Behind the Front by The Black Eyed Peas
Behind the Front is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Black Eyed Peas, released on June 30, 1998. Most of the tracks were demos for the Grass Roots album, with added verses by new member Taboo. The song "Joints & Jam" appeared on the soundtrack of the movie Bulworth, where it was billed as "Joints & Jams". "Be Free" also features in the film She's All That. On the back cover, "Skit 3" is listed after "Duet", when it actually appears after "Communication". In 1997, a music video for the song "Head Bobs" was filmed and finished, however, the band decided to not release the song as a single. Around the same time a music video for the song "Fallin' Up" was also created, however, was decided that the album's first official single would be "Joints & Jam", with it's respective music video released. a similar video to "Joints & Jam" was filmed for the song "What It Is", but like "Head Bobs" and "Fallin Up", the song wasn't an official single. The last music video to be released from the album was "Karma", the album's second and final official single. All five music videos were included on the DVD Behind the Bridge to Elephunk.
The Black Eyed Peas’ 1998 debut doubles as a precursor to their world-conquering 21st-century run and a snapshot of the jazz-influenced styles that dominated “backpack” rap in the late ‘90s. Over instrumentals and samples woven together into fluid, loose beats, will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo espouse messages of unity (on the jittery “Joints & Jam”) and positivity (on the simmering “Communication”) while hinting at the globally minded ideas that would fuel their later pop success on cuts like the swaggering “Movement”.
