What Really Happened to The Black Eyed Peas?

When I listen to the Black Eyed Peas, I personally feel pleasantly nostalgic to the good old times. At one point, this group was solidly at the top of the Billboard charts, winning one award after the other. The Black Eyed Peas, or the Black Eyed Peas, and then there was the beautiful Fergie with the unmatched vocals.

Unfortunately, she left the group in 2011. In this video, we will discuss why she left and we will also talk about the history of the Black Eyed Peas and what they’re up to now. It probably seems to you that the success of the group came about very quickly, as if they just released their breakthrough album in 2003 and things took off right away with crazy sales, a bunch of awards, and so on and so forth.

The group’s early days

However, the truth is far from that. Everything started way back in 1988. Apple di app, whose real name is Alan Pinetta Lindo, was born in the Philippines. He was looked after by adopted parents from an early age and he moved to the US. The first person he met there was William Adams, better known under the alias of Will.i.am. “He was looking at me like this exotic animal like, ‘like you’re from the Philippines,'” Apple recalls.

They were quick to find common grounds to bond over; they had shared views and interests. So, they formed a dance group called Tribal Nation. The guys loved breakdancing. They later moved on to making music and got themselves a new name for the group, the Atban Clan. There, they were joined by Mookie Mook and DJ Motivate from the CL. They gained popularity amongst the local rap and breakdance scenes.

Three years later, in 1992, the young musicians signed a contract with the label company Ruthless Records and made their debut as a featured artist on the track “Merry Xmus.” It was a song from one of Easy E’s EPs. Soon after, the group recorded their debut album, Grassroots, which was set to release on October 6th, 1994. However, the album was never released as Easy E passed away from AIDS in 1995.

The group decided to make some changes to their group as they were dropped from Ruthless Records in the same year of 1995. Will.i.am, Apple, Taboo, DJ Motivate, and Dante Santiago formed a new group named Black Eyed Pods, later renamed to Black Eyed Peas. Taboo met William in an i-club and later William asked him to join them. Taboo replaced Mookie Mook as he went to pursue a career with his new band, Burning Star.

Also, Kim Hill joined the group as the lead female vocalist. In 1998, they were noticed by the label company Ina, and the group finally released their debut album called Behind the Front. One of the singles from the album, “Joints and Jam,” went on to reach number 53 on the UK Billboard Chart.

After a critically acclaimed album, the group released their second album, Bridging the Gap. However, even though their work was highly praised by music critics, their music did not receive enough attention, and their albums were at lower spots on the Billboard charts. Things did not go as smoothly as they had wanted it.

Why Kim Hill left the group

While producing “Bridging the Gap,” Kim Hill left the band. In an interview with the New York Times, she said that she left because she felt its growing fame put pressure on her to be over-sexualized. “You want me to grind on Will.i.am in a bathing suit,” she stated, “that was being asked of me, never by the guys.”

As of an executive level in 2002, the group began to look for a replacement for Kim Hill. The group initially wanted Nicole Scherzinger to join, but her band didn’t allow it due to her contract status. Eventually, they settled for Fergie. Before she joined the Black Eyed Peas

Fergie’s career prior to the Black Eyed Peas

Fergie was already a member of the Wild Orchid group. The group released two albums, and right around when they finished the third one, their record label forbade them from releasing it. In 2001, she left the group.

Why Fergie started using illegal substances

Fergie became addicted to illegal substances. The reason why she started using is extremely strange. She just could not tell the members of the group that she wanted to record a solo album, so she started using instead. “So hey, why not try some?” she said. “I think I’ll take ‘yes.'” She didn’t know how to deal.

The drugs brought her so much pleasure, but then it all turned into a serious nightmare. She weighed 90 lbs. So she started lying to her friends, claiming that she was struggling with bulimia. But in the end, she just started losing her mind and began hallucinating. It seemed to her that the FBI was after her when she was in church.

And when she realized that no one was after her, she stopped engaging in self-destructive activities and returned to music. She met the Black Eyed Peas.

The rise of black eyed peas

At the beginning, Fergie was invited to record just a female vocal segment in the track “Shut Up.” As the sessions progressed, she was asked to participate in recording a few more songs, and by the end of it all, Fergie became a full-fledged member of the group. According to the words of the other musicians, her arrival made the team more whole and coherent.

