Will.I.Am: Lost Change

Lucy Beer

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Published: November 1, 2001

Following a mixed response to installments by Jay Dee and Pete Rock, Volume 3 of The Beat Generation series sees Will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas fame taking the control of the boards. Lost Change follows a similar pattern to BEP releases – succeeding in similar areas and falling prey to the same flaws. At his best, Will.i.am creates succulent beds of funky, layered and laid-back rhythms. "Lay Me Down," featuring Terry Dexter is a soulful, jazz inflected R&B excursion, complete with D’Angelo style-keyboard noodlings and Dexter’s enticing vocals providing the perfect accessory. However, just as Bridging The Gap sometimes staggered under the weight of its own funk, so does Lost Change. Someone please introduce Will to a nice crisp snare, because tracks like "If You Didn’t Know" are drained of energy by a murky funk beat mired in a swamp of bass sounds and the sputtering beat of "Hooda Hella Yew" does nothing to complement Medusa’s usually forceful flow. "I Am" showcases perfectly where Will’s own vocals fall short. His nursery-style rhymes and hooks fail to arrest attention. Although the guest stars do provide some variety, as with many producer driven projects there is little here to convert the non-believers.

Courtesy of BPM Magazine/ DJmixed.com

Record Label: BBE Records
Style: Beyond Jazz