BLACK EYED PEAS

Official Website: blackeyedpeas.com
Official YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/blackeyedpeasvideo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Band members: Will.i.am (William James Adams, Jr.), Apl.de.ap (Allan Pineda Lindo), Taboo (Jaime Luis Gómez), Fergie (Stacy Ann Ferguson)

William James Adams, Jr. (born March 15, 1975), better known by his stage name Will.i.am, is an American rapper, songwriter, singer, philanthropist, actor, and producer. Will.i.am rose to fame as frontman and founder of the hit hip hop and pop soul group The Black Eyed Peas, with pop singer Fergie, and rappers Taboo and apl.de.ap.

Will.i.am was born March 15, 1975 and raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California of Jamaican descent. His father, William Adams, Sr., was never around. His mother, however, encouraged him to be unique and avoid conforming to the tendencies of the other youth of the L.A. ghetto. By the time Will.i.am began high school, he was already working on a musical career. In high school, Will.i.am became best friends with Allan Lindo, AKA fellow Black Eyed Peas member apl.de.ap. The two formed a unique bond, and soon began performing at East L.A. clubs. Will.i.am would rap while apl.de.ap break-danced. Another friend of Will.i.am joined the entertainers to form the socially conscious rap group Atban Klann. The trio eventually caught the eye of Compton rapper Eazy-E and was signed to his label, Ruthless Records.

Will.i.am started in rap in late 1991 under the name "Will-1X" after being discovered by Compton rapper and former N.W.A. leader Eazy-E and signed a deal to Eazy's Ruthless Records. Will.i.am's first rap song was "Merry Muthafuckin' Xmas" from Eazy-E's 1992 EP 5150: Home 4 Tha Sick. Shortly after Eazy-E's death in 1995, Will.i.am left Ruthless to start a group that would later be called The Black Eyed Peas.

Will.i.am was also featured in 2004 singing Secrets (Dexters Hip-Hop experience) for The Dexter's Laboratory Series on Cartoon Network

Will.i.am is featured in Flo Rida's debut album, Mail on Sunday, on the song "In The Ayer," and on Usher's latest album, Here I Stand, on the song, "What's Your Name." In September 2007, Will.i.am's record label Universal Music Group decided on a pilot scheme to reward file sharing with cash incentives, which included tracks from his latest solo album, Songs About Girls.

In 2008, Will.i.am was hired by Michael Jackson to produce and remix some songs for the Thriller re-release, Thriller 25. In 2008, Will.i.am contributed the song, "One People," to the Survival International charity album, Songs for Survival. In 2009, Will.i.am worked with rappers Flo Rida and Akon on Flo Rida's new album, R.O.O.T.S. Will.i.am co-created a girl group in 2007 called the Paradiso Girls, who are signed to Geffen/Interscope Records. They debuted in 2009.

Acting career

Will.i.am first started acting alongside the rest of the members of the Black Eyed Peas in the commercial series "Instant Def" to advertise Snickers.

Will.i.am starred in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa as the character Moto Moto. Will.i.am contributed a number of tracks to the movie's motion picture soundtrack in collaboration with industry heavyweight Hans Zimmer. Will.i.am played John Wraith in his major film debut, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a prequel to the X-Men film series. Will.I.Am also guest starred on the CBS drama Joan of Arcadia as God.

Fashion

Before joining the Black Eyed Peas, Will.i.am attended the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles. In 2001, Will.i.am began designing his own signature clothing line, i.am, which made its official debut in 2005 at the Magic Apparel Trade Show in Las Vegas. In 2007, Will.i.am teamed up with Blue Holdings to design a premium denim collection, i.am Antik, that was scheduled to debut in August 2007 at the Project Show in Las Vegas.will.i.am instead has new partners and is launching i.am clothing at Project Las Vegas in September of 2009. Will.i.am has also designed clothing for the Black Eyed Peas.

