The Black Eyed Peas Return To Their Jazzy Hip-Hop Roots Without Fergie (Video)

The thing about change is you can react to it, or you can cause it. The Black Eyed Peas choose the latter. Sans Fergie, will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo revert to their original style of Jazz-infused Hip-Hop with a new track and video, “Street Livin’.”

Through the re-imagination and animation of archival photos, B.E.P. uses the imagery to tell a tale that is relevant and topical. Taking aim at the prison industry, police brutality, immigration policy, gun violence and more, the group uses poignant lyricism to address and condemn the ugly (and ongoing) state of things in the U.S.

Not Feeling 2000s Black Eyed Peas? will.i.am & Apl.De.Ap Travel Back To Yesterday (Audio)

“Street Livin’” was constructed to reside alongside their recently dropped graphic novel, Masters Of The Sun: The Zombie Chronicles, which is referenced at the beginning of the video. Beyond creating a solid track, listeners are pointed to their website with a call to action to sign a pledge condemning the aforementioned atrocities.

Although the group hasn’t dropped an album since The Beginning in 2010, they have remained on the news cycle with talks of a new album and the departure of Fergie to work on her solo project. The addition of the female vocalist in 2002 marked a complete change of the group’s sound. Without her, the remaining B.E.P. members seem to have picked up right where they left off.

Do Remember: Black Eyed Peas Joints & Jam (Video)

The Peas are still down with Interscope Records on this  single.