@bep - Street Livin'

In an immaculate display of history and graphics, the Black Eyed Peas - sans Fergie - return with a powerful message in their new single Street Livin' after an 8 year long silence musically. The song addresses systematic ills of the United States such as the prison system, immigration, police brutality and the "war on drugs."

The visual is quite brilliant with it being made up of powerful historic pictures of slavery, imprisonment, police violence, and liberation struggles put into motion. The best part is how cunning they were with merging will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo's faces onto the images. It looks flawless and in many instances spooky. My favourites are the juxtapositions on Martin Luther King Jr and Malcom X (naturally). Now this is hip hop with a purpose. My heart is stolen.