Political advocacy

In January 2008, Will.i.am wrote a song, "Yes We Can", in support of the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign of Barack Obama, which in turn became a music video directed by Jesse Dylan. The lyrics of the song are composed almost entirely of excerpts from Obama's speech on January 8, 2008, following the New Hampshire presidential primary election. The video features appearances from numerous celebrities like Scarlett Johansson, Tatyana Ali, John Legend, Herbie Hancock, Kate Walsh, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Adam Rodríguez, Kelly Hu, Hill Harper, Amber Valletta, Eric Balfour, Aisha Tyler, Nicole Scherzinger, Nick Cannon, Bryan Greenberg, and Common and first appeared on the website for Dipdive. The video racked up three million views within a week and over four million subsequently on YouTube. On June 13, 2008, the "Yes We Can Song" won an award at the 35th Annual Creative Arts and Entertainment Daytime Emmy Awards for "New Approaches in Daytime Entertainment."

On February 29, 2008, a second video, "We Are the Ones," was released on Dipdive and YouTube. Including cameo appearances from Jessica Alba, Ryan Phillippe, Kerry Washington, pop punk band Yellowcard's front man, Ryan Key, John Leguizamo, Regina King, Tyrese Gibson, Eric Mabius, Tichina Arnold, Adrianne Palicki, comedian George Lopez, and singers Macy Gray, Zoe Kravitz and Black Eyed Peas' Taboo, the video features everyone chanting "O-BA-MA" as a portrayal as their hopes and wishes for Barack Obama and his presidential campaign.

On November 4, 2008, Will.i.am spoke to CNN's Anderson Cooper about his support for then-Senator Obama using CNN's 'hologram' technology.After the 2008 election, Will.i.am released "It's a New Day." The video reflects on the historical events that led to the election of the first African-American president and the public's reaction to his election. The video features celebrities such as Fergie, Olivia Wilde, Kanye West, Harold Perrineau, Kevin Bacon and his wife Kyra Sedgwick. The video first debuted on The Oprah Winfrey Show. The track also appears on the 2009 compilation album, Change is Now: Renewing America's Promise.

In honor of the inauguration of Barack Obama as president, Will.i.am collaborated with producer David Foster on the patriotic song "America's Song", with contributing vocals from Seal, Bono, Mary J. Blige, and Faith Hill.

 

Allan Pineda Lindo, (born November 28, 1974) better known by his stage name apl.de.ap, is a Filipino-American hip hop musician, record producer and is best known as a member of the Black Eyed Peas.

Apl.de.ap was born in Sapang Bato, Angeles City, Pampanga, in the Philippines, to a Filipino mother and an African American father. His father, a U.S. airman stationed at Clark Air Base, abandoned the family shortly after his birth; his mother Cristina Pineda raised Apl.de.ap and his six younger siblings as a single mother. Two of his siblings are deceased: his younger brother Arnel committed suicide. His youngest brother, Joven Pineda Deala, was murdered at the age of 21 in February 2009 in Porac, Pampanga.

As a child, Apl.de.ap would make an hour-long jeepney trip to and from school, and helped his family subsist by farming sweet potatoes, corn, sugar cane and rice. The Pearl S. Buck Foundation, an organization that finds healthier living environments for young abandoned or orphaned Amerasian children, matched him with a sponsor named Joe Ben Hudgens through a dollar-a-day program. Apl.de.ap initially came to the United States at the age of 11 to treat nystagmus, an involuntary movement of the eyes. During a trip to Disneyland, Apl.de.ap expressed his interest in staying in the United States. It would take another three years for Hudgens to officially adopt him, but at fourteen Apl.de.ap moved permanently to the United States to live with Hudgens.

In Los Angeles, Apl.de.ap attended John Marshall High School and he met will.i.am, the nephew of Hudgens' roommate. Apl.de.ap also spent two years at Curie High School in Chicago, Illinois. Apl.de.ap stated in an interview that Chicago "is where he started to love music and get involved" and said that he still "goes and visits at times."

