A Force Of ‘#will’

will.i.am is talented. Granted, the guy annoys me at times but infinitely talented. If I were being smarter I would see it on his work with The Black Eyed Peas or his production work with other artists.

But I am a little different in that regard.

I saw it when I listened to his last solo effort.

#willpower.

I won’t do a long tie-in or introduction simply because I loved this album so much. I will instead tell you about the seven songs I loved most of all.

The first is “Good Morning”. It is a soft track that has a certain level of whimsy in the production as well as the lyrical content. To me this feels like something you’d sing a small child as they woke up or as a lullaby of sorts. Maybe it’s the strings that make me think that. For almost two minutes we are taken away by the words. I loved the escape myself.

“Hello” is just good, clean electro pop fun. I find myself jumping up and down as this song plays, which is tiring simply because this song goes on for nearly five minutes. When you actually listen to the words, it’s a club song with more than a few clever lines perpetrated by will.i.am. The track even has kids singing, something that I usually hate on a song. Here it seems to work.

“This Is Love” is a techno love song, plain and simple. It features Eva Simons and a catchy piano based production.  Simon’s voice on the hook with a n almost operatic sound to her and will.i.am shows heavy techno infused delivery throughout with touches of that old Black Eyed Peas fire.

“Let’s Go” is another good one with a feature by Chris Brown. When it begins it feels like a Chris Brown track for a second. This thought continues throughout much of the 5:33 running time. Despite that, it’s a fun track. The sounds and whistles are a bit off putting for my sensibilities yet it is a strong track.

The album continues in much the same vein. Aside from the tracks I have named, you might want to check out “Fall Down” featuring Miley Cyrus and “Love Bullets” featuring Skylar Grey.

As a whole the album is experimental and fun but if you’re more used to the Black Eyesd Peas type of fare, this one may not be for you so much.



written by Lucius Black for Royalty Magazine