Will.i.am- #willpower Album Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Album- #willpower (Deluxe Edition)

Artist- will.i.am

Whilst achieving worldwide success with his awesome and musically amazing Group The Black Eyed Peas, will.i.am has also maintained his passion for music in a strong solo sense, writing and producing for other artists and also releasing his own solo album, “Songs For Girls”, that seemingly tried to capture the world after the band growing success. These fourth studio records see one of the integral cogs of The Black Eyed Peas take centre stage and produce a record that has a continuous vibrant energy, often helped by the enlisting of a cool artist feature. But is this really the awesome solo record that it has been hyped up to be, or should will.i.am perhaps stick with The Black Eyed Peas and behind the scenes work that he does really well?

Track 1- Good Morning

The record opens with a short introductory track that acts as a simple but also deep welcome to will.i.am’s new album and the grand sound that he has created. The track begins with electronic beats that are a little reminiscent of Calvin Harris’ work, but this quickly diminishes and is replaced by an orchestra based sound that utilises strings and horns for a cinematic tone to the track and a dramatic attitude to the albums beginning. The vocals are simple as they are kept on a deep level, something which will.i.am can handle, and the track is also helped by the vocals of a child who adds a touch of heart to the opening and gives this sense of both delicacy and warmth. The lyrical content finds will.i.am and this unknown child repeating the words good morning whilst also speaking of living life and not letting moments pass you by. It’s an ideology that is highlight relevant into today’s modern pop world, but the good thing about the intro is that it keeps the message short and quite dramatic sounding, and so will.i.am does not stray into bland we’ve had this done before territory.

3.5/5

Track 2- Hello

Co-produced by the brilliant Afrojack, from the moment I heard this track I knew he would have something to do with its composition, as the opening electro dance beats that act as the base of the record are distinctly Afrojack and felt familiar to his 2010 single “Take Over Control. The tracks sound is they first example of how will.i.am creates tracks that incorporate a range of sounds that seem mashed together to create a supposed super track. Here we have the cool and subdue electro beats that give way to clattering bass and strings, which then becomes more twisted and gritty before going back and forth between these two sounds and then ending with a powerful orchestra section. The songs lyrical content is very simple as Will.i.am says hello to us whilst he is with his friends, and he wants to be out partying with us. The chorus is catchy and has a nice use of crowd vocals, but the rap verses don’t leave the mark that they should do, and the post chorus breakdowns with the lyrical repetition just comes across as annoying. The lightness of the main chorus clashes to much with the edgy tone of the verses, and in terms of the vocals will.i.am takes sole duties and so the song perhaps suffers because of this. Although the Auto Tuned choruses are actually okay and quite light, the verses just feel too brash and off-putting, and so this is definitely a track that had the potential to be a really good song but unfortunately suffers because of certain issues.

3/5

Track 3- This Is Love (featuring Eva Simons)

Introduced as the records lead single quite a while before the record was released (due to a lot of leaked material), this track is the perfect introduction to the party atmosphere of the record and the powerful sound that the will.i.am wishes to create. The song is very much a club anthem that incorporates the orchestral and electro pop tones that we were introduced to with the previous song. However, this time will.i.am creates a much more well-rounded song that is centred around a much stronger pop hook. The song is lyrically about will.i.am being in this kind of state of euphoria in which both you and him, as well as the rest of the crowd, feel this strong sense of love for the party atmosphere, whilst featured artist Eva Simons has the simple duty of asking us if we can feel the love. The track’s chorus has a very catchy quality, with the hook being giving more power through the use of Simons smooth and strong vocal tones. Simons is clearly the greatest of the vocals in this track, but will.i.an does produce some catchy rap/sing style sections, and the use of Auto Tune feels more right in terms of the sonics of this track. The production is much more fine-tuned, as the transitions between piano instrumentation and string pieces to heavy club beats are really effective in getting you in the mood to dance, and so if your not dancing by the end of this song as Simons steps up the vocals even more, there might be something wrong with you.