Apl.de.ap's early musical influences were Stevie Wonder, The Eagles, The Beatles, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Leaders of the New School and the popular Filipino rock/folk group, Asin. Apl.de.ap was introduced to hip-hop by break dancing. "I would take the jeepney all the way to Angeles City, and that's how I got introduced to break dancing," Apl.de.ap said. "I would see kids at the corner break-dancing and I'm like, 'I wanna do that.'"

Career

Apl.de.ap and will.i.am formed a break-dancing crew called Tribal Nation and performed regularly at Southern California parties and events. From 1992-1995, their crew was re-named Atban Klann (ATBAN stands for "A Tribe Beyond a Nation") and included MC Mookie Mook, performer Dante Santiago and producer DJ Motiv8. Atban Klann was eventually signed onto Eazy-E's label, Ruthless Records but Eazy-E's death put an end to their debut album Grass Roots.

Apl.de.ap has brought his Filipino culture into his collaboration with the Black Eyed Peas. He explains his life story in a song called "The Apl Song" on the Peas' 2003 album Elephunk, which includes a full chorus in Tagalog sampled from the Asin song "Balita." The accompanying video, which includes cameos by fellow Filipino-Americans Dante Basco and Chad Hugo, is also a tribute to the Filipinos who fought for the U.S. in World War II; the song reached number one in the Philippines.

"Bebot" (which is Filipino slang for "pretty woman") is another all-Tagalog song on 2005's Monkey Business album. A music video for "Bebot" was filmed in and around Los Angeles in early July 2006, including in Kenneth Hahn Park, where Dr. Dre's "Nuthin' but a "G" Thang" video was also filmed; the video features primarily Filipinos, Filipino Americans and other Asian-Americans from the Los Angeles area. The video was directed by Patricio Ginelsa who also directed "The Apl Song" and produced the Filipino-American coming of age movie The Debut. The single was not released in the US but was in the Philippines and several other Asian countries.

Apl.de.ap is working on a solo album. He recently disclosed in an interview that he would be collaborating with fellow Filipino-American Chad Hugo of The Neptunes and Illmind from G-Unit to incorporate traditional Filipino instruments into his songs. Some of his songs are uploaded on his MySpace page.

On January 3, 2009, Apl.de.ap debuted the first single, You Can Dream featuring Billy Crawford, from his upcoming album on the internationally broadcast Philippine variety/game show Wowowee. On August, Apl.de.ap released a music video for his second single named Mama Filipino.

Apl.de.ap started the Apl Foundation. It is committed in giving back to communities and children within the Philippines and throughout Asia.He also started his own music company called Jeepney Music, Inc. It is currently based in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California. It currently handles DJs such as Free School, DJ Rockyrock, DJ MIA, and PoetNameLife.

Apl.de.ap recorded another tagalog song for Black Eyed Peas' fifth studio album, "The E.N.D.", the song is called "Mare".

 

Jaime Luis Gómez (born July 14, 1975),better known as Taboo Nawasha, is an American rapper, actor, and singer who is best known as a member of the Black Eyed Peas.

Taboo is of Mexican and Shoshone descent. He was raised in Rosemead, California, and attended Muscatel Middle School. As a child Taboo did not turn to music until his late teens. Taboo has a son born December 5, 1993 named Joshua, who is starting his own band called "Delta Black In Action". Two days before his 33rd birthday, Taboo married Jaymie Dizon in Pasadena, California on July 12, 2008. will.i.am and apl.de.ap served as groomsmen. The couple had their first child together on July 19, 2009. His name is Jimmy.

The artist plans to launch a non-profit arts school for children living in his hometown of Rosemead.

