The Black Eyed Peas opened the summer concert season at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
to a small, not-quite-ready for summer crowd.
The Black Eyed Peas sprouted in 1989, when will.i.am (Born: Will Adams) and
Apl.de.ap (Born: Allen Pineda) began rapping in LA. Dante Santiago joined the
group and they called themselves Atban Klann, which then reformed replacing
Santiago with Taboo (Born: Jaime Gomez). After signing to Interscope Records
and releasing their debut, “Behind the Front” the group earned critical
acclaim. The hit single, "Joints and Jam" was featured on the Bulworth
soundtrack. Their second album, “Bridging the Gap” included the
hit "Request + Line" which featured Macy Gray.
“Elephunk” was released in 2003 featuring a new female vocalist,
Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson, who was previously a cast member of Kids
Incorporated and a member of teen pop band Wild Orchid. She replaced singer
Kim Hill, who departed the band during 2000.
The Black Eyed Peas' song "Let's Get Retarded" was restyled featuring
Carlos Santana as "Let's Get It Started" for a NBA Finals television
commercial. New, less offensive lyrics gave the tune a basketball theme vs.
the original ‘loaded to retardation’ feel.
Their next album, “Monkey Business,” was predominantly written
and pre-produced aboard the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus while on the BEP/NERD
tour in 2004. The album's first single, “Don’t Phunk With My Heart”
and "My Humps" both achieved commercial success. The album debuted
at number two on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart, with sales of over 295,000
copies in its first week, then rocketing to triple platinum. The BEP’s
won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for “Don’t
Phunk With My Heart” in 2006.
The socially conscious Peas covered of the John Lennon classic, "Power
to the People" in 2005 which was again recorded on the John Lennon Educational
Tour Bus, released by Amnesty International as part of the Make Some Noise campaign
to celebrate human rights. The Black Eyed Peas have also founded the Pea Pod
Foundation to help suffering children around the world.
In 2006, The Black Eyed Peas released a remix album, entitled "Renegotiations:
the Remixes" to iTunes which was also released as a CD minus the music
video.
The Band
Will.i.am
Apl.de.ap
Taboo
Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson
Discography
Behind the Front-1998
Bridging the Gap-2000
Elephunk-2003
Monkey Business-2005
Renegotiations: The Remixes-2006
The Tour
05/06/06 Chicago, IL
05/07/06 Saint Paul, MN
05/12/06 Oakland, CA
05/14/06 Portland, OR
05/15/06 Everett, WA
05/16/06 Spokane, WA
05/19/06 Nampa, ID
05/20/06 West Valley City, UT
05/21/06 Denver, CO
06/03/06 Tel Aviv, ISR
06/05/06 Bratislava, SLV
06/12/06 Glasgow, UK
06/13/06 Birmingham, UK
06/14/06 Manchester, UK
06/16/06 London, UK
07/22/06 Moscow, RUS
By
Gwyn Tyme
