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The Black Eyed Peas' latest hit song ``Boom Boom Pow'' topped the Billboard Hot 100 charts for nine straight weeks. / Courtesy of SonyBMG
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
Selling over nine million copies of ``Monkey Business'' is a tough feat to follow, but the Black Eyed Peas have come up with another chart-topping album ``The E.N.D.'' The first single ``Boom Boom Pow'' stayed at number one in the Billboard Hot 100 charts for nine weeks.
The Black Eyed Peas are undoubtedly on top of their game. But with an album title like ``The E.N.D,'' many speculated that they were about to call it quits.
In an e-mail interview with The Korea Times, will.i.am and apl.de.ap quickly squashed any speculation about the group's possible breakup.
``Never! That's the stamp of that it's not over, you know, to the rumors and that stuff. We are in a group working together but we have been friends for a long time. I think our friendship is the essence of our longevity,'' will.i.am said.
Along with apl.de.ap, and Taboo, he formed the Black Eyed Peas in 1995, and released two albums. But it wasn't until 2002 when Fergie joined that the group finally achieved mainstream success with breakout album ``Elephunk.''
Their latest album's title stands for ``The Energy Never Dies.'' ``Energy can transfer but it never dies, right? And, also, we wanted to twist the meaning of the word `end.' A lot of people think an `end' is something negative. But we wanted to take things that are negative into positive,'' apl.de.ap said.
Filled with groove-driven, hip-hop dance tracks, ``The E.N.D." is decidedly fun and energetic. Filipino-American apl.de.ap even included a fun Tagalog track about Filipino girls called ``Mare.''
``The E.N.D. is more like going out to clubs and having fun. The beats are heavier. We tried to compete with what's going on now so the album became more trendy and it's full of electro music,'' he said.
But ``Boom Boom Pow'' is the undeniable hit. Going out to clubs while shooting ``X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' in Australia provided the impetus, explained will.i.am.
`The inspiration comes from going out, going out to clubs every day _ well, trying to keep up with this guy (apl.de.ap). Ha, ha. Spreading some electro music, yeah, that's the whole energy and drive,'' will.i.am said.
``Making music now is more like working on it as a daily life. You don't come out with a new album and tell people `this is my new album' anymore. The conventional album was more like you do all the preparation and once the album is out, you're done. You have to give them, for example, different versions of a song, not like a couple of remixes on your single, but you got to keep adding stuff to it and keep changing the song. I think that is more like a diary to me, like I was doing this stuff yesterday and today I'm doing other stuff."
In between their group albums, the Black Eyed Peas have been involved in other projects, such as solo albums and movies. Their solo efforts have helped them evolve as songwriters, producers, performers, and people, say will.i.am and apl.de.ap.
``We keep inspiring each other. Also, being able to travel all over the world made us what we are now, like being able to see all different cultures, peoples and genres. We are not just caught up in this bubble,'' apl.de.ap said.
The Black Eyed Peas have been together for more than a decade, and they're still growing strong. The secret to their longevity is to ``treat the one coming up with respect,'' said will.i.am.
``And you always got to be ahead. It's never like you have done something. Nothing is done. We haven't done anything. We are doing now. As soon as you say you did something, that's the end of it. You always got to be ready to compete, to perform, to be with the audience,'' he added.
cathy@koreatimes.co.kr
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