Music career

Taboo joined the Black Eyed Peas in 1995. Groupmates apl.de.ap and will.i.am were originally in a group called Atban Klann, but changed the name after changing record labels. In 2003, Stacy Ferguson joined and completed the band's current lineup. Taboo is known for his kung-fu-inspired dance moves (he is a practitioner of Jeet Kune Do and a black belt in Ninjitsu) and an eclectic style of dress. It is possible that his martial arts skills could have had a factor into him being cast as video game character Vega (whose character's fighting style somewhat match Taboo's) in the live-action movie Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li.

Solo work

As of 2008, Taboo is in the process of creating a solo album, T.A.B.O.O. Taboo has said that he hopes to collaborate with artists such as Frankie J, E-40, Pitbull, and Kumbia Kings. Shakira, Blu Cantrell and Juanes have been rumoured to be featured artists on his solo effort.

Taboo has co-written and performed; he has been featured on many movie soundtracks, including Coach Carter, Legally Blonde, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, and Barbershop 2.

Other collaborations

Taboo has collaborated in the past with Ryan Key of Yellowcard on the song "Gotta Get It Now". Taboo also collaborated with race rapper David Rolas for the song "Morena", and rapper Fudge Dog on the song "Get It".

In late 2007, Taboo also collaborated with merengue star Juan Luis Guerra on a remix of his hit song "La Llave de Mi Corazón". In addition, Taboo created a remix to the song "La Paga" by Juanes.

Acting

Taboo's first acting role was in the film Dirty with Wyclef Jean, playing the part of Ramírez. Taboo then appeared in the 2007 independent film Cosmic Radio, which also stars Michael Madsen, Wes Studi, Irene Bedard, Daryl Hanna, Ricardo Chavira, and other well-known actors. Taboo played the character Vega in the 2009 film Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. Taboo has also appeared as a judge on the reality show MTV's Top Pop Group.

Discography Solo

• 2010: T.A.B.O.O. (in the making)

 

Stacy Ann Ferguson (born March 27, 1975), better known by her stage name Fergie, is an American singer-songwriter, fashion designer and actress. Fergie was a member of the kids' television series Kids Incorporated, and the girl group Wild Orchid. Fergie was also a co-host of the television show Great Pretenders. Fergie is a vocalist for the hip hop/pop group the Black Eyed Peas, as well as a solo artist, having released her debut album, The Dutchess, in September 2006. The album spawned five Billboard Hot 100 Top 5 singles (three of which went to number one) making The Dutchess the seventh album from a female artist to spawn five Top 5 hits.

Fergie was born in Hacienda Heights, California, the daughter of Terri Jackson (née Gore) and Patrick Ferguson. Her parents are of Mexican, Irish, Scottish and Native American descent. The daughter of devout Roman Catholic school teachers, Fergie was raised in a suburban area with strict Roman Catholic values while attending Mesa Robles Middle School and Glen A. Wilson High School. Fergie studied dance and began to do and voice-over work, providing the voice for Sally in two made-for-television Peanuts cartoons. From 1984 to 1989, Fergie starred on the TV show Kids Incorporated. All that time, Fergie was a cheerleader, straight-A student and a spelling bee champion,as well as a Girl Scout.

Acting career

As a child actress, Fergie was on the television program Kids Incorporated for several years with her TV sister Renee Sands, who became a fellow member of Wild Orchid. Fergie was the voice of Sally Brown in two Charlie Brown specials: It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown (1984) and Snoopy's Getting Married, Charlie Brown (1985). Fergie played Ann in Married... with Children (1994) "Nooner or Nothing".

In 2003, Fergie had a guest role on the Rocket Power special, Reggie's Big Beach Break, on Nickelodeon; Fergie voiced a pop music star named Shaffika. In March 2005, casting for Revolution Studios's big-budget remake of John Carpenter's The Fog was underway. Fergie was set to return to acting in the role of lighthouse radio deejay Stevie Wayne (a part originated by scream queen Adrienne Barbeau). A last minute conflict arose, preventing Fergie's contract from closing and Ferguson left the project. The role eventually went to Selma Blair. Fergie finally returned to acting in 2006, appearing as a lounge singer in Wolfgang Peterson's remake of The Poseidon Adventure. She later appeared in 2007's Grindhouse.

