ARTIST

Black Eyed Peas

Positive messages and breakdancing are integral parts of hip-hop culture, but by 1990 those elements had been temporarily eclipsed by the tough gangster image and bleak but compelling lyrics of West Coast groups like N.W.A.. However, despite sharing a zip code, Black Eyed Peas' vision goes beyond the cracked-sidewalk vignettes of Los Angeles's gangster style. The socially conscious group's earliest connections go back to high school, when Will.I.Am and Apl de Ap were part of Tribal Nation, a breakdancing crew.

Eventually the pair focused more on music -- hip-hop, specifically -- and split off on their own as Atban Klann, their esoteric name, an acronym for A Tribe Beyond a Nation. Eazy-E's Ruthless Records signed the group in 1992, but many in the Ruthless...
More...