Elephunk by The Black Eyed Peas

Elephunk, the third album from the Black Eyed Peas, arrived on June 24, 2003, and it's the sound of an alternative hip-hop trio turning into a pop juggernaut. will.i.am produced it, apl.de.ap and Taboo rap alongside him, and Fergie joined during the sessions, taking the spot Kim Hill had left in 2000. Work began in August 2001, and the September 11 attacks rattled the group and fed straight into the songwriting; the sessions dragged on until May 2003.

What came out is a grab bag of R&B, Latin, funk, dancehall, rock and dance, with lyrics that swing between partying, romance and social conscience. Critics loved individual tracks and argued about the rest. "Where Is the Love?", with Justin Timberlake, gave them their first US top-ten single, and "Shut Up", "Hey Mama" and "Let's Get It Started" kept the party going. A slow burner, it won a Grammy, went double platinum in the US and sold over nine million copies worldwide.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.