In November 2009, the film Nine, in which Ferguson has a supporting role, will be released in cinemas.
 

Personal life

Fergie married actor Josh Duhamel on January 10, 2009. They met and began dating in September 2004 when Fergie and her band appeared on Duhamel's show Las Vegas (in an episode titled "Montecito Lancers", which aired on November 1, 2004). Fergie and Duhamel reside in Brentwood, California in a house that they purchased together in 2007.

Music career

Wild Orchid: 1991–2001

Fergie was a member of the female trio Wild Orchid, which she fronted with Stefanie Ridel and fellow Kids Incorporated star Renee Sandstrom. Wild Orchid released two albums, but after completing a third album, their record label declined to release it, and Fergie left the group shortly thereafter.

The Black Eyed Peas: 2003–present

In 2003, the Black Eyed Peas were recording their third album, 2003's Elephunk, when William Adams invited Fergie to try out for a song called "Shut Up". Fergie got the gig and instantly bonded with the trio to record five additional songs on the album.

In the following spring, shortly before Elephunk came out, Interscope chairman Jimmy Iovine had offered Fergie a permanent spot to take over vocal duties and fill the spot left void by background singer Kim Hill, who had left the group in 2000. When Adams was asked to sum up his bandmates, he called Fergie the "body" of the group.

After releasing her debut solo album, Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas released their song "Boom Boom Pow" in late March 2009 which went to number-one in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts.

Solo career: 2006–present

After two successful Black Eyed Peas albums, Fergie began pursuing a solo career. Fergie recorded two songs for the Poseidon soundtrack and performed "Auld Lang Syne" in the film.

Fergie's debut solo album, The Dutchess, was released on September 19, 2006. The album's name is a misspelled variant of the former title of Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, with whom Fergie shares a surname and popular nickname. The Dutchess is similar in style to that of the Black Eyed Peas, as fellow Peas member will.i.am is the album's executive producer.

The Dutchess, a mix of pop and R&B songs, spawned six hits for Fergie, beginning with "London Bridge", "Fergalicious", "Glamorous", "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Clumsy", and "Finally". "Big Girls Don't Cry" became Fergie's first worldwide number-one single, and is her most successful single to date. Fergie scored her fifth consecutive Top 5 hit from The Dutchess after "Clumsy" reached a peak position of number five on the Billboard Hot 100.

In addition to promoting her albums and singles, Fergie appeared at Wembley Stadium on July 1, 2007, performing "Glamorous" and "Big Girls Don't Cry" in a concert for the late Princess Diana put on by her two sons Prince William and Prince Harry; the DVD of the concert was released November 5, 2007.

On November 18, 2007, Fergie won the Pop or Rock "Favorite Female Artist" at the American Music Awards. In addition, her song "Big Girls Don't Cry" also earned Fergie a Grammy nomination for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance", which she lost to Amy Winehouse. In December 2007, Blender picked Fergie as their woman of the year.

During the 2008 broadcast of Idol Gives Back, Fergie also performed with Ann Wilson of Heart. The two (with Nancy Wilson on guitar) performed "Barracuda".

The song "Labels or Love" was recorded for the Sex and the City movie soundtrack. In an Entertainment Weekly interview, director and writer Michael Patrick King stated that "it’s an entirely new song with lyrics, but it has the Sex and the City theme as the DNA — on steroids.”

Fergie has also appeared on Nickelodeon's show Dance on Sunset. Fergie has recently released an EP for download on iTunes featuring unreleased singles. The CD version was released on May 27, 2008.