4.5/5

Track 4- Scream & Shout (featuring Britney Spears) 

You can always kind of ensure that a record with a big star feature will have a least some good chart success, and so here will.i.am partners up with a past collaborator, Britney Spears, for a track that is meant to excite you to party. However, if anyone expected a simple big pop song from this pairing, then what they’ve actually offered definitely isn’t that, and is instead a kind of dark and dirty electro and dance pop club track that is definitely meant to get the party started but does this in kind of a weird way. The track is lyrically very simple, with wil.i.am and Spears speaking of having an enjoyable night where they just go crazy and everybody has their eyes on them. It’s a simple song lyrically, and the hook is quite catchy, but the way that this track really grabs you is the much talked about vocals, in particular that of Spears. This is because in Spears repetitive line sections she employs a strange British accent. It may sound weird, but for some reason it works, and if nothing else it has it’s intended purpose of grabbing your attention. The lyrics also feature a great interpolation of the line “It’s Britney Bitch”, a line from Spears 2007 single Gimme More and a line that has become a signature part of a her persona as a popstar. This is another catchy element of the track that will immediately stick in your brain, and paves the way for a cool dance beat driven breakdown that is fast paced but simple and exciting. The track works very well in terms of the production in how the clattering electro beats and toe tapping rhythms in the chorus do excite you into a dance mood, but they are not extremely up tempo and so feel like a natural step into dancing rather than will.i.am commanding us to dance. The Auto Tune does becoming annoying as the track goes on, but In the chorus this works in giving Spear’s vocals a natural essence in the context, and so this is definitely a song that can ensure chart success for both artists (which it definitely has)

4/5

Track 5- Let’s Go (featuring Chris Brown)

After the powerhouse collaboration of wil.i.am and Britney, we are treated to what should be a powerhouse collaboration, this time with the controversial but highly relevant artist Chris Brown. However, when you actually listen to this track it is quite a let-down, as the quirks that can excite will.i.am’s music seem to disappear in favour of a simpler and straightforward club track. Sometimes the quirks are really annoying and he does need well-rounded songs, but the problem with this track is that it could have been made by a number of artists in today’s world, in particular David Guetta. The song’s lyrics find Brown and will.i.am telling this girl to go crazy as they have this strong feeling for this girl, who is always on their mind. The hook is ok but doesn’t have the pizazz of the previous numbers, and Chris Brown vocally doesn’t bring a cool personality to the track, sounding very much like a singer just doing his job of singing the line’s. Will.i.am isn’t much better with his rap sections, although these sections are good in terms of the lack of Auto Tune, even if they get annoyingly repetitive at the end of each section. The production feature simple dance pop beats, and the only real cool sections are the breakdowns between the Brown sections and the will.i.am sections which feature grittier club beats and have a catchier quality. This song has also been the subject of controversy between the similarities in composition between this track and the track “Rebound” by artists Arty and Matzo, with the sampling of the latter song apparently not have been given permission to happen. When you listen to the two the similarities are undeniable, and so this song just should not have made this album, particularly when people are more excited by the controversy than the actual song. The final 30 seconds in which will.i.am just talks to the listener is also just really weird, with the final dramatic string moments that sound like they’ve been plucked straight out of an old cheesy Hollywood film just sounding stupid.

