COURTESY JOSEPH LIBBY
"It used to be that hip hop was about showing your
skill ... Nowadays you got suburban white kids thinking
hip hop is about shooting people and making a dishonest
living. That's not hip hop," says Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas.

It’s all one hip-hoppy
ethnic pod

The Black Eyed Peas book a
World Cafe gig to promote its
culture-bridging album

---

By Shawn 'Speedy' Lopes
slopes@starbulletin.com

If the savory, slow-cooked multi-ethnic grooves of Black Eyed Peas' breakout 1998 album "Behind the Front" perked the collective palate of a worldwide audience, their latest tour in support of their sophomore effort "Bridging the Gap" may leave fans stuffed to the gills with their unique blend of live, eclectic, organic hip hop.

The recipe? Take an African-American wordsmith from East L.A., his equally gifted schoolmate who first arrived in the U.S. from the Philippines in the eighth grade, and a fleet-footed performer of Mexican/Native American descent. Bring to a funky boil with a live backing band and you've got the makings of a growing cross-cultural movement in hip hop. Quoth the Peas: "We about mass appeal, no segregation / Got Black to Asian and Caucasian."

COURTESY JOSEPH LIBBY
The Black Eyed Peas perform tomorrow night at World Cafe.

Perhaps it is this one-world outlook that makes our Pacific melting pot one of the Peas' favorite tour destinations. "Hawaii's one of the places we feel comfortable," says rapper Taboo. "First of all, our music is always respected out there and we've always felt a connection with the culture. I love the culture, the food, the beaches, the women ..." he pauses for a moment and expels a soft chuckle. "One thing about Hawaii, man, I've always had a lot of luck out there with the ladies."

Of course, Taboo wasn't always the suave, stage-savvy mic rocker he is today. Before hooking up with BEP, the closest he'd gotten to the entertainment field was as a Disneyland custodian. But sweeping up tourists' discarded cigarette butts and disposing of horse droppings wasn't quite the life he'd envisioned for himself.

Black Eyed Peas Plus Todd G and EQ, and Jr. Boogaloo Where: World Cafe, 1130 N. Nimitz Highway When: 8 p.m. tomorrow Tickets: $18 Call: 526-4400

"Actually, I always knew I was put on earth to entertain," he says. "Whether it be b-boying, martial arts or emceeing, I knew I was meant to be a performer. I knew I had a lot more to offer the world than serving donuts or picking up horse (excrement)."

His break came after teaming up with Will.I.Am and Apl.de.Ap, whose aspirations as rap group Atban Klann (A Tribe Beyond a Nation) plummeted earthward when the group, after a highly anticipated signing to Ruthless Records in 1992, found their record shelved. Any hopes for the album's release were lost when their label's founder, Eazy E, succumbed to AIDS in 1995.

A critically acclaimed debut album in '98 boosted BEP's visibility beyond the L.A. club circuit and their latest, "Bridging the Gap," sports cameos by DJ Premier, Wyclef Jean, De La Soul, Mos Def, Les Nubians, Macy Gray and Chali2na of Ozomatli and Jurassic 5, indicating a healthy respect for the Peas within rap circles.

Still, Taboo says, hip hop is far removed from its original focus and BEP would like nothing better than to change prevailing attitudes in the industry with their unique brand of head-bobbing, back-to-the-roots positivity. "If I could, I would change the message in hip hop now," he says. "The message being 'go ahead, flash that ice' or 'buy Cristal,' 'sip Moet,' 'buy Dolce and Gabbana and Gucci.' All that is not hip hop.

"You're marketing a lifestyle most people can never achieve and marketing someone else's product. It used to be that hip hop was about showing your skill, whether it's b-boying or breakdancing, deejaying or emceeing. Nowadays it's easier to act like a hustler, baller or a Hot Boy. It was a way for people in urban places to showcase positivity of urban areas. Nowadays you got suburban white kids thinking hip hop is about shooting people and making a dishonest living. That's not hip hop."

Taboo believes that when presented in a positive manner, hip hop has the power to affect, change and even heal the soul. "Yeah, there's war going on and a lot of negativity around us," he concedes. "But for just an hour and a half I'd like people to say, 'I'm at a Black Eyed Peas show, I'm jumping around and I'm living life.' Just to be able to touch people --that's where we're at."

Click for online
calendars and events.