Fergie collaborated with Japanese singer Kumi Koda on the song "That Ain't Cool". "That Ain't Cool" was featured on Kumi's single "Moon", released on June 11, 2008. The single debuted at number two on the Oricon Weekly Single Charts. Fergie also performed a "duet" with Michael Jackson (her vocals mixed with Jackson's 1982 recordings), "Beat It 2008" on Thriller 25, the 25th anniversary release of Jackson's iconic album Thriller. She also headlined the New Year's Eve party held at The Venetian and The Palazzo casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 31, 2008.

Fergie will sing on Slash's solo album to be released in summer 2009.

According to an interview by Ahlan! Live.com, Fergie is currently making a movie, Nine in London, also starring Rob Marshall, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, and Daniel Day Lewis. Fergie also stated in the interview that her only present music project is one with the Black Eyed Peas; the band joined her in London to record. After London she is due to give a concert in Dubai.

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Black Eyed Peas was signed to Interscope Records and released their debut Behind the Front in 1998. The album won Black Eyed Peas (and their accompanying live band, the Bucky Jonson) critical acclaim. It featured the single "Joints & Jams", which was included on the soundtrack of the Academy Award-nominated film Bulworth. Black Eyed Peas' second album, Bridging the Gap, was released in 2000; it featured the single "Request Line" featuring Macy Gray. The album sold 1.2 million copies worldwide.

Black Eyed Peas' breakout album, Elephunk, was released in 2003. It was the group's first album to feature the vocals of Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson and she became the replacement for background singer Kim Hill, who left the band in 2000.

From Elephunk came "Where is the Love?", a single featuring Justin Timberlake which became Black Eyed Peas' first major hit, peaking at #8 on the U.S. Hot 100, but topping the charts practically everywhere else, including six weeks at #1 in the UK where it became the biggest-selling single of 2003. "Where is the Love?" had similar results in Australia, staying at #1 for 6 weeks as well. Elephunk subsequently spawned "Shut Up", which peaked at #2 in the UK and topped the charts in many other European countries including France and Germany, as well as Australia, holding on to the #1 spot for 3 weeks there. Elephunk won worldwide success and went Gold and Platinum in the US, UK, Germany, and other European markets.

The third single from the album, although significantly re-styled from the original Elephunk version, "Hey Mama" hit the top 5 in Australia and the top 10 in the UK, Germany and other European countries and reached #23 in the U.S. "Hey Mama" received even more exposure in 2003 when it was featured in the second of iPod's silhouette TV commercials. "Hey Mama" had much appeal to many adolescents of the U.S and also much appeal to those of other countries as well.

During Black Eyed Peas' concert tour in Asia in 2004, apl.de.ap's life story was featured in a weekly Filipino TV drama special called Maalaala Mo Kaya ("Would You Remember"), which explained his childhood with his poor family in Pampanga, Philippines. ("The Apl Song", with the chorus written in Tagalog, a language of the Philippines, from their album Elephunk, tells his story.) It was at this time that apl.de.ap formed the Filipino Songwriters and Artist Group (FSAG) with Leli, a songwriter from Pampanga, Philippines, who had developed her writing craft in Compton in the early eighties.

Black Eyed Peas' song "Let's Get Retarded" was restyled as "Let's Get It Started" for an NBA Finals worldwide commercial. "Let's Get It Started" was quite successful on the charts worldwide, peaking at #21 on the U.S. Hot 100, #11 in the UK, and at #2 in Australia. This spot featured Carlos Santana. On the CD, "Let's Get It Started" is listed as a bonus track, and is before the other bonus track "Third Eye".

Click here to watch Let's Get It Started on YouTube

The unrevised song had great success as a single, particularly on the iTunes music download service and was featured on the soundtrack to the stoner road trip comedy Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. "Let's Get It Started" earned Black Eyed Peas a 2005 Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Black Eyed Peas were then featured in the video game The Urbz: Sims in the City as characters. Black Eyed Peas re-recorded "Let's Get It Started" and "Shut Up" as well as other songs in "Simlish", the dialect language used by The Sims characters. This revised version was used in the ads for the iMac G5, with will.i.am and Fergie singing about the computer

In 2004, The Black Eyed Peas embarked on the Elephunk Tour, hitting many countries, including some in Africa. 

