Unauthorized Black Eyed Peas: Bring in the Noise, Bring in the Phunk

hop an entirely new complexion. With their varied ethnic roots, flamboyant lifestyles and successful solo careers making them a huge draw for the media, the time seemed nigh for a DVD on the band. Unauthorized Black Eyed Peas: Bring in the Noise, Bring in the Phunk is an attempt at following the stories of will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo and Fergie to explain how the Black Eyed Peas discovered their sound and made it big. It sounds very good in theory, but fails so completely in its execution, it’s a wonder this was released at all.

The DVD contains nothing but an hour-long narrative, recounted by a bored female voice that sounds like it’d be more at home making flight announcements at an airport. The narrative is backed by a series of publicity photographs of the band on loop, interspersed with some grainy shots that have absolutely nothing to do with the story. Take, for instance, the story of apl.de.ap. Packed with literary gems like, “In 1974, a black serviceman at one of these [American] military bases in the Philippines knocked up apl.de.ap’s mother” and some ludicrous visuals (“Life is good in the Philippines,” says the female voice morosely while the picture of a woman at a spa flashes on the screen), it turns apl’s struggling childhood into an unintentionally funny vignette. The other band members too are given much the same treatment. The DVD ends with “fan reactions” from three people who aren’t identified by name or credentials but who proceed to wax eloquent on why they love the band. There DVD also does not feature a single BEP music clip and the lack of processing on the audio of the narrative means that it clicks and pops on every word with a p and an f in it. It’s almost impossible to sit through the entire DVD without falling asleep and even the most rabid BEP fans would be tempted to give this school-project-turned-DVD a miss. As avoidable as the plague.