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Main >> News Listing >> November 2003 >> Article ID 3082
 On the Ball | Type: Internet Article |
| | The Black Eyed Peas -- often relegated to the back burner -- are cookin' now | Nov 28, 2003 | by Malcolm Mayhew
Summary:
About the Black Eyed Peas and how they hooked up with Justin Timberlake (mentions Christina). |
Duets among powerhouse artists are often brought together by record-label honchos or music producers who, when they look at their performers, see dollar signs. Duets, after all, are all the rage these days: Seven of the 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 charts a coupla weeks ago were duets.
What brought together socially aware hip-hop collective Black Eyed Peas and pop heart-stopper Justin Timberlake was something entirely different: break dancing.
"He likes to break dance as well," says Black Eyed Peas singer Taboo, one of the LA-based act's four vocalists/dancers. "I met Justin at a nightclub, and we became friends. We built a friendship around our mutual love for break dancing."
That friendship turned into a collaboration that has elevated Black Eyed Peas' profile to monolithic proportions -- and into the upper reaches of Billboard's pop charts and pop-radio playlists, where the band's Where Is the Love? single has been a mainstay for months. Timberlake helped pen the final version of the song, which appears on the band's third and latest disc, Elephunk, and he performs on it as well.
Black Eyed Peas also opened for Timberlake and Christina Aguilera on the pair's recent tour of America and beyond. On Friday, they'll co-headline KHKS/106.1 KISS FM's "Jingle Ball" concert at NextStage.
Going from playing small venues such as the Gypsy Tea Room to playing NextStage and American Airlines Center can be daunting for bands whose success seems overnight. But Taboo says he and the rest of the band -- Will.I.Am, Apl de Ap and Fergie, all of whom rap and dance -- are handling it with level heads.
"I don't let the success get to me," he says. "I'm focused, I'm motivated, I'm inspired. I'm just ready and willing to do whatever it takes to stabilize the future of my son." Taboo says that's one reason why he's keeping a straight face: his 10-year-old son, Joshua. "At this point, everything I'm doing is for him," he says.
It wasn't that long ago that BEP was virtually unknown. Formed originally as a break-dance troupe, they've always been a critical favorite and had a cult following of hip-hop fans who've likened them to Arrested Development, A Tribe Called Quest and other anti-gangsta-rap outfits who champion dancing and positive messages.
But Arrested and Tribe broke up long ago. Right now, the only other hugely popular hip-hop act that's remotely akin to Black Eyed Peas is OutKast, making BEP somewhat of an anomaly.
"We've never followed any trends. We've always been left-field," Taboo says. "I enjoy being a part of the music industry, but we know what we're doing is different. But for us to be able to generate what we're doing, to spread our messages, to see 20,000 kids singing our song and enjoying our energy, it's good. It's a very good thing." |
 Source: Star-Telegram | |
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