Black Eyed Peas
 This
American hip-hop group, who have lately enjoyed massive
international pop success, is composed of will.i.am, Apl.de.ap,
Taboo, and Fergie.
In 1998, Atban Klann renamed themselves as the Black Eyed
Peas and released a debut, Behind the Front, that earned
the group (and their accompanying live band) critical
acclaim. A new female vocalist, Stacy "Fergie"
Ferguson, joined them in 2003 with their breakthrough
album. Fergie replaced background singer Kim Hill, who
left the band in 2000.
From Elephunk came the anti-war anthem "Where is
the Love?", which became their first major hit, peaking
at #8 on the US 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. The album
subsequently spawned "Shut Up", which peaked
at UK #2 (despite being referred to by one reviewer as
"the single most vacuous, pointless, vile and generally
loathsome song in a generation") and topped the charts
in many other European countries including France and
Germany. The third single from the album, "Hey Mama"
hit the Top 10 in the UK, Germany and several other European
countries, and reached the Top 30.
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 (Will You Remember),
which explained his childhood with his poor family in
Pampanga, Philippines, before sadly parting with them
to live a better life in the US at the age of 14. "The
Apl Song", with the chorus written in Tagalog (Filipino),
from their album Elephunk, tells the story of Apl.de.ap.
The Tagalog lyrics and backing melody were based on the
song "Balita", an original composition of the
1970s Filipino folk rock group Asin. The group eventually
produced an exclusive video of the song in the Philippines
while touring the country as part of their album promotion.
The Black Eyed Peas' song "Let's Get Retarded"
was restyled as "Let's Get it Started" for an
NBA Finals worldwide commercial.
Their next album, Monkey Business, was released on June
7, 2005. The album's first single, "Don't Phunk With
My Heart", was a major hit in the US peaking at #3
on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is also at #3 in the
UK, and #5 in Canada, and #1 in Australia. (Some radio
stations skittish about complaints of obscenity, play
an alternate version, "Don't Mess With My Heart."]
"Monkey Business," Black Eyed Peas' fourth album
debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart, selling
over 295,000 copies in its first week. |
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Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
Discography
Albums
- Behind the Front (1998)
- Bridging the Gap (2000)
- Elephunk (2003)
- Monkey Business (2005)
Hit Singles
- Joints and Jams (1998)
- Fallin' Up (1998)
- Que Dices (1998)
- BEP Empire (2000)
- Weekends (2000)
- Get Original (2000)
- Request + Line (2001)
- Where is the Love (2003)
- Shut Up (2003)
- Hey Mama (2004)
- Let's Get It Started (2004)
- The Apl Song (2004)
- Don't Phunk With My Heart (2005)
- Pump It (2005)
- Don't Lie (2005)
- My Humps (2005)
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