Black Eyed Peas' next album, Monkey Business, was released on June 7, 2005. Much of the pre-production writing was performed on the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus while on Black Eyed Peas/N*E*R*D tour of 2004. Monkey Business' first single, "Don't Phunk with My Heart", was a hit in the U.S., reaching number three on the U.S. Hot 100. The spot "Don't Phunk with My Heart" reached was the highest peak yet of their career in the U.S. (this was later broken when "Boom Boom Pow" peaked at the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100) and earned Black Eyed Peas another Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. "Don't Phunk with My Heart" reached three in the UK, and five in Canada, and stayed at number one for three weeks in Australia.

Click here to watch Don't Phunk With My Heart on YouTube

Some radio stations, skittish about complaints of obscenity, played an alternative version, "Don't Mess with My Heart". "Don't Lie", the second single from the album, saw success on the U.S. Hot 100, reaching #14, although becoming somewhat more successful in the UK and Australia, reaching a peak of #6 in both countries.

"My Humps", another song from the album, immediately achieved commercial success in the U.S. and fairly substantial radio play despite the sexually suggestive lyrics, reaching number three on the U.S. Hot 100 and number one in Australia, making it Black Eyed Peas' fourth Australian number single. However, many mocked the song for its poor lyrical content; John Bush, writing for Allmusic, described it as "one of the most embarrassing rap performances of the new millennium". Despite this, the album Monkey Business debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart, selling over 295,000 copies in its first week and was later certified triple platinum by the RIAA.

Black Eyed Peas' next and last commercially-released single from the album was "Pump It", which borrows much of its sound from "Misirlou", specifically Dick Dale's version, it peaked at number 8 in Australia.

As well as being a hip-hop album, Monkey Business features some acoustic guitar playing from Jack Johnson in the single "Gone Going".

In September 2005, Black Eyed Peas released an iTunes Originals playlist of their greatest hits, as well as some that were re-recorded especially for purchase through iTunes. The play list includes popular songs such as "Don't Lie", "Shut Up", and a new version of "Where Is the Love?" It has small stories containing info and commentary about the songs and how the group first met. 

On November 27, 2005, Black Eyed Peas performed at the half-time show at the Canadian Football League's 93rd Grey Cup in Vancouver, British Columbia.

In autumn 2005, The Black Eyed Peas set off to tour with Gwen Stefani, as supporting act. In December 2005, they embarked on the "European Tour", which toured multiple countries in Europe.

The European leg which opened in Tel Aviv, Israel, continued to Ireland, United Kingdom, Italy and Germany. After heading to Europe and Asia, Black Eyed Peas toured the US again, and South America. Black Eyed Peas have starred in a series of web shorts for Snickers called Instant Def, appearing as a group of hip-hop superheroes.

On December 31, 2006, Black Eyed Peas performed at the their last stop on the Monkey Business tour, at Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for more than 1 million people, being their biggest concert ever. Black Eyed Peas performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on July 7, 2007 at Wembley Stadium, London. will.i.am performed a new song, "Help Us Out", at the event, which is now on his album, Songs About Girls, as "S.O.S. (Mother Nature)", as part of the Make Some Noise campaign to celebrate human rights. Black Eyed Peas headlined the main Ocean Stage at the Summer Sonic Festival in Tokyo, Japan on August 11, and Osaka, Japan on August 12, 2007. The act consisted of Black Eyed Peas performing their hits, as well as Fergie singing solo tracks from The Dutchess. Will.i.am sang songs from his upcoming album. On December 10, 2005, the Black Eyed Peas cover of the John Lennon classic "Power to the People", which was mostly recorded on the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, was released by Amnesty International.

