"We only got one world and something's wrong with it." This is how the lyrics of this 2003 hit song from Black Eyed Peas end. And with the recent Paris attacks which saw 130 people killed and wounding many others, it is easy to echo those very same lines today. Twelve years after this song was first released and it seems like it is still as timely as ever.
I am not a consistent fan of rap music or hiphop but this song I must say has the perfect elements of being a hit. It is undeniable here that we have 3 very talented rappers and yes, we also have a vocal gift called Fergie. But I think more than all their talents combined, it is also the message of the song. It rings really fresh, true. It rings true because it is true. It paints the realities of today's world. And it also honesetly asks for the Father for help, for guidance. There is no denial here that we need the help and guidance of someone bigger and wiser than all of us combined.
The song makes me also reflect why so much of rap music (and a lot of music today, for that matter) is heavy with and almost dependent on expletives as well as sex. And their videos? Well, including the many music videos of most artists today, they are just peppered, if not filled with sexual scenes or images. Even videos about love and attraction, well, they had to have sex added in them, too. Really, it makes me wonder time and again, is that all what the people think of or need this day? As this song asks, where is the love? Love is not always about sex. But then sex sells so I guess it has to be hyped about.
I wish there are more songs like this from this Grammy Award winning group and even from other rap and hiphop artists. We need songs that have a bigger context other than dating, sex or expletives. But then again maybe the musicians and artists of today are selling out. What matters is what sells and not what has meaning, what causes us to ask questions and face issues like this song.
If only it is possible that talent or skill can be paired up with a message. But then that is not really impossible. Where is the Love from The Black Eyed Peas has proven that with this hit. Talent, music and message -- a trinity that I believe many of us still welcome in this day and age is what we get a taste of in this song.
When there is talent, music and message then all musical roads could lead to what is both true and timeless, just like the hit (and the question): Where is the Love?
