producers: will.i.am, dj premier, apl.de.ap, wyclef, jerry 'wonder' duplessis, rhett lawrence

guests: mos def, macy gray, les nubian, chali 2na, de la soul, eshtero, wyclef

Cats usually have nine lives, hip hop cats one. So in times of quatriple platinum and multiple diamond album sales, it's either you sell or you fell. Well, something like that. Of course there are exceptions. One of them is probably called Black Eyed Peas. Starting out as Grassroots, having a major dope track, and the video played on MTV, falling through label politics, resurfacing as the BEP, releasing "Behind The Front" to critical acclaim, but not necessarily over the top commercial success, they keep coming back and bridge the gap between artistic pleasure and keeping the A&R's believing in the product. Or they are just content with selling smaller numbers. And if the accounting is right, the profit might not even be that marginal. Whatever the case, this album is butter, or at least the big majority of it is. "BEP Empire", one of the few non Will.I.Am produced tracks opens the album. In this case it's the general of choppy boom bap, DJ Premier, that inspires rhymes like "your style's dated and you ain't come out yet / don't think you're fresh cause you're rockin' them outfits / I think you're lost, cause you don't know where your route is", while Premo does something almost musical, with the guitar and bass he uses.

Esthero provides the hook on the party promoting "Weekend", a definite 'will get you dancing' cut. Things get a little more moody or restrained angry on "Get Original", a 'setting things straight for to all the wack people' track. Or like the Peas themselves put it: "if you ate pebbles, your shit wouldn't rock / you one of them balloons made to go pop". Chali 2na of the Jurassic 5 / Ozomatli also drops by to add one third to this barely ever pausing track, rhyming "publicly selling Satan when really you should be bumping the truth". With only the hook annoying, we progress to the Apl.de.Ap produced "Hot". Having the clipboard in his hands, he makes Kim Hill add her voice to the hook, and makes the whole track musical with a nice live guitar, an interesting bridge and quite a complete feel.

This is follow by what on paper seems to be a very interesting combination, the Peas getting the De La Sould to rhyme along on "Cali To New York". And what could have resulted in a fun track, ended being grim and unfitting, where no good times, but rather granite staring, is the result. However, the Peas having to compare themselves with a truly dope emcee like Posdonus, they sound even more basic, as Pos spits "you see, you other emcees sound like brother emcees / raised by the same pop and mother emcees / while I got a lot of brand in my name, I'm recognizable / leavin' me the cash amount, that's quite sizable / rich in that English that's broke as hell / that's why my niggaz in the hood understand me so well". The Peas reclaim the props with the blatantly jazzy "Lil' Lil'", an undeniably dope cut, and a secured highlight on this album. "On My Own" makes it hard for you to say that it falls short of the same status, as the Will production works greatly with the proud rhyming, the detailed elements are enhanced by the beautiful singing of France's Les Nubian. And as an added bonus, Mos Def is rounding out this track to much acclaim.

We are then treated to two Apl produced tracks, with the first, "Release", resulting in not much success. The second track being the title cut "Bridging The Gaps", works much better, with you being tempted to hum along and slowly but rhythmically move along. Again it's the musicality that seems to be what the BEP are best at. And again it's somewhat confusing why a hidden riotness on "Go Go" should get us in a party motion. The slow "Rap Song" is even better in making us feeling tempted to jump and boogie. This track is schizophrenic though, as it proves what Wyclef is good and not good at within 3'42". The chorus, Clef's singing and whistling and his guitar playing is well enjoyed, the beat during the rhyming, that he and Jerry "Wonder Duplessis" hooked up, is not. Content wise, the Peas compare dime pieces, meaning ladies, to their favorite rap songs, going through a list of 'remember these' and 'should knows'. So again, the musicality, the orchestration wins by a far margin over the monotonous bounce.

It's arguable if "Bringing It Back" is the one or the other. Nevertheless it is an appealing track, kinda a summary of the album, while the Peas are right when they state "creatively hip hop is being destroyed / a lot of rappers really need to be unemployed", but they go too far claiming "we the only crew that came original". "Tell Your Mama Come" can't be called a filler track, as the horns are too cool, but as we are not only treated to the chorus, we can rightfully move on quickly. And it will be well worth it, as "Request Line" ends the album on a highnote, it being a very dope track, with Macey Crey taking care of the chorus, Rhett Lawrence and Will doing everything right and then some, we can only praise this. What leaves us with praising the album on a whole again. Whit the omissions, that not all tracks are living up to high stakes, it's still an album that pleases from the beginning to the end, that showcases the elaboration of the BEP's style, and with several enormously dope tracks, this is so much worth your money, disagreeing only ridicules yourself. Oh, and we should not forget to mention the hidden track, a dope, again musical, remixed or alternative version of "BEP Empire".