Bridging the Gap (Black Eyed Peas album)

Album by The Black Eyed Peas

Bridging the Gap

Studio album by

Black Eyed Peas

Released

September 26, 2000

Genre

Hip hop^[1]^[2]

Length

62:50

Label

Interscope
will.i.am

Producer

will.i.am
apl.de.ap
Rhett Lawrence
DJ Premier
Wyclef Jean

Black Eyed Peas chronology

Behind the Front
(1998)

Bridging the Gap
(2000)

Elephunk
(2003)

Singles from Bridging the Gap

"BEP Empire"/"Get Original"
Released: August 8, 2000^[3]
"Weekends"
Released: August 29, 2000^[4]
"Request + Line"
Released: January 30, 2001^[5]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	74/100^[6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
The A.V. Club	(favorable)^[1]
Dotmusic	link
HipHopDX.com	link
Q	^[7]
RapReviews.com	2000
Robert Christgau	B− link
Rolling Stone	link
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[8]
Spin	(5/10)^[7]
Wall of Sound	(68/100) link

Bridging the Gap is the second studio album by American hip hop group Black Eyed Peas, released on September 26, 2000. This is their last album where they are credited as Black Eyed Peas, until the release of Masters of the Sun Vol. 1 in 2018.

The album had three official singles: "BEP Empire/Get Original", "Weekends" and "Request + Line", the last featuring Macy Gray. The song "Weekends" was later remixed and renamed "Another Weekend" for the Deluxe Edition of their fifth studio album, The E.N.D.

Singer Kim Hill was deeply involved in making the album, but left the group after it was released.

The album received favorable reviews, and holds a score of 74 on Metacritic.^[6]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producers	Length
1.	"BEP Empire"	William Adams Allan Pineda C. Martin Jaime Gomez	DJ Premier	4:39
2.	"Weekends" (featuring Esthero)	Adams Pineda Gomez Tony Butler Sylvester Stewart	will.i.am	4:46
3.	"Get Original" (featuring Chali2na)	Adams Pineda George Pajon, Jr. Chali 2na Clifford Smith Aldane Browne	will.i.am	2:52
4.	"Hot" (featuring Kim Hill)	Adams Pineda	apl.de.ap	4:04
5.	"Cali to New York" (featuring De La Soul)	Adams Kelvin Mercer Dave Jolicoeur Daisey Age George Pajon, Jr.	will.i.am	4:47
6.	"Lil' Lil'"	Adams Pineda George Pajon, Jr. Michael Fratantuno	will.i.am	4:10
7.	"On My Own" (featuring Les Nubians and Mos Def)	Adams Pineda Helene & Celia Faussart Dante Smith Kim Hill	will.i.am	3:52
8.	"Release"	Adams Pineda Gomez	apl.de.ap	5:07
9.	"Bridging the Gaps"	Adams Pineda George Pajon, Jr. John Collins Bill Withers	apl.de.ap	4:56
10.	"Go Go"	Adams Pineda Fratantuno Arthur Baker John Robie Kevin Donovan Robert Allen Ellis Williams Ralf Hütter Emil Schult	will.i.am	4:53
11.	"Rap Song" (featuring Wyclef Jean)	Adams Pineda Wyclef Jean Gomez James Brown Charles Bobbit Bob Byrd	Wyclef Jean	3:33
12.	"Bringing It Back"	Adams Pineda	will.i.am	3:36
13.	"Tell Your Mama Come"	Adams Pineda Gomez George Pajon, Jr.	will.i.am	3:14
14.	"Request + Line" (featuring Macy Gray) (Hidden track "Empire Strikes Back" begins at 4:52)	Adams Pineda Fratantuno George Pajon, Jr. Rhett Lawrence Natalie Hinds	Rhett Lawrence will.i.am	9:21

Personnel

will.i.am – vocals, art direction, composer^[9]
apl.de.ap – vocals, composer
Taboo – vocals, composer
Kim Hill – vocals, composer
George Pajon – guitar
Printz Board – trumpet, bass, keyboards
Rhett Lawrence – composer, producer
Roberto Cani – strings
Suzanna Giordono – strings
Susan Chatman – horn section, strings
Chali 2na – featured artist
De La Soul – featured artist
Esthero – featured artist
Macy Gray – featured artist
Wyclef Jean – featured artist
Mos Def – featured artist
Les Nubians – featured artist
Ian Alexander – art direction, executive producer
Dave Pensado – mix engineer
Dylan Dresdo – mix engineer
Dejuana Richardson – engineer
Eddie Sancho – engineer
Tom Coyne – mastering
Seth Friedman – package design
Tatiana Litvin – art coordinator

Charts

Chart (2000–2001)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[10]	37
Australian Dance Albums (ARIA)^[11]	15
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[12]	82
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[13]	18
US Billboard 200^[14]	67
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[15]	40

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[16]	Gold	7,500^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ ^a ^b "Black Eyed Peas: Bridging the Gap". The A.V. Club.
^ ^a ^b Bridging the Gap at AllMusic
^ "BEP Empire [Vinyl]: Black Eyed Peas: Music". Amazon. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
^ "Weekends [Vinyl]: Black Eyed Peas: Music". Amazon. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
^ "Request Line: Black Eyed Peas: Music". Amazon. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
^ ^a ^b "Bridging the Gap Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and more at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved on May 28, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Critic Reviews from Metacritic". Archived from the original on 2016-03-11. Retrieved 2012-09-23.
^ Cross, Charles R. (2004). "Black Eyed Peas". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 77. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
^ "Bridging the Gap - the Black Eyed Peas | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
^ "Australiancharts.com – The Black Eyed Peas – Bridging the Gap". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
^ "ARIA Dance - Week Commencing 5th February 2001" (PDF). The ARIA Report (571): 16. February 5, 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 23, 2008. Retrieved April 17, 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Black Eyed Peas – Bridging the Gap" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
^ "Charts.nz – The Black Eyed Peas – Bridging the Gap". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
^ "The Black Eyed Peas Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
^ "The Black Eyed Peas Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
^ "New Zealand album certifications – Black Eyed Peas – Bridging the Gap". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved May 26, 2021.