2.5/5

Track 6- Getting’ Dumb (featuring apl.de.ap and 2NE1) 

Will.i.am brings along one of his fellow Black Eyed Peas members, apl.de.ap, alongside what many may find as a surprise collaboration in the form of 2NE1, a Korean pop girl group. However despite the feature the track feels more like a westernized project with just a potential flavouring of a k-pop attitude. Lyrically we find will.i.am and his collaborators in very familiar territory as they speak of how they have been working and being serious all work and so now they are just going to lose themselves and become stupid in their fun. It’s a statement that has been said so many times, but the chorus does have a catchy quality, and so we can be captured by what they are saying. However the sound of the record is something that is a bit hit and misses. The track starts of nicely with cool piano instrumentation and then being joined with clattering dance beats that make way for warped club beats that try to give a cool swag to the track. It does sound alright at first but you quickly find these dirtier beats just become annoying, and then this extends into the track as a whole, with the song being dragged out for far too long. Vocally 2NE1 are definitely the best here, with the chorus featuring smooth and catchy vocals. The girls rap section is also the best as it’s kind of catchy and doesn’t feel as stupid as the will.i.am and apl.de.ap section. Will.i.am tries to bring his happy go lucky persona to the track but it just doesn’t work, whilst the apl.de.ap rap just sounds so lifeless, and I really question why on earth he was brought onto this song. It is a good tune but issues cause the material to suffer, and so will.i.am seems to need to rethink things a bit before he puts them out.

3.5/5

Track 7- Geekin’

Featured artists take a back seat for this electronic infused number where will.i.am seemingly indulges himself in that thing called technology, something that he has made no secret of in his dress sense and public appearances. Yet whilst this should be an exciting track if he loves technology so much and considers himself a geek, it is definitely not, and does just come across as a man that is being extremely self-indulgent. The hook of the track in which will.i.am speaks of getting his geek on just sounds annoying, whilst the rap sections that strengthen his love of technology and how this has made him the person he is are just bland and make for a easily skippable listen. From the beginning you’ll just be wishing him to not get his geek on, and although the lack of Auto Tune on his voice is a nice change for a while, the raps just feel to stereotypical of the genre in will.i.am’s declaration of his greatness. The sound of the record is the only thing that mildly saves it, infuses a kind of techno rhythm that feels a little Eastern influence and featuring some nice guitar melody’s in particular sections. The use of the Microsoft vocal motif is also a cool twist in the song, but it’s unfortunately not enough for you to really like the music as a whole.

2/5

Track 8- Freshy (featuring Juicy J)

From the love of the technology we go into a very technological sounding track that is once again a kind of I am so good kind of number. It’s also one of those tracks that seemingly finds will.i.am in full on rapper mode and trying to add a bit of cool, urban swag to his persona, which is apparently also meant to be intensified by bringing on Juicy J as a featured artist. The lyrics feature will.i.am using one of his favourite words in the form of freshy, as he and Juicy J share duties of rapping about how they are awesome and fresh.  It’s a very stupid lyrical concept that pretty much comes across as egotistical, with both rappers just seemingly using expletives because they can rather than it sounding good. The hook is also really annoying, and both rappers just come across as lifeless. The only thing that mildly saves the song is once again the production, which isn’t enough for a great listen but is intriguing, featuring simple electronic beats that are changed every so often within the song to create a pleasant sound overall that keeps you interested, even if the other components don’t.

3/5

Track 9- #thatPower (featuring Justin Bieber)

When you want to make a big hit record for an album it’s a good idea to bring in a big, worldwide sensation, and so will.i.am does exactly that with this powerfully up tempo, club beat driven track that features teen sensation and all round girl heartbreaker Justin Bieber. The track lyrically is familiar territory: will.i.am raps about not letting people get you down and how he has risen to the top and stays there, all while employing quite silly sounding clichés such as “whatever doesn’t kill ya, only makes you stronger”. The rap sections are stupid in their lyrical sensibilities, but are strong in terms of the vibrant personality that will.i.am puts on display for us. However the section’s where will.i.am does sing are just annoying, as he is so Auto Tuned it is ridiculous. Bieber is likewise Auto Tuned, but not so much, and he actually brings a sweet vocal tone that provides some much needed good singing to the track. Production wise the track has a similar tone to the other big and bold numbers that have been heard on the record, but the sound has a lighter tone in the Bieber sections and so the grittier club beats of will.i.am’s verses are contrasted nicely and feel catchier because of this. The final, kind of dubstep wobble is cool and gives a powerful end to what try’s to be a really powerful and almost kind of gets in that territory track.

