Black Eyed Peas

The Black Eyed Peas is an American hip-hop (musical styles: crossover rap/hip hop and alternative rap/hip hop) group from Los Angeles, California, who have enjoyed international pop success. The group is currently composed of will.i.am, Apl.de.ap, Taboo, and Fergie. more...

History

The Black Eyed Peas dates to 1989, when will.i.am (Born: Will Adams) and Apl.de.ap (Born: Allen Pineda) met and began rapping and performing together around Los Angeles. The pair signed to Ruthless Records (run by Eazy-E) after catching the attention of Eazy-E manager Jerry Heller's nephew. Along with another friend of theirs, Dante Santiago, they called their trio Atban Klann. Their debut album was never released because Ruthless did not consider the positive themes reflected in the group's music to be marketable to their audience.

After Eazy-E died of an AIDS related illness in 1995 (see 1995 in music), Atban Klann reformed athe group as the Black Eyed Peas, named so because - as will.i.am's explained on the front cover of the Monkey business album - 'Black Eyed Peas are food for the soul'. They replaced their original third member with Taboo (Born: Jaime Gomez), and having Kim Hill as a steady background singer. Unlike many hip-hop acts, they chose to perform with a live band and adopted a musical and clothing style that differed wildly from the "Gangsta Rap" sounds of other Los Angeles-based hip-hop acts at the time. Through the mid-'90s, they performed in the local club circuit alongside fellow acts such as Ozomatli and Jurassic 5. After being signed to Interscope Records and releasing their debut, Behind the Front (1998, 1998 in music) the group (and their accompanying live band) earned critical acclaim. The hit single from the album was "Joints and Jam", and was featured on the Bulworth soundtrack. Their second album was 2000's Bridging the Gap (2000 in music), which had the hit "Request + Line" featuring Macy Gray.

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