The addition of a charming woman in the group brought even more benefits, as the managers of record labels thought her presence would have a totally positive effect on their image as well as on their album sales. Even though she was disliked at first, there were criticisms about her joining the group, particularly due to the established nature of the hip-hop urban group. However, her addition coincided with a push for the continuation of their campaigns to capture the hearts of new listeners worldwide.

From the very beginning, the Black Eyed Peas sought to use their music to bring different cultures and music ideas together. The musicians understood that it was time to speak up and call for unity. Will.i.am wrote the song “Where is the Love,” and Apple D App and Taboo also heard the track and were able to write similar lyrics over it.

Justin Timberlake was introduced to the group by Taboo and got a chance to hear the track that Will.i.am created. Impressed with the music, Timberlake helped write and sing the chorus. This track became the newly formed group’s first single, and they continued to touch upon such social topics in the future.

Only a week later, the album “Elephunk” was released, featuring the previously mentioned track “Shut Up” and also “Let’s Get It Started,” both becoming hits of the album. For the first time ever, the group felt that their bosses from the record labels were truly supporting them. The producers and managers finally believed in the perspective of the Black Eyed Peas.

Despite many claiming that Fergie’s arrival saved the group, she believed otherwise, stating that the group saved her. In 2005, the group released their next album under the name “Monkey Business.” This record delighted fans with a huge number of legendary hits.

Fergie didn’t forget about her lifelong dream, which was to create a solo album. She finally made it happen with the release called “Fergie as The Duchess,” which became iconic. Besides her musical abilities, it’s worth noting her athletic abilities. The group’s next album under the name “The E.N.D.” was more successful than the ones before it, despite experimenting with new sounds.

Five tracks made it to the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart upon its release. “The E.N.D.” received mixed to positive reviews from music critics, who described it as containing more anthemic and inspirational songs in the group’s bid to appeal to a new generation of music listeners. Their impact could be heard for years to come.

In an interview, Will.i.am spoke about the secret behind their hit songs. Before making a song, the guys begin by thinking about who the target audience is and where the song will be heard. For example, if they’re planning on recording a track fit for clubs, then they have to frequent such spaces and understand which songs appeal to people. They watch people react to things, like the build in the music.

Right now, builds and peaks are what’s trending, which influenced their next song, “Don’t Stop the Party.” They always try to blend different cultures and styles, which is why their music happens to be so unique. In 2010, they released a new album called “The Beginning,” in which Will.i.am began actively using autotune.

Why the black eyed peas break up

The group stated that they wanted to take a break, and, of course, there were rumors saying that the group is disbanding, but they denied these rumors and stated that everything is okay between them. Despite that, there were speculations that the group could disband because Will.i.am started using autotune, and Fergie didn’t like that.

In any case, the disbanding of the group happened because of an initiative from the singer who needed a break to rest from touring. She also wanted to dedicate time to her personal life and devote more time to her private businesses. At that time, she had launched her own shoe collection, founded a wine company, and also released her own perfume line.

Will.i.am was not only involved with the Black Eyed Peas; he released his own music and collaborated with different artists. In 2013, Fergie released a soundtrack for the movie “The Great Gatsby,” featuring the song “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got).” Later on, she planned to release her own album called “Double Duchess,” advertising for the release with different singles.

However, the album was only released in 2017. At the time of the release of this album, the Black Eyed Peas group was also preparing to release their own record, but Fergie did not want to participate as she wanted to be fully focused on her own solo career.

In the same year of 2017, the singer left Interscope Records. All of these gripping pieces of news left people perplexed and created new rumors that there was conflict between the members; however, they denied them. Anyway, Fergie said that they remain one family, and Will.i.am even produced a few tracks from the “Double Duchess” album. This album was not able to blow up like the one before it.

Fergie’s horrible performance of the national anthem

Later in 2018, she was caught in a scandal because of a failed performance of the national anthem during the 2018 NBA All-Star Game. Fergie approached it very creatively, and instead of the usual chant, the audience heard a jazz-like interpretation of it.

Even during the anthem itself, the camera was capturing the reactions of those in the crowd. Fergie’s unique performance was compared to Marilyn Monroe’s famous rendition of “Happy Birthday Mr. President,” and she was accused of being disrespectful towards America. The singer later apologized for the performance; however, online, she was already awarded the title of worst performance of the national anthem in history.