"Power to the People" was later released on the 2007 John Lennon tribute album, Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. The same day, Black Eyed Peas performed their version live on the UK television program The Record of the Year together with John Legend and Mary J. Blige.

On March 21, 2006, Black Eyed Peas released a remix album, entitled Renegotiations: The Remixes to iTunes. Renegotiations: The Remixes features remixed versions of "Ba Bump", "My Style", "Feel It", "Disco Club", "They Don't Want Music", "Audio Delite at Low Fidelity", and the standard version and video of "Like That". The following week, it was released on CD without the music video. Participants on the EP included DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Erick Sermon, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and Large Professor.

Already having produced the bulk of the Black Eyed Peas' albums, will.i.am has begun his solo career in earnest by producing and collaborating with a variety of musicians, most notably Michael Jackson and also including Sergio Mendes, Carlos Santana, Too Short, Kelis, Cheryl Cole, John Legend, RBD, Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, and Nas. 

In March 2006, Black Eyed Peas hit the road again as the featured headliner for the 6th Annual Honda Civic Tour with supporting bands Flipsyde and The Pussycat Dolls. Black Eyed Peas again brought the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus on the tour with them to craft new songs for Fergie's solo debut album. In 2006, they went on tour with The Pussycat Dolls.

In 2007, Black Eyed Peas embarked on the Black Blue & You World Tour visiting over 20 countries, including Macau, Sweden, Poland, Romania, Hungary, South Africa, South Korea, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Israel, Singapore, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Australia, Nigeria, Mexico, Thailand, Venezuela, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Argentina, Philippines, El Salvador and Brazil. This tour was presented by Pepsi, in conjunction with the new 'Pepsi More' advertising campaign, featuring Black Eyed Peas. In fact, "More" was a promotional single made just for the new Pepsi spot.            

2008: The E.N.D

Black Eyed Peas' fifth studio album, The E.N.D. ("The Energy Never Dies"), was released on June 9, 2009. "Boom Boom Pow" was released on February 22 online and March 30 on iTunes. "Boom Boom Pow" has become the group's first song to reach #1, where it has remained for nine weeks, on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 1 in Australia, in Canada, and in the UK. The E.N.D has a more techno-funk beat rather than the usual hip/hop and R&B feeling of their previous albums.

Click here to watch Boom Boom Pow on YouTube


The first promo single, "Imma Be," was released for download on iTunes on May 19 in the US, entering the Billboard Hot 100 at number 50 on the week ending June 6, 2009.

Group leader will.i.am told Billboard that The E.N.D. stands for "The Energy Never Dies", which describes his model for a project that will be living and frequently updated throughout its designated cycle. "It's a diary ... of music that at any given time, depending on the inspiration, you can add to it," the artist/producer/songwriter explains. "I'm trying to break away from the concept of an album. What is an album when you put 12 songs on iTunes and people can pick at it like scabs? That's not an album. There is no album anymore." He describes the music as "a lot of dance stuff, real melodic, electronic, soulful. We call it, like, electric static funk, something like that.

Click here to watch I Gotta Feeling on YouTube

     

The second promo single "Alive" was released for Download on May 26.

The third promo single "Meet Me Halfway" was released for Download in the US in June/09.

 

 

 

1998: Behind the Front
2000: Bridging the Gap
2003: Elephunk
2005: Monkey Business
2009: The E.N.D.

 

 

The Black Eyed Peas Make History with the Longest Successive stay at Top of the Billboard Hot 100 Chart
(information from blackeyedpeas.com)

Source: Wikipedia.org, blackeyedpeas.com
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The Black Eyed Peas have added much to our culture; they have a unique sound and their energy on stage is very much felt; you can tell they are enjoying themselves when they perform. Besides their music, there is one thing I appreciate the most when it comes to the Black Eyed Peas: they allow each other to be themselves; they are not holding on fearfully to "the group". Each member is very much free to display his/her own individuality through their own music releases.

Wishing you continuous success!

DjZenMaster
May, 2009

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