Track 10- Great Times Are Coming

As soon as you start to listen to this track you can tell that it is a transition in sound in the record as it’s more mellow and doesn’t have that club drive of the previous song, although it is still a mid tempo and bold track. Will.i.am once again takes sole duties for this track in which he simply sings and raps about how he is positive that there are times ahead that are going to be great, and he just can’t wait. It’s a simple message, but it’s not something that feels original in today’s pop world that finds us being bombarded with live for the day ideologies. And when we just have will.i.am on the vocals, any spark that we might get from the track to inspire us is gone, as the reap sections leave no impression and the vocal’s just don’t have a cool personality because of the Auto Tune, even if they sound light and nice. Once again it is the production that saves the track, with piano (ish) instrumentation at the beginning being a nice change of pace before transitioning into heavy club beats and a gangster sounding rhythm, then going back to this lighter tone, and then going into a powerful orchestral section, and then going into really heavy and frenetic club beats. However, the sound is cool, but it’s also maybe one change to many, as the song sounds totally different in the final minute, and this makes it sound like will.i.am has just stuck another song on the end that he couldn’t finish/start.

2.5/5

Track 11- The World Is Crazy (featuring Dante Santiago)

Both the previous track and this number were to me kind of misleading in their title’s, as the titles just suggested to me that they word be heavy, dance orientated numbers. However, like the last track, this song is more subdued in tone, and is even more so than the previous track as we don’t have the crazy chop and change production. Lyrically the song is more intriguing than other will.i.am tunes as he raps about particular instances in the world and employs a range of imagery to show how in his eyes the world is not a good place, with will.i.am suggesting everyone is crazy. It’s a cool lyrical concept that feels a little like a “Where Is the Love” part 2, although it definitely doesn’t have the power of that black eyed peas track. Vocally this is one of the stronger moment’s for will.i.am as the raps have a little more of an impression leaving power, whilst the chorus keeps things on a simple level and so the Auto Tune effects aren’t as annoying. The stability of the production also makes for a catchy sound electronic based sound that is infused with a steady drum beat and cool orchestral tones that allows for a little sense of drama. It’s an ok tune, although I’m unsure as to what capacity Santiago is classed as a feature on this track, as I don’t even know what he does (background vocals? The humming bits?) 

Track 12- Fall Down (featuring Miley Cyrus)

One of only two track that will.i.am is not credited as a producer, this track is a cool tune that features more of an urban contemporary sound rather than the club sounds of the other big tunes on the record, with hip hop esque verses, an orchestral bridge and a powerfully catchy electro pop chorus. And the track also features a departure from traditional wil.i.am not only in sound but in subject matter, as this is very much a love song in which will.i.am and former Disney star Cyrus play off each and speak of how great the other is as they help them back on track in life and are there for each other. It’s a really great change of pace for the record, and the two artists play off each other well. The lyrics have a real catchy quality, and Cyrus brings her vocal A game to the track, with a sweet vocal tone that is really pleasing to hear. However, whilst the will.i.am sections are cool lyrically and make for a good call response record, the track is marred by his vocal’s in terms of the heavy Auto Tune that makes him seem a little lifeless and which is annoying when he sings the hook. Yet whilst the vocals may hinder the record, the production is really strong, featuring a whistling motif that is so catchy, even if it has been a real trend in today’s music world. The song’s dipping into electro pop and orchestra based sounds also makes for a powerful combination in sound that gives a touch of sincerity to the track, and to be honest I wouldn’t expect anything other than catchy production from the awesome Dr Luke. However, I have one major issue with this track: the final minute. This final minute is purely string based and finds will.i.am repeating lines in a really slow, drawling tone. It’s such a stupid and annoying minute that completely drags out the song, makes for a track that is not well rounded, and just gets you really annoyed at will.i.am, as he makes his music suffer seemingly just for his own indulgence.

