Songs About Girls [PA] (CD - 2007)

Personnel: will.i.am (piano, keyboards, drums, drum programming); George Pajon, Josh Lopez, Ray Brady, Mike Hartnett (guitar); Elvis Williams (piano); Keith Harris (Fender Rhodes piano, keyboards, drums); Polow da Don, Jason Perry, John Kirby (keyboards); Chuck Prada (percussion); Dante Santiago, Katerina Graham, Simon Battle, Marti G., Melanie Johnson, Tara Ellis, Keri Hilson (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Dylan Dresdow; Tony Maserati.

Recording information: Chalice Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Cubano Studio, Los Angeles, CA; Ethernet Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Lhima Studios, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil; Record Plant, Hollywood, CA; Spiral Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Zacs Recording Studios, Atlanta, GA.

Photographer: Joseph Cultice.

Will.i.am's success as a producer for the likes of John Legend, Fergie, and Macy Gray, among others, rivaled the enormous popularity of his own group, Black Eyed Peas. SONGS ABOUT GIRLS is the producer/rapper's major-label solo debut, and while critics might turn their noses up at will.i.am's commercially tailored pop-rap, there is no denying the man's production skills. Like Kanye West, another rap artist whose true genius lies in track-making, will.i.am is no great shakes on the mic. Fortunately, the rapping isn't foregrounded here; instead it tastefully fills space between bouts of dazzling production work.

The opening track, co-written with Jeff Lynne, takes a sample from ELO's "It's Over" to build an immediately infectious jam that weighs in as one of the most bumping break-up songs of 2007. The lead-off single "I Got It From My Mama" may have nabbed attention for its call-and-response segments and insistent hook, but it's outpaced by production gems like "Get Your Money" and "The Donque Song," which features a cameo by Snoop Dogg. Fans of Black Eyed Peas and pop-rap in general shouldn't miss SONGS ABOUT GIRLS, but neither will anyone invested in the art of hip-hop production. minimize