It took two multiplatinum albums, several hits and a few Grammy nominations for people to realize the Colorado-bound Black Eyed Peas weren’t just a silly, poppy, hip-hop gimmick (and to be fair, some people still aren’t convinced).
So will.i.am – best known as the group’s dreadlocked lead lyricist, but more important its creative director – isn’t surprised it has taken awhile for the world to take note of his production prowess as the Peas’ main writer and producer, but also as a producer and songwriter for others.
What surprises him is the song that finally made people come around.
“The thing that made people realize me as a producer was ‘My Humps,’ ironically,” will.i.am says with a shrug about last year’s wacky smash about the lure of the female form.
“People were like ‘Yo, you do that beat?’ It’s like, ‘Boom, boom, boom,”‘ he says, laughing at the simplistic beat. “That’s the nutty part! I’ve worked with Earth, Wind & Fire – crazy horn production, all this stuff, miking kalimbas, miking drums – like production! … But I got people coming crazy for me because of ‘My Humps.”‘
If they come because of “My Humps,” they soon learn his repertoire is broader than that – or even the Black Eyed Peas. will.i.am (who’s given name is William Adams) was nominated for a Grammy for song of the year for co-writing John Legend’s breakout acoustic piano ballad, “Ordinary People,” and he recently produced Sergio Mendes’ all-star comeback album as well as a song for Mary J. Blige on her comeback smash album “The Breakthrough.”
Some of will.i.am’s upcoming projects include Diddy, Snoop Dogg and Justin Timberlake – a roster that places him on the hot list of producers.
“He’s brilliant – he’s one of my favorite people to work with,” says Legend. “He’s bouncing off the wall in the studio, and he’s so positive. It’s just fun to work with people like that.” But will.i.am never craved to be that producer with whom everyone wanted to work.
“For a while I was anti-working outside of the Peas, because I wanted to save all the good stuff for us,” says will.i.am, only semi-joking.
Clearly, that approach helped the Peas, who begin their first headline tour in the United States on Thursday. They finish their tour May 21 at Denver’s City Lights Pavilion with Pussycat Dolls and Flipsyde.
Promoters are offering quite a weekend for one lucky Black Eyed Peas fan. Through its website, the group offers airfare, accommodations and two tickets to a sweepstakes winner (info at blackeyedpeas.com).
