• Record Label: A&M
  • Release Date: Jun 7, 2005
Metascore
48

Mixed or average reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 20
  2. Negative: 3 out of 20
  1. What the group made sound effortless in the past sounds strained and canned here.
  2. Blender
    40
    What initially feels jubilant soon turns grating. [Jul 2005, p.115]
  3. So safe and sanitised it makes The Fugees sound like NWA.
  4. A disc packed with so many surefire club-ready hits it'll be impossible to avoid these jams over the next year.
  5. Entertainment Weekly
    50
    A bland meringue. [3 Jun 2005, p.81]
  6. Los Angeles Times
    63
    Hurries from one strangely unsatisfying sparkle to the next. [5 Jun 2005]
  7. Mojo
    40
    They fare less well when they get ambitious. [Jul 2005, p.112]
  8. Paste Magazine
    70
    Undeniably and increasingly danceable. [#16, p.148]
  9. On track after track, The Black Eyed Peas boast about their prowess to get people dancing better than anyone else. In so doing, The Black Eyed Peas come of as so... unoriginal.
  10. Q Magazine
    60
    Monkey Business proves that less could have been more. [Jul 2005, p.110]
  11. You'll keep looking for songs with more depth than "Ba Bump," only to find that they're basically all at that level.
  12. Monkey Business is just as bright if not quite as fun as Elephunk.
  13. There's nary an original note on the entire album.
  14. Spin
    42
    The Peas give fun a bad name. [Jul 2005, p.104]
  15. The group's vaunted eclecticism starts to feel random and jittery, the mark of short attention spans and an inability to maintain a cohesive tone. Furthermore, the Peas' lyrics--already their Achilles heel--have somehow managed to devolve even further.
  16. The lyrical inspiration has evaporated.
  17. The New York Times
    20
    Perhaps it was inevitable that a group like this would eventually emerge, peddling an energetic but inoffensive variant of hip-hop. But did we have any way of knowing that the results would be so unpleasant? [6 Jun 2005]
  18. They are to hip-hop what No Doubt was to ska.
  19. Uncut
    60
    If anything, though, this pop machine is too tightly drilled. [Jul 2005, p.94]
  20. It's zany, antiseptic kitsch, like the soundtrack to the ultimate Old Navy commercial.
User Score
6.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 165 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 97 out of 165
  2. Negative: 47 out of 165
  1. Oct 25, 2018
    10
    This album is great. Not the best of the Black Eyed Peas, but still great. 7/10
  2. Feb 13, 2022
    6
    This album started great. Great songs with great production and even great transitions, but as it progressed, the songs started to getThis album started great. Great songs with great production and even great transitions, but as it progressed, the songs started to get monotonous, with only a few standing out, but regardless of that, one can still enjoy the album as a whole. Full Review »
  3. Nov 25, 2021
    10
    This album is soooo great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!