Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas is an American hip-hop group that reached global success with their 2003 breakout album called Elephunk, which brought them four Grammy nominations, one Grammy award, and sold 7.5 million albums worldwide. The group is currently composed of four members, William, Apldeap, Taboo, and Fergie. It began in 1995 with just will.i.am, born as William Adams, and Apl.de.ap, born as Allan Pineda, who rapped together around Los Angeles. The pair worked with another friend, Dante Santiago, and signed on with a company called Ruthless Records, run by American rapper Eazy-E. They called their trio Atban Klann. Their debut album Grass Roots was never released because Ruthless thought it wasn’t marketable. Later in 2005, Atban Klann became The Black Eyed Peas. The name change was inspired by the Red Hot Chili Peppers who also named their band after a food. will.i.am has also been quoted as saying, "Black Eyed Peas are food for the soul," which it seems is what he wanted his group to be as well.
Dante Santiago was replaced by Taboo, born as Jaime Gomez, and in 1996 the group produced and appeared on a song called “That’s Right” for Brian Austin Green’s Hip-Hop album, One Stop Carnival. Unlike many hip-hop acts of the time, the Black Eyed Peas preferred to perform with a live band and didn’t wear the standard gangster style clothing popular with other groups. In 1998 the group signed on with Interscope Records and released their debut album Behind the Front, which was accompanied by a live band. Their “Joints and Jam” single from the album was featured on the soundtrack for the movie Bulworth. The group’s second album was released in 2000 and was called Bridging the Gap. That same year they replaced their background singer Kim Hill with Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson who was previously a member of the teen pop band Wild Orchid. Unlike Hill, Fergie didn’t play the part of a back-up vocalist and immediately became a recognized member of the group. Their breakout album Elephunk was released in 2003 with its popular anti-war anthem, “Where is the Love?” Some speculate that the song was a possible protest against the war in Iraq.
Elephunk won worldwide success and went gold and platinum in the U.S., U.K., Germany and other European markets. The third single from the album, “Hey Mama,” was featured in the first iPod silhouette television commercials. The success of Elephunk kept the group touring around the globe for nearly eighteen months. Their second album, Monkey Business, was released on June 7, 2005, and was produced and recorded while the group was on the road. The albums single “Pump It” was recorded in a park in Tokyo and made its debut in a commercial for Best Buy electronics. Monkey Business debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart, and was later certified triple platinum by the RIAA. Singer Justin Timberlake joined the group again for the song “My Style.” He had originally sang in the song “Where is the Love?” from Elephunk. On November 27, 2005, the Black Eyed Peas performed at the half-time show at the Canadian Football League’s 93rd Grey Cup in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The group established the Pea Pod Foundation to help suffering children around the world and held a concert on February 6, 2006, in Hollywood to benefit the foundation. Fergie released her debut solo album, The Dutchess, on September 19, 2006. There are rumors that a new Black Eyed Peas album will be released around Christmas of 2007. YUDDY | 
