Madonna Has a Writing Credit on This Black Eyed Peas Song
Madonna doesn’t rap on most of her songs. Despite this, she still has a writing credit on a Black Eyed Peas song. During an interview, the Black Eyed Peas’ Will.i.am discussed the track’s parent album.
Madonna has no clue why she wrote this song
During an interview with Rolling Stone, the Queen of Pop discussed the origin of her 1980s songs “Live to Tell” and “La Isla Bonita.” “Sometimes when I’m writing songs, I’m just channeling,” she revealed. “I could say that ‘Live to Tell’ was about my childhood, my relationship with my parents, my father and my stepmother. … It’s true, but it’s not necessarily autobiographical. I could say the same thing about ‘La Isla Bonita.’ I don’t know where that came from.”
Madonna said that, contrary to the lyrics of “La Isla Bonita,” she never dreamed of a place called San Pedro. “I don’t know where San Pedro is,” she said. “At that point, I wasn’t a person who went on holidays to beautiful islands. I may have been on the way to the studio and seen an exit ramp for San Pedro.” Regardless of what “La Isla Bonita” is about, the Black Eyed Peas sampled it on the song “Mamacita” from their Latin music-inspired album Translation. This meant Madonna received a writing credit on “Mamacita.”
Will.i.am revealed why the Black Eyed Peas sampled a Madonna song
Translation includes samples of many songs in addition to “La Isla Bonita.” During an interview with Billboard, the Black Eyed Peas’ Will.i.am explained why there are so many samples in the album. “We wanted to treat the album like a playlist more than an album,” he said. “Curating a playlist, every song has to be the jam. Yes, you have to do new music, but you want to do charting music, and you want to throw other songs that complement [each other] so the listener enjoys it. Everything is a continuous set.”
The way the world reacted to the Black Eyed Peas’ ‘Mamacita’
“Mamacita” became a modest hit, although it wasn’t nearly as popular as past Black Eyed Peas songs such as “Imma Be,” “Boom Boom Pow,” or “I Gotta Feeling,” each of which topped the charts. “Mamacita” reached No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 11 weeks. Translation became a much bigger hit. The album reached No. 52 on the Billboard 200, lasting on the chart for eight weeks.
“Mamacita” did not make an impact in the United Kingdom. The Official Charts Company reports the track did not chart in the U.K. Translation did not chart there either. “Mamacita” did not become one of the Black Eyed Peas’ bigger hits; however, it’s an interesting connection between Madonna and the Black Eyed Peas.
