Black Eyed Peas Biography

The Black Eyed Peas are an American hip-hop (musical styles: pop-rap and alternative hip-hop) group from Los Angeles, California, who have enjoyed worldwide pop success. The group is currently composed of will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo, and Fergie. Since their breakout album Elephunk in 2003, they have seen international fame for their unique, pop-influenced style of hip-hop music, and have won several awards in the categories of both pop and rap.

The Black Eyed Peas dates back to 1989 when will.i.am (Born: William Adams) and Apl.de.ap (Born: Allan 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 the nephew of Jerry Heller (Eazy-E's manager). Along with another friend of theirs, Dante Santiago, they called their trio Atban Klann. Their debut album, Grass Roots, was never released because Ruthless did not consider the social themes reflected in the group's music to be marketable to their audience.

After Eazy-E died of an AIDS related illness in 1995, Atban Klann reformed the group as Black Eyed Pods. Then, they became the Black Eyed Peas, named so because - as will.i.am explained on the front cover of the Monkey Business album - 'Black Eyed Peas are food for the soul' (he has cited Red Hot Chili Peppers as an influence and said he named his band after a food, like them). They replaced their original third member with Taboo (Born: Jaime Gomez). In 1996, they produced (and appeared on) a song entitled "That's Right" for Brian Austin Green's Hip-Hop album One Stop Carnival. Later, they began 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.