“It’s almost a little disrespectful if it was any other song I’d be like you go Fergie oh that’s good poor Fergie I feel so so bad after that was not the best time for Fergie, for example her dad whom she had a very good relationship with passed away it was actually him who partnered with her in the establishing of her Wine Company further things didn’t work out with her shoe brand what was good.

However was that Jack harlow sampled her vocals for the song first class which gave her an excellent reason to return to the scene and the public was happy to see her first class up in the sky hey living my in turn the group was also not having the easiest time

Taboo’s cancer

Taboo was diagnosed with cancer, and it all began in 2006 when he broke his tailbone after falling on stage during a performance. Following that incident, he started experiencing what he described as crazy back pains, attributing them initially to his tailbone not healing properly. However, the pain intensified each year.

In June 2014, after returning home from a gig, the pain became unbearable, prompting his wife to insist that he go to the hospital. After undergoing MRI scans, CAT scans, and blood work, Taboo received the news the next morning that he had stage two testicular cancer.

“I remember Apple came to the hospital,” Taboo recalled. “I just remember him looking like, ‘This is weird to see my boy on a bed that has cancer now,’ so he was freaked out, Will was freaked out, and then Fergie came to my house, and they couldn’t believe that I was going through this.”

When asked about the most challenging aspect of his cancer journey, Taboo cited the chemotherapy, which left him in excruciating pain and unable to sleep. Despite moments when he wanted to give up, he found motivation in his wife and children, as well as the prospect of returning to perform on stage with his best friends, Will.i.am and apl.de.ap. Fortunately, he persevered, and today, he is completely healthy. Reflecting on this challenging period, Taboo penned a soulful song titled “The Fight.”

Regarding the music of the Black Eyed Peas group, they reunited in 2015 with a track called “Yesterday,” signaling a return to their musical collaborations following Taboo’s full recovery.

Which music they put out now

They finally completed the album and released it under the title “Masters of the Sun Volume 1.” This album is notably political, tackling social issues such as gun violence, police brutality, race relations, and the impact of social media.

The opening track of the album features a collaboration with Nas, signaling a return to true hip-hop for the Black Eyed Peas, a genre that initially propelled their career. The lyrics reflect their reconnection with the raw, original rap style that defines their roots in the music industry.

Given the intense focus on social topics throughout the album, there are not many commercially driven hit songs. As a result, the sales of this album did not come close to matching their previous works. However, the group remained undeterred by this, confident in their ability to produce chart-topping tracks, as demonstrated in their subsequent release titled “Translation.”

In “Translation,” the Black Eyed Peas incorporated Latino vibes into their music, inspired by their collaboration on the song “Ritmo” for the movie “Bad Boys for Life.” Building on the success of this track, they continued to release songs in a similar style, with some even featuring Spanish titles like “Vida Loca” and “Mamacita.”

Their most recent album, “Elevation,” aimed to follow the same musical path with a blend of hip-hop and Latino influences. However, this release disappointed some fans who viewed it as a compilation of unreleased tracks that didn’t make the cut in their previous album. Despite mixed reception, some tracks from “Elevation” garnered a substantial number of streams, indicating a continued interest in their music among listeners.

Why won’t Fergie be returning to the group?

William explained that Fergie’s decision not to return to the group after her solo album’s sales disappointment was due to her focus on motherhood. He emphasized that parenting is a demanding role and something she truly desires to prioritize.

He expressed full support for her decision, stating, “That’s what she really wants to do, and we’re here for her.” He also assured that they maintain communication with Fergie and respect her choice to take a break from the group. William reiterated their admiration for Fergie, emphasizing their wish for her continued success and happiness.

Regarding the current lineup of the Black Eyed Peas, J. Rey Soul has taken over as the group’s vocalist. William, along with Apple Di Ap and Taboo, acknowledged their efforts to stay connected with Fergie despite her departure. They remain hopeful for a future reunion, expressing a desire to perform together again someday. For now, they continue to support each other’s endeavors, both within and outside of the music industry.

If you’re interested in exploring more music history, I recommend watching a video on the legendary duo OutKast. Their journey and impact on the music scene are truly remarkable.