Back in June of 2003, The Black Eyed Peas released "Where Is The Love?"
The song features vocals from Justin Timberlake and served as the official debut of Fergie as a member of the band. While the first music video does not feature Timberlake, his popular chorus sets the mood for will.i.am, Taboo, and apl.de.ap to speak their minds.
The video was shot in East L.A. where the band as well as the general population post the infamous question mark in every place imaginable (stickers on wall, flags on bikes, tattoos, etc). The lyrics pose the question as each verse brings various injustices to light; they send a message so timeless, it's still just as relevant today.
In August of 2016, will.i.am revamped the original by including the same message in a more relevant format. His goal was to raise money for his educational nonprofit, i.am.angel, using various artists and media figureheads to voice over the similar lyrics.
The new composition, "Where's The Love?" even has it's own website to demonstrate the necessity for an increase in education in underprivileged areas.
One of the most prominent changes other than a new sound and black-and-white look was a verse by The Game who brings truth to the root cause of the issues America faced last year prior to the election:
"Where's the love when a child gets murdered or a cop gets knocked down? Black lives, not now. Everybody matter to me, all races. Y'all don't like what I'm sayin'? Haterade, tall cases. Everybody hate somebody, guess we all racist. Black Eyed Peas do a song about love and y'all hate this. All these protest with different colored faces. We was all born with a heart, why we gotta chase it?"
Taboo follows the verse with, "Every time I look up, every time I look down, no one's on a common ground."
The most recent revival of this classic was at Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester concert to raise money for the victims of the arena bombing on May 22, 2017. This performance (one that had me in tears) served as a reminder: we shouldn't need this message, but we should be thankful we have it.
War isn't something new. It's not something that just emerged one day and started to tear people apart. War has been around since humans discovered the value of competition thousands of years ago.
While it may seem ideal for everyone to put their differences aside and "just get along," there's always going to be an enemy. Whether it's domestic or international, political arguments have been the rise and demise of nations for centuries. They won't, "just go away."
World leaders can argue and put nations at risk day in and day out, but what matters at the end of the day is that they can't have a nation without people. Don't give up and see togetherness as a hopeless effort simply because of the inevitable. Unity is still necessary and will always serve a purpose.
As long as we have bands like The Black Eyed Peas promoting education and unity, the world cannot lose all of its hope.
They ask where the love is, but the truth is it lies within us.