3.5/5

Track 13- Love Bullets (featuring Skylar Grey)

Skylar Grey, the woman who gave us one of Eminem’s biggest hits (a.k.a “Love The Way You Lie”) and has been seen as one of the most promising music artists for a while, collaborates with on will.i.am on this tune that continues with the love based theme of the previous track. So why on earth does an artist like her make such a stupid song like this? Thematically the lyrics of the track have that tone of “Love the Way You Lie” as will.i.am and Grey seemingly play the roles of couple in this volatile relationship in which they both hate but love the pain. But whilst the subjects are the same, the songs couldn’t be more different. The lyrics feel so stupid and the hook is just not catchy at all, whilst will.i.am and Grey have zero chemistry. Grey also sounds really quite terrible vocally on this track, which is extremely bad as we know she can sing from previous single collaborations she has done with other artists, such as Doctor Dre’s “I Need a Doctor”. The production is equally terrible, featuring thrashing electronic tones and simple piano instrumentation that is so dull and just makes you want it all to stop. How this track was created and got on this album is something I cannot comprehend?

0.5/5

Track 14- Far Away from Home (featuring Nicole Scherzinger)

Bringing on pop star and former Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger for this track is seemingly a really good thing for will.i.am, as this electro pop tune is the most well rounded and fresh sounding tune on the record, with a light tone and inspiring quality. In terms of the lyrical content we find will.i.am casually singing/speaking about this girl from a small town who has gone on to make her dreams come true, with Scherzinger providing her smooth vocals in the chorus for a catchy, hook driven chorus that is all about going far away to make it big. The chorus is powerful through the addition of Scherzinger, and the song sound great with it electro pop production that features frenetic beats and a steady bass that gives a fresh and light tone to the track. The bridge is strong through Scherzinger’s vocal performance and the stripped back tone, whilst the final chorus is equally as powerfully by replacing the electronic tones with simple handclapping beats that lets the vocals do the work and gives a crowd pleasing quality to the track, making this a song that could potentially sound really good live.

3.5/5

Track 15- Ghetto Ghetto (featuring Baby Kaely)

The second of the two tracks that weren’t produced by will.i.am is quite a mellow affair that seems like quite a personal song in terms of its lyrical rooting in the idea of the Ghetto, the life that will.i.am grew up in. The song is lyrically potent in terms of the rap sections in which will.i.am speaks of the troubles in the ghetto and questions why we don’t do more to help people, whilst Baby Kaely is on board for the chorus to present the children of the Ghetto who want to grow up to do well in life but can’t as they don’t have a lot. The songs lyrics are strong and cause you to think, with the rap sections being one of the best moment for will.i.am as a rapper. However, the message does feel a little too familiar after the previous track “The World Is Crazy”. Further to this, the track is also really hindered by the Baby Kaely feature: the feature is indeed that of a baby, and whilst I can see why this kind of vocal is added, it just comes across as annoying and a sign of why we don’t let children record music. The production is simple and lets the words have more power, with nice piano instrumentation and a simple drum back beat, as well as some cool DJ scratching.

3/5

Final Review

Will.i.am has tried to make a record that really shoots into the musical stratosphere through a creation of tracks that have a powerful tone in terms of the mixing of genres, and which are given gravitas by some powerful collaborating with other artists. Yet whilst he has tried to make a compelling record that people can love, he really has just ended up making a record that has a few really great tracks mid a sea of weird and annoying tunes that feel like they are a product of a self-indulgent artist. He also makes songs that are really dragged out and feel unnecessary in their warped state of production, and so if a follow up record is to be made, he needs to make much more well-rounded songs, perhaps with a touch more pop sensibility, as this would allow his personality to shine.

4/10

Best Track- This Is Love (featuring Eva Simons)

Worst Track- Love Bullets (featuring Skylar Grey)