Tuesday, November 27, 2007


This article is about the American hip-hop group. For the vegetable, see Black-eyed pea.
The Black Eyed Peas are an American hip-hop group from Los Angeles, California, who have enjoyed worldwide pop success. The group is currently composed of will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo, and Fergie. Since their breakout album Elephunk in 2003, they have seen international fame for their pop/dance-influenced style of hip-hop music. The Black Eyed Peas have sold an estimated 27 million albums and singles worldwide.

Elephunk
Their next album, Monkey Business, was released on June 7, 2005. Much of the pre-production writing was performed on the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus while on the The Black Eyed Peas/N*E*R*D tour of 2004. The album's first single, "Don't Phunk with My Heart," was a hit in the U.S., reaching number three on the U.S. Hot 100. The song reached the highest peak yet of their career (in the U.S.) and earned them another Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. The song also reached three in the UK, and five in Canada, and stayed at number one for three weeks in Australia. Some radio stations, skittish about complaints of obscenity, played an alternative version, "Don't Mess with My Heart." "Don't Lie," the second single from the album, saw success on the U.S. Hot 100, reaching #14, although becoming somewhat more successful in the UK and Australia, reaching a peak of #6 in both countries. "My Humps," another song from the album, immediately achieved commercial success in the U.S. and fairly substantial radio play despite the sexually suggestive lyrics, reaching number three on the U.S. Hot 100. However, many mocked the song for its poor lyrical content; John Bush, writing for All Music Guide, described it as "one of the most embarrassing rap performances of the new millennium." Despite this, the album Monkey Business debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart, selling over 295,000 copies in its first week and was later certified triple platinum by the RIAA. Their next and last commercially-released single from the album was "Pump It," which borrows much of its sound from Dick Dale's Misirlou.
As well as being a hip-hop album, Monkey Business also features some acoustic guitar playing from Jack Johnson in the single "Gone Going."
In September 2005, The Black Eyed Peas released an iTunes Originals playlist of their greatest hits, as well as some that were re-recorded especially for purchase through iTunes. The play list includes popular songs such as "Don't Lie," "Shut Up," and a new version of "Where Is the Love?." It also has small stories containing info and commentary about the songs and how the group first met.
On November 27, 2005, The Black Eyed Peas performed at the half-time show at the Canadian Football League's 93rd Grey Cup in Vancouver, British Columbia.
On December 10, 2005, a Peas cover of the John Lennon classic "Power to the People," which was mostly recorded on the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, was released by Amnesty International as part of the Make Some Noise campaign to celebrate human rights. The song was later released on the 2007 John Lennon tribute album, Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. The same day, The Black Eyed Peas performed their version live on the UK television program The Record of the Year together with John Legend and Mary J. Blige.
On March 21, 2006, The Black Eyed Peas released a remix album, entitled Renegotiations: The Remixes to iTunes. It features remixed versions of "Ba Bump," "My Style," "Feel It," "Disco Club," "They Don't Want Music," "Audio Delite at Low Fidelity," and the standard version and video of "Like That." The following week, it was released on CD without the music video. Participants on the EP included DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Erick Sermon, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and Large Professor.
Already having produced the bulk of the Peas' albums, will.i.am has begun his solo career in earnest by producing and collaborating with a variety of musicians, among them Sergio Mendes, Carlos Santana, Too Short, Kelis, John Legend, Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, and Nas.

Problems playing the files? See media help. Monkey Business
In April 2006, the Black Eyed Peas hit the road again as the featured headliner for the 6th Annual Honda Civic Tour with supporting bands Flipsyde and The Pussycat Dolls. They again brought the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus on the tour with them to craft new songs for Fergie's solo debut album. The Black Eyed Peas also had their first European tour in which they performed in front of audiences in Ireland, United Kingdom, Israel, Italy and Germany. Fergie has her own album out- The Dutchess, and Will.I.Am has a few of his own- Must B 21 etc On July 31, 2006, The Black Eyed Peas spent time during their final tour stop in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Black Eyed Peas have starred in a series of web shorts for Snickers called Instant Def, appearing as a group of hip-hop superheroes.
The Black Eyed Peas hit Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where they performed live in a free show along the city's beaches.

TBA Worldwide Tour - End of 2007
Monkey Business Tour - 2006
Elephunk Tour - 2004 2006 tours
The Black Eyed Peas performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on July 7, 2007 at Wembley Stadium, London. will.i.am also performed a new song, Help Us Out, at the event.
The Black Eyed Peas headlined the main Ocean Stage at the Summer Sonic Music Festival in Tokyo, Japan on August 11, and Osaka, Japan on August 12, 2007. The act comprised of the band performing their hits, as well as Fergie singing solo tracks from The Dutchess. Will.i.am also sang songs from his upcoming album.
Later in 2007, The Black Eyed Peas will embark on the Black Blue & You World Tour, visiting thirteen countries, including Sweden,Romania, Hungary, South Korea Australia, Nigeria, Mexico, Thailand, Venezuela, El Salvador and Brazil. This tour will be presented by Pepsi, in conjunction with the new 'Pepsi More' advertising campaign, featuring The Black Eyed Peas. In fact, More is a promotional single made just for new Pepsi spot.
On September 11th, the Black Eyed Peas were at the millineum celebration in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

2007 tours
A Free Sunday concert in May in South Africa with The Black Eyed Peas launched the Peapod Foundation. All tickets were previously handed out to the public through an SMS campaign and ticket giveaways to ensure that people who wouldn't ordinarily have a chance to afford the concert could see the band perform.

Discography
Black Eyed Peas

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