Black Eyed Peas “Fashion Beats”
As annoyingly obvious as some of will.i.am’s sample flips are (the Black Eyes Peas hitmaker is this generation’s version of late ’90′s-era Sean “Diddy” Combs), you got to give the man credit for knowing how to get some ear-wormy hip-pop off a familiar beat loop.
Latest case-in-point: BEP The Beginning album cut, and likely future single, “Fashion Beats”, which appreciatively steers the Peas away from trying to soundtrack some “Tron” nightclub for a moment to get their disco groove on, complete with a soul-satisfying sample of Chic’s 1979 single “My Forbidden Lover” as its musical base.
This being the Peas, goofy lyrics run galore (“I’m a club rocker that’s my personality/ It’s in fashion to be bla-blasting them beats”), though will.i.am’s singing vocals catch a nice hooky melody and Fergie’s breathy imitation of Debbie Harry-from-”Rapture” interestingly has us suddenly longing for her to release another solo album; in the end, though, it’s the mirror-ball-evoking Chic sample that gives this a strong shot at being one of 2011′s most unstoppable guilty pleasures.
BONUS DL: Chic “My Forbidden Lover (Friend Mix)” (alt)
