Maps of Music

Behind the Front (1998)

Where the lyrics of Behind the Front take you, and where it was really made.

Most of the songs on this debut began as demos for an earlier album called Grass Roots.

Key places

Paramount Recording Studios, Los Angeles (1998)

Recording site Paramount (Hollywood) — Discogs credits list Paramount Recording Studios as the place where this album was recorded. The point uses the studio's listed coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Behind the Front: debut studio album by American hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas
• Released June 30, 1998 through Interscope Records and the will.i.am Music Group imprint
• Vinyl release went through Universal Music Group as well
• Three singles: double single Fallin' Up/¿Que Dices? in December 1997, Joints & Jam in November 1998, Karma in April 1999
• Karma was the album's second and final official single
• Music videos were made for Head Bobs, Fallin' Up, Joints & Jam, What It Is and Karma
• All five music videos were included on the DVD Behind the Bridge to Elephunk (2004)

Background

• Most tracks were demos for the Grass Roots album
• New member Taboo added verses to those demos
• Joints & Jam was billed as Joints & Jams on the Bulworth soundtrack
• Be Free was featured in the film She's All That
• Back cover lists Skit 3 after Duet, but it actually appears after Communication
• The edited version's back cover lists Skit 3 in the correct place
• Only album released in both a Parental Advisory version and a censored version until Masters of the Sun Vol. 1 (2018)

Recording

• Recording location credited to Paramount Recording Studios
• will.i.am sang on all tracks and produced all tracks except where noted
• apl.de.ap sang on all tracks except track 4
• Taboo sang on all tracks except tracks 4, 7, 9 and 15
• Guest vocalists include Kim Hill, Dawn Beckman, Einstein Brown, Ingrid Dupree, Redfoo, Macy Gray and Sierra Swan & Planet Swan

Cover

• The album cover art is not described in the source text

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · fr.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Los Angeles in 1992 by rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo.
• Started as an alternative hip hop trio; early albums Behind the Front (1998) and Bridging the Gap (2000) were released through Interscope Records.
• Rebranded toward a more marketable pop-rap sound after the early albums.

Members

• Current core members: will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo.
• Fergie was the lead singer from 2002 until her departure in 2018.
• J. Rey Soul joined in 2018 as a touring member and later appeared as a featured artist on recordings.

Career

• Breakthrough with Elephunk (2003) and the single "Where Is the Love?", which topped the UK chart for seven weeks.
• Monkey Business (2005) debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and was certified triple platinum by the RIAA.
• The E.N.D. (2009) topped the Billboard 200 and produced three Hot 100 number-one singles, including "I Gotta Feeling".
• Performed at the Super Bowl XLV halftime show in February 2011.
• Went on indefinite hiatus in 2011, briefly reunited in 2015, and released Masters of the Sun Vol. 1 (2018), Translation (2020) and Elevation (2022).
• Estimated to have sold around 80 million records.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• AllMusic: Matt Conaway wrote that the group brings positivity and fun back into hip-hop
• AllMusic: Conaway said the group covers almost every musical realm, with Fallin Up summing up what the group is about
• Rolling Stone: Marcus Reeves gave the album three out of five stars
• Rolling Stone: Reeves described an organic mix of sampled melodies and live instruments aimed at listeners seeking a little enlightenment
• Melody Maker: Robin Bresnark gave the album four out of five stars
• RapReviews: Steve Juon gave the album 8.5 out of 10 and praised the group's lyrical and musical creativity
• JazzTimes: Tony Green said the group offers a hip-hop shot that rises beyond mere discussions of consciousness
• JazzTimes: Green described a live band accentuated by clever samples

Reappraisal

• Over the years the album has been regarded as one of the representative albums of late-1990s alternative hip-hop
• It is also seen as a sample of the group's early sound before its commercial turn in the following decade
• It is treated as a representative work of the first era of Black Eyed Peas, before Fergie joined and the group moved toward a more pop-oriented sound

Records

• US Billboard 200: number 129
• US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: number 34
• Commercial success was moderate and sales were modest compared with later hits
• Joints & Jam reached number 38 on the UK Charts in 1998

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Most of the songs were demos for the Grass Roots album, and Taboo joined the group and added verses to them.
• The back cover lists Skit 3 after Duet, but it actually comes after Communication; the edited version corrected the listing.
• This was the only album released in both a Parental Advisory version and a censored version until Masters of the Sun Vol. 1 (2018).
• The Head Bobs video was filmed in 1997, but the band decided not to release the song as a single.
• Joints & Jam reached number 38 on the UK Charts in 1998.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

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