When I heard the title of Will.I.Am's latest single, "Check It Out," the first thing that came to mind was the Cartoon Network show, Check It Out with Dr. Steve Brule. Similar to the show, this track is wacky and inconsistent.
The track first appeared at the MTV VMA's pre-show. Fans complained a bit
about Will's "blackface" outfit in
the performance. I just think it was tacky.
[Sidenote: Why, dammit, does futuristic gear look so bad in real life?]
Anyway, the
track samples that old Buggles track, "Video Killed the Radio Star," with
a few of Will's canned beats thrown on top.
If you listen carefully, you can also
hear a sample of that radio star rolling in his grave.
The lyrics
follow the writing styles of both artists, with Will.I.Am boasting about how
he's making money with no effort (hey, as long as he's not rhyming
about "loanin' out semen" as he did on "Imma Be") as Nicki's lines trip over each other
(see: 'I leave the rest just to collect intrust / I mean interest").
And the
track's video shows the pair on what looks like a Korean TV show, with
Hangul text flying all around. I'm kinda disappointed they didn't
mention soccer, baseball or Starcraft--since they're already
exaggerating about the country.
It'd be great to see Nicki treating the track and Billy's whole strut like the big joke that it is. One scene would
feature will.i.am with his annoying swagger, followed by Nicki popping
some fun, zany gesture to bring everything back down to earth.
Instead, she just seems
like a kid trying to entertain herself because she's bored with what's
going on. Which, seems fitting, right? Aren't we all bored with Will.I.Am at this point?