1995-Taboo1995-
Will.i.am1995-
Apl.de.ap1995-
Fergie2003-2018
They started in 1995 as a hip-hop band that tried to keep their music fun, basing their sound on the records made before gangsta rap. They developed a loyal following but didn't have much commercial success until they added Fergie in 2002 and made their songs more radio-friendly.
The members come from stable backgrounds and have no desire to sing about gangs and violence.
Break dancers used to perform at their concerts. When they hit it big, the dancing and visuals became much more elaborate, as a few guys spinning on their heads wouldn't cut it anymore.
Fergie's real name is Stacy Ferguson. When she was young, she was on a show called Kids Incorporated, about a bunch of kids in a band.
Apl.de.Ap (real name Allan Pineda Lindo) was born and raised in the Philippines, where he's very popular. He moved to America in 1989 at age 14 when he was adopted by an American family via a humanitarian organization - Apl had an eye condition that required treatment he couldn't get in his home country. His family is poor and couldn't afford to visit him, so it was a thrill when he was able to return there after Black Eyed Peas has some success.
Will.i.am's real name is William Adams (he used the name will.1.x for a while). Outside of Black Eyed Peas, he's ventured into fashion and technology, launching a clothing line called I.Am in 2005 and a tech company called i.am+ in 2012.
Their first female member was
Kim Hill, who came to Los Angeles from upstate New York to become a singer and actress. She's not on the covers but appears as a featured vocalist on tracks from their first two albums. Hill left for a solo career in 2000 and Fergie joined the band for their next album.
When Apl.de.Ap moved to America he quickly became best friends with will.i.am. In 1991 they formed Tribal Nation, which became a hip-hop group called ATBAN Klann ("A Tribe Beyond A Nation). They were signed to Eazy-E's Ruthless Records and released a song called "
Puddles of H2O" in 1994, their planned first album,
Grass Roots, was shelved. The group was dropped from the label a year later when Eazy-E died, which is when Apl.de.Ap and will.i.am formed Black Eyed Peas with Taboo.
Taboo's real name is Jamie Gomez. Raised in Los Angeles, he's of Mexican and Native American descent. It was his dancing that got the attention of Apl.de.Ap and will.i.am.
Apl was born with an eye condition called nystagmus, which caused his eyeballs to vibrate, making it difficult for him to see. In 2012, he had surgery to implant artificial lenses into his eyes, which helped a lot. He says the condition made him rely more on hearing and touch, which helped him develop as an artist.
Will.i.am and Apl.de.Ap were helped in their early days by Will.i.am's school mate, Stefan, the son of Motown founder Berry Gordy. "I asked him to ask his dad to get some equipment and we used that to make demos," Will.i.am recalled to The Radio Times. "I was just dreaming about doing this stuff, me and Apl.de.Ap. And you know, we did it. We got a record deal when I was 17."
Will.i.am asked Nicole Scherzinger to be the lead female vocalist of Black Eyed Peas after Kim Hill left. "I was on the same radio show as Black Eyed Peas and was a huge fan, so I walked past their dressing room singing one of their songs,"
Scherzinger told UK newspaper The Guardian. "They came and found me and said they wanted me in their group. My fiancé at the time was like: 'No, she's going solo.' But everything happens for a reason, because Fergie became the perfect Pea and I met my girls, the Pussycat Dolls."
