Digital Underground did it first and Jurassic 5 do it better, but there's something irresistible about the Black Eyed Peas. These days however, post commercial breakthrough, LA's hip-hop crew are less about the raw, real, phat and funky and more about charm in a 'Top Of The Pops' kind of way.
Their record-breaking run atop the UK charts with that song has seen the BEP take their music to the masses, and if the diversity of fans here is any indication, they've pushed rap across the divide. Devotees range from the old-skool to the still-at-school. They had trouble half-filling this venue last time, but three years on, punters with £50 in their hand are struggling.
That said though, purist fans must confront disappointment tonight. Original members will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo know how to work a crowd and newcomer Fergie, with blonde waist-length braids flying in all directions, certainly impresses. But in three records, BEP have gone from the masters of old-skool hip-hop versus nu-school breaks, to new chart sensations with an image to maintain, and substance has been sacrificed.
The top half of the set - dominated by tracks from the Peas' latest offering, 'Elephunk' - immediately hypes the crowd, delivering 'Hands Up' with their usual showmanship and vigour. More new tracks follow: will.i.am and Fergie wind the crowd to a climax with 'Smells Like Funk' and a session of fast-paced freestyle, delivered by will.i.am with incredible speed and accuracy. Fergie ratchets the frenzy tighter with her solid, piercingly accurate vocals, fronting the Peas with a stage presence that makes Beyonce look like a wallflower.
However, as the group get to forthcoming single, 'Shut Up', and the grating 'Let's Get Retarded', will begins his trademark "We're from the old skool...feel the love" rhetoric. As 'Where is the Love' rolls around, the gig degenerates into peace flag-waving (no, really), "the children are our future" - type cheese-fest. An instrumental interlude for an encore showcases some impressive work by the Peas' backing five, but the group wraps it up with an off-key rendition of 'Positivity', described with bravado by will.i.am as "the 'Where is the Love' of 'Behind the Front'".
The BEP have always been about the positive, garnering criticism from their LA neighbours for resisting the hardcore political rap of their predecessors. Their early appeal was in their upbeat, feel-the-funk approach to what had traditionally been all about battle. But in cracking the big time, it appears they've taken the feel-good too far, striving for those anthemic, hands-in-the-air favourites that'll keep their name at the top of the charts. Sure, they know how to party but you can't sustain that warm fuzzy feeling all the time.
