The Black Eyed Peas had a string of successful chart-toppers in 2005. Front man Will-I-Am hopes to keep that streak alive in the new year. Although many of the group members will lead solo-careers in the near future, Will is sure to be along for the ride.
Aside from his fellow Peas, Will has been at work with several artists from various genres ranging from Justin Timberlake to Macy Gray. Still, Peas fans need not worry, because the front man/producer is also releasing his own solo album.
Will spoke to MTV about some surprises he has for fans who may have just recently picked up on his group.
“I’m a battle MC, don’t forget it. Yeah, we on the radio, but I eat a lot of n—-as up,” Will said. “My roots are as a backpack parking-lot rapper. … I got signed by Eazy-E in 1991 just by freestyling, so it’s gonna have a lot of that, but at the same time, I love the art form of writing songs. A lot of MCs don’t practice that art form of songwriting structure, cadences, melody and whatnot, so I honor that art form and it’s gonna be on my solo project as well,” he said.
Although he’s been busy with so many side projects, he’s ready to focus on himself.“There’s three ways I could go about it,” he said. “I could pick my favorite producers and just have ’em produce me as an MC and a singer/songwriter. Or I could do everything myself. Or I could hook up with like a Lalo Schifrin-type of orchestrator and really do some mind-boggling type of stuff, like, ‘Did you hear that one record Will.I.Am did, it was kinda crazy?’ I might wanna make it real theatrical and orchestral,” he explained.
The rest of the BEP crew will also be making their solo albums but the Peas will remain close to each other in the process. “We all help each other,” Will said of the crew. “Black Eyed Peas is the franchise and at the same time we all launch off and do other things and always come back to Black Eyed Peas,” he proclaimed.
The groups been practically everywhere and many have claimed the crew are “sell-outs” for their new found mainstream success. Will shed some light on why he feels the group doesn’t deserve that label.
“We’re just trying to push boundaries, but a lot of times when you are the first, you get flak for it,” he continued. “People say ‘sellout.’ That’s one thing I don’t get. That’s some dumb sh–, because it’s like we ain’t frontin’. I ain’t got crazy gold or being something that I’m not. A sellout is somebody who’s one way with their mom, and then when they with their homies, it’s some totally different dude. The reality is the only thing they can say about the Black Eyed Peas is ‘Those dudes is all over the place,’ and that all relates to the fact that we work hard. So if we’re criminals for working hard, then lock me up.”
