From Wikipedia.
The Black Eyed Peas (BEP) is an American hip hop musical group based in Los Angeles.
The group is composed of will.i.am (William Adams), apl.de.ap (Allan Pineda Lindo), Taboo (Jaime Gomez) and Fergie (Stacy Ann Ferguson).
Since their album Elephunk in 2003, the group's hip hop/dance pop-oriented style has sold an estimated 20 million albums worldwide and 13 million singles.
The group is one of only 11 artistes to have held the number 1 and 2 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time.
Their singles Boom Boom Pow and I Gotta Feeling topped the US charts for 25 consecutive weeks, more than any other artiste in history.
Their album Elephunk released in 2003 was the group's first album to feature the vocals of Ferguson.
From Elephunk came Where Is The Love? a single featuring Justin Timberlake which became Black Eyed Peas' first major hit.
The album subsequently spawned Shut Up, which peaked at Number 2 in the United Kingdom.
Elephunk went Gold and Platinum in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Lindo’s life story was featured in a weekly Filipino TV drama special Would You Remember.
The Apl Song, with the chorus written in Tagalog, from Elephunk, tells his story.
Lindo subsequently formed the Filipino Songwriters And Artistes’ Group (FSAG).
Let’s Get Retarded, later re-worded as Let’s Get It Started for an NBA commercial earned the group a 2005 Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.
Their next album, Monkey Business, was released in 2005.
The album's first single Don't Phunk With My Heart, was a hit in the United States and earned them another Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.
Other singles from the album included Don’t Lie, My Humps and Pump It, which borrowed the famous guitar rift of Dick Dale’s song Misirlou (Egyptian Girl).
The group's fifth studio album, The END (Energy Never Dies) was released on June 9, 2009.
Boom Boom Pow became their first song to reach Number 1, where it remained for 12 weeks.
The album has an electro-hop beat.
Its hit singles include Imma Be, Alive, Meet Me Halfway and I Gotta Feeling,
William Adams.
William James Adams Jr (born March 15, 1975), better known by his stage name will.i.am is an American rapper, songwriter, singer, philanthropist, actor, and producer.
Born in Los Angeles of Jamaican descent, Adams became best friends with Allan Pineda Lindo in high school and soon performed in clubs.
They subsequently formed the hip hop group Atban Klann.
When the group disbanded, they formed the Black Eyed Peas in 1995.
Will.i.am also attended the Fashion Institute Of Design And Merchandising in Los Angeles.
In 2008, will.i.am was hired by Michael Jackson to produce and remix some songs for the Thriller re-release, Thriller 25.
He also contributed the song One People to the Survival International charity album Songs For Survival.
In 2009, will.i.am worked with rappers Flo Rida and Akon on Flo Rida's new album Roots.
He starred in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa as the character Moto Moto.
He contributed a number of tracks to the movie's motion picture soundtrack in collaboration with industry heavyweight Hans Zimmer.
Will.i.am played John Wraith in his major film debut X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
In 2001, he began designing his own signature clothing line, i.am, which made its official debut in 2005.
He actively campaigned for Barack Obama in the presidential elections of 2008 and wrote his campaign songs Yes We Can, We Are The Ones, It’s A New Day and America’s Song.
Stacy Ann Ferguson.
Stacy Ann Ferguson (born March 27, 1975), better known by her stage name Fergie, is an American singer-songwriter, fashion designer and actress.
She was a member of the kids television series Kids Incorporated, and the girl group Wild Orchid.
She is a vocalist for the hip hop and pop group the Black Eyed Peas, as well as a solo artiste, having released her debut album, The Dutchess, in 2006.
The album spawned five Billboard Hot 100 Top 5 singles (three of which went to number one).
Of Mexican, British and Native American descent, she was a straight-A student, spelling bee champion and Girl Scout during her schooldays.
As a child actress, Ferguson was on the television programme Kids Incorporated with Renee Sandstrom, who became a fellow member of Wild Orchid.
Ferguson was the voice of Sally Brown in the Charlie Brown cartoons of the 1980s.
From 1991 to 2001, Ferguson was a member of the female trio Wild Orchid, which she fronted with Stefanie Ridel and Sandstrom.
Wild Orchid released two albums.
In 2003, the Black Eyed Peas recruited Ferguson for their third album Elephunk.
After two successful Black Eyed Peas albums, Ferguson began pursuing a solo career.
She recorded two songs for the Poseidon soundtrack and performed Auld Lang Syne in the 2006 film.
Her debut solo album, The Dutchess, was released on September 19, 2006.
The Dutchess, a mix of pop and R&B songs, spawned six hits for Ferguson, London Bridge, Fergalicious, Glamorous, Big Girls Don't Cry, Clumsy and Finally.
In 2007, Ferguson won the Pop or Rock Favourite Female Artiste at the American Music Awards.
She performed a "duet" with Michael Jackson (her vocals mixed with Jackson's 1982 recordings), Beat It 2008 on Thriller 25, the 25th anniversary release of Jackson's iconic album Thriller.
Ferguson’s new movie, Nine In London, also starring Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson and Daniel Day Lewis will be released at year’s end.
Ferguson is married to actor Josh Duhamel of Transformers fame.
Allan Pineda Lindo.
Allan Pineda Lindo, (born November 28, 1974) better known by his stage name apl.de.ap, is a Filipino-American hip hop musician and record producer and is best known as a member of the Black Eyed Peas.
Apl.de.ap was born in Sapang Bato, Angeles City, Pampanga, the Philippines, to a Filipino mother and an African American father.
His father, a US airman stationed at Clark Air Base, abandoned the family shortly after his birth.
His mother Cristina Pineda raised Apl and his six younger siblings as a single mother.
As a child, Apl helped his family subsist by farming sweet potatoes, corn, sugar cane and rice.
The Pearl S. Buck Foundation, an organisation that finds healthier living environments for abandoned or orphaned Amerasian children, matched him with a sponsor named Joe Ben Hudgens.
He was then 11 years old.
Apl's early musical influences were Stevie Wonder, The Eagles, The Beatles and Filipino rock/folk group Asin.
He and will.i.am formed a break-dancing group Tribal Nation and performed regularly at Southern California parties and events.
From 1992-1995, their crew was re-named Atban Klann (Atban stands for A Tribe Beyond A Nation).
Apl has brought his Filipino culture into his collaboration with the Black Eyed Peas.
He explains his life story in The Apl Song on the Peas' 2003 album Elephunk.
It includes a full chorus in Tagalog sampled from the Asin song Balita.
He also sang Bebot (Filipino slang for "pretty woman") on their 2005 album Monkey Business.
Apl.de.ap founded The Apl Foundation which is aimed at helping Asian children pursue higher education.
He also formed his own music company Jeepney Music.
In the group’s new album The END, he sang the Tagalog song Mare.
Jaime Gomez.
Jaime Luis Gomez (born July 14, 1975), better known as Taboo, is an American rapper, actor and singer who is best known as a member of the Black Eyed Peas.
Taboo is of Mexican and Native American descent.
As a child he did not turn to music until his late teens.
He has a son Joshua who was born on December 5, 1993. Joshua has his own band Delta Black In Action.
Two days before his 33rd birthday, Taboo married Jaymie Dizon. Their first child Jaylyne was born on July 19, 2009.
Taboo is known for his kung-fu-inspired dance moves (he is a practitioner of Jeet Kune Do and a black belt in Ninjitsu) and an eclectic style of dress.
Taboo is in the process of creating a solo album. He has co-written songs for the soundtracks of Coach Carter and Legally Blonde, and acted in the films Dirty (with Wyclef Jean) and Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun Li (with Kristin Kreuk).
