good in my opinion. At the same time 'Pump It', almost equally catchy, not only defines a bit more diversity in their songs, but also allows B.E.P. to do like almost all hip/hop rap bands; that is say "everyone hate's us, but we're all big".
And somewhere around there I lose them as much as I do most groups in their genre, and I did admit this music does not have an affinity in my heart, but still I appreciate some aspects. So for the average fan, this is probably a four, but I'm left leaving just three.
 The audio equivalent of the torture rack November 17, 2005
Forest Law (Lakewood, NJ)
16 out of 23 found this review helpful
Over the last few centuries, from the dawn of its creation until today, there have been all sorts of musical compositions and varieties. There had been a certain artistic element in pretty much every genre of music out there for the majority of that time.
Only in the last 20 or so years have we began to see a troubling, unfortunate trend in the world of music - that is, music as commerce. Musical "artists" who are in the business solely for the perks attributed to success - the money and the adulation by the masses. Where can we place the blame? Perhaps we can point the finger at a certain (former) music video channel...
A sure sign that the apocalypse is imminent: That a group as abominable, infantile and irritating as Black Eyed Peas can achieve widespread mainstream success. Once a decent positive hip-hop act, they lowered themselves to recruiting a female vocalist, mainly to broaden their mass appeal, and recorded Elephunk, an album that is incredibly bland, shallow, and (going back to my point from before) artless.
The group's fourth album, Monkey Business, finds the Peas mining the same territory as the last album, with even more dreadful results at times. Whether it's the affected, irritating vocal stylings of Fergie or the downright laughable rhymes of will.i.am, something goes wrong on every track here. Even as carefree party music, it's so childish and trite that it's flat out embarrassing.
There's "Don't Phunk With My Heart" with its frustrating repetition and Fergie shamelessly aping the talentless Britney Spears in the chorus. Then there's "Don't Lie", which hammers the theme of the song into the ground in a way that's very inarticulate, and a very irritating chorus only makes matters worse here. Little embellishment needed for tracks like "Dum Diddly", "Ba Bump" and "Bebot" - the absolutely banal titles are befitting for such simplistic tripe. And then we come to the worst offender (and further proof of purgatory on Earth) - "My Humps". Why do so many people enjoy a song that's as juvenile, shallow, materialistic and annoying as this? Do they even pay attention to the lyrics in this song? "My hump (x 7) / My lovely lady lumps ... Mix your milk with my cocoa puff / Milky milky riiiiiiight ... The boys they wanna sex me / They always standing next to me / Always dancing next to me / Tryna feel my hump, hump / Lookin' at my lump, lump" ... THIS is what people consider incredible talent? I feel like my IQ dropped about 50 points just typing that.
Not even the great James Brown (on "They Don't Want Music") or Dick Dale (whose "Misirlou" is sampled on the opening track / commercial jingle "Pump It") can salvage Monkey Business from the scrap heap.
In summary: Monkey Business is yet another weak effort from the highly overrated Black Eyed Peas. Those who like their music safe, shallow and disposible will eat this up - anyone looking for something even remotely innovative or profound would be better off looking elsewhere. Might I suggest looking away from MTV for inspiration...
Worst Release of 2005 December 29, 2005
Daniel Brian (N.H.)
16 out of 18 found this review helpful
It's hard to believe that once upon a time, in 1998, the Black Eyed Peas could out funk the Fugees and could have been considered the new De La Soul. "Selling Out" seems like a term of the past and a consequence that few care about these days but in 2004, with the addition of female vocalist Fergie and the release of Elephunk, it became immediately obvious the group had become a capitalistic whore.
Now in 2005, our radios and our ears were graced with nothing less than inane tripe from the Black Eyed Peas and their latest release Monkey Business. The first single "Don't Phunk With My Heart" was not bad in comparison to the onslaught of singles off of Elephunk that would often cause paralysis and people to punch infants. But it was with the release of "My Humps" that the Black Eyed Peas became an immediate danger to our society. "My Humps" is pro-actively damaging to our youth, not only by leaving "lady lumps" of tumors in kids' heads that are bound show up on MRIs down the road but also by leaving faux impressions scorched into their skulls of what decent pop music is.
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