Lost Change

Lost Change
Studio album by will.i.am
Released	October 2, 2001
Recorded	July 2000 - August 2001
Genre	Hip hop
Length	52:32
Label	Atlantic Records, Will.i.am Music Group
Producer	will.i.am, Printz Board, Michael Angelo Batio, Dylan "3D" Dresdow
will.i.am chronology
Lost Change (2001) Must B 21 (2003)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Lost Change is the debut solo studio album released by The Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am. It was released on October 2, 2001 by Atlantic Records, and includes the underground hit "I Am", co-written with Koliyah White.^[2]

Background

The album was released on October 2, 2001, and boasts a multitude of guests, including Planet Asia, Terry Dexter, Mike Myers, The Horn Dogs, Huck Fynn and Oezlem, Medusa and Madd Dogg. The album is part of BBE's Beat Generation series, along with other albums such as J Dilla's Welcome 2 Detroit, Marley Marl's Re-Entry, Pete Rock's PeteStrumentals, and DJ Jazzy Jeff's The Magnificent. Although classified as an original soundtrack, it is assumed that this is meant in a lateral sense, as it does not accompany any film or movie. A music video was made for the song "I Am", which was also an underground hit, however, no singles were released from the album. The American version of the album contains an additional track, "Warriors", while a reissue of the album on March 21, 2012 contains an additional disc containing an entire instrumental version of the album.

Critical reception

Matt Conaway of Allmusic said the following about the album: "One of the early volumes in BBE's ambitious beat-suite series, will.i.am's Lost Change is a solid extension of the movement, cozily nestling between Jay Dee's "Welcome to Detroit", a more rhyme-orientated opus, and Pete Rock's Petestrumentals, a distinctly jazzy, instrumental-based endeavor. Though will has taken the instrumental-based series and put his own stamp on it, that stamp still contains occasional hues of Black Eyed Peas' early organic stylings - "Ev Rebahdee" featuring Planet Asia. Yet, BBE's progressive format frees him up to dabble in a menagerie of musical styles. And he's up to the challenge, as Lost Change fuses together aspects of jazz, electronica, funk, Caribbean, and trip-hop rhythms. While the straight-up rhyming tracks border on sublime "I Am" to humdrum "Money" featuring Huck Fynn, Oezlem, and Horn Dogs, it's the instrumental format where he truly flourishes. Showing a true knack for experimentation, the album leisurely darts back and forth between the reggae-scented "Possessions," "Lost Change", which coalesces jazzy horns, with junkyard band riffing, and the hazy electronic fuzz of "Thai Arrive," which unfolds like a Radiohead track. Similarly, "Lay Me Down" has the potential to be a break-out hit, as will's infectious snare claps and blissful horn snippets provide a cooled-out platform for Terry Dexter's soulful vocal scatting. On "Control Tower," will inserts a vocal clip that states, "I'm on the brink of a great achievement." A sophisticated and musically enthralling endeavor that still manages to be accessible, Lost Change does an admirable job of implementing a host of different styles, without losing the listener in the process."^[3]

Singles

The album's first single is "I Am". It was released in December 2001. It was an underground hit, and it was co-written by Koliyah White. The music video was shot in November 2001.

The album's second single is "Lay Me Down". It was released in 2002. It had the potential to be a "break-out" hit. It does not have an music video.

Track listing

References