Monkey Business

Album Review

Pro-Social Content

A man tells the object of his affection, “I’m interested in the long haul” (the Top-5 single “Don’t Phunk With My Heart”). “Don’t Lie” is an apologetic admission of cheating and dishonesty. Consistent with Ecclesiastes 2:11 and 2 Peter 3:10-12, “Gone Going” reveals the emptiness of materialism. The ambitious “Union” wants to see wars cease, citizens live in harmony and a billion people take up the banner of a single world-changer. It also notes, “God made us all equal in His vision.”

Objectionable Content

Sexual content involves crass anatomical slang and guys cruising clubs for casual hookups (“Disco Club,” “Feel It”). Lyrics range from “I got a Trojan just in case we get it goin’” to “Gotta get you on my couch … I don’t want a baby, mama, don’t want a spouse.” On “Ba Bump” a romantic evening consists of spending cash on a woman, getting her drunk and taking advantage of her. A line on “Like That” seems to pardon date rape. “My Humps” opens with heavy breathing and proceeds to obsess over a woman’s curves in graphic terms. S-words and barely bleeped f-words are among the disc’s profanities. Tracks glamorize drugs and alcohol in the form of marijuana, cognac and sake.

Summary Advisory

If simply avoiding thug violence was enough to make an R&B act positive, The Black Eyed Peas would be pristine. It’s not. Monkey Business is a hedonistic tutorial that tells young men how to indulge primal instincts by using and abusing sexual partners.