LiveOne
Originally formed as a hip hop outfit, Atban Klann, will.i.am, Taboo and apl.de.ap changed their name to The Black Eyed Peas in 1995 following the death of their mentor Eazy-E, who had originally signed them to his Ruthless Records label in 1992. Their spectacular breakdancing endeared them to audiences and their positive messages of peace distanced them from the gangsta rap so much in vogue in LA at the time. The addition of singer Kim Hill made them more popular still, although it was her glamorous replacement Fergie who really triggered their dramatic rise to international stardom with the 2003 album Elephunk, which included the worldwide hits “Where Is The Love?” and “Let’s Get Retarded”, the latter of which was re-recorded as “Let’s Get It Started” for daytime audiences. Their next album Monkey Business two years later was even more of a crossover, including further major hits with “Don't Phunk With My Heart” and “My Humps”, underlining the Peas' iconic status, with both Fergie and will.i.am emerging as major stars in their own right. Their dance-oriented album The E.N.D. won a Grammy Award in 2010, also yielding five top-ten hits in the US including their first national chart-topper “Boom Boom Pow” and the David Guetta-produced club smash “I Gotta Feeling”, which sat atop the Hot 100 for fourteen consecutive weeks and claimed the record for the longest-standing number one of 2009. However, their follow-up album, The Beginning, marked dwindling sales for the group, received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics, and was the last to feature Fergie. The three remaining members reverted back to their original conscious, boom-bap style on 2018’s Masters of the Sun Vol. 1 before leaning into contemporary trends in reggaeton and Latin trap on their 2020 effort, Translation, which was again met with mixed reviews and lukewarm commercial performance.
Please enable Javascript to view this page competely.
