will.i.am

At 49 years old, will.i.am has this physical status:

William Adams (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced ‘Will-I-am’), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, DJ, actor and television personality.

He is the founding and lead member of the hip hop group The Black Eyed Peas. As a solo artist, will.i.am has released four solo albums, beginning with Lost Change, released in 2001 through Atlantic Records.

His second solo outing, Must B 21, was released on September 23, 2003.

The track "Go!" was regularly used as the theme for the NBA Live 2005 and Madden NFL 2005 seasons.

The third album, Songs About Girls, was released on September 25, 2007.

He released his fourth studio album, #willpower, in 2013. As a music producer, will.i.am has produced music for other artists including Cheryl, Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, Kesha, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, David Guetta, U2, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Usher, Justin Timberlake, A. R. Rahman, Nicki Minaj, 2NE1, and Baby Kaely.

In collaborations and with the Black Eyed Peas, he has a total of 41 top-40 entries on the UK Singles Chart since 1998, and has sold 9.4 million singles in the UK.In addition to his music career, will.i.am has also been a judge and mentor on the television talent show series The Voice UK (2012-present), The Voice Australia (2014), The Voice Kids (2017-present), and The Voice America (2019).

Early life

William James Adams Jr. was born on 15 March 1975 in Los Angeles, California, and was raised in the Estrada Courts housing projects in the Boyle Heights neighborhood, where he and his family were among the few African Americans living in a predominantly Hispanic community. Adams has never met his father, William Adams Sr. He was raised by his mother, Debra (née Cain), who encouraged him to be unique and to avoid conforming to the tendencies of the other youths in the east Los Angeles neighborhood. To encourage his musical career, she sent him to public schools in affluent West Los Angeles. He rode on a bus for an hour to attend Paul Revere Charter Middle School. Later, during the regular school year, he attended Palisades Charter High School. During that time, he started going to raves with classmate Pasquale Rotella. While studying at summer school at John Marshall High School, he became best friends with Allan Pineda (stage name apl.de.ap), who would also be a future member of the Black Eyed Peas. While still in high school, Adams and Pineda performed in East L.A. clubs and were soon joined by three other entertainers to form the socially conscious rap group, Atban Klann. Atban Klann caught the eye of Compton rapper Eazy-E and Mason Miller, and was signed to his label, Ruthless Records in 1992.

He later said his history with rave culture is why he chose a more electro sound for the Black Eyed Peas' albums The E.N.D. and The Beginning. Despite the use of electro and house music elements, will.i.am prefers to separate the underground from pop. In an article with Los Angeles Times, he mentions that secrecy over the whereabouts of raves is what made raving special, and different from the mainstream.

Personal life

In December 2010, will.i.am said that he suffers from tinnitus, a disorder common among musicians who have been exposed to loud music for prolonged periods. In April 2013, he stated that he has ADHD. will.i.am follows a vegan diet.

As the nephew of former NFL player Lynn Cain, who played for the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Rams, will.i.am spent a large part of his life looking up to his uncle as a role model.

On June 22, 2009, gossip blogger Perez Hilton accused will.i.am and his entourage of assaulting him in Toronto after the MuchMusic Video Awards, a charge will.i.am denied in a video posted on his blog. No further action was taken.

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Music career

Will.i.am began his musical career in 1988 as an eighth-grader (apl.de.ap) and fellow student Dante Santiago. They began performing together in Los Angeles and were soon discovered by rapper/entrepreneur Eazy-E, who signed them to his band Ruthless Records in 1992. Will was known as "Will 1X" at the time, Atban Klann's first official album, "Merry Muthafuckin' Xmas," was included on Eazy-E's EP 5150: Home 4tha Sick. The trio's album "Grass Roots" was released after this, but the album was never released due to Eazy-E's tragic death in 1995. They changed their name to Black Eyed Pods, and Will replace Dante with Jaime Gomez, better known under his stage name Taboo. They changed their name to the Black Eyed Peas for the second time in 1997, this time to the Black Eyed Peas, and began recording their first album, Behind the Front, with soul singer Kim Hill. They were soon signed to Interscope Records and released their debut album, "Joints & Jam," in early 1998. The album was hit enough for the company's contract to be renewed, and Bridging the Gap, the group's second album, was released in 2000.

Will began recording his first solo release, Lost Change, which was the official soundtrack to the film of the same name, following the introduction of Bridging the Gap. The album, which featured collaborations with Medusa, Planet Asia, and Terry Dexter, was a critical success.

Elephunk, the third Black Eyed Peas album, debuted in November 2001. The album debuted on November 2, 2001, and it was released just under two years later in 2003. Only will.am.de.ap.de.ap.de. The album was announced at the time of expansion. They discovered that a female vocal would work well with the song during the recording of "Shut Up" (the second single released from the album). Nicole Scherzinger (lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls) was scheduled to make a public appearance. She was forced to resign because she had already agreed to a deal with Eden's Crush. Danté Santiago introduced Fergie to will.i.am, who was immediately impressed with her vocal skills. She immediately bonded with the band and became a permanent member of the Peas, and her photograph was printed on the album cover. Robbie Fisher, a lyricist who has been closely with the band since the beginning of the album, produced nine out of the fourteen songs. Elephunk's debut on the Billboard Top 200 in the United States hit number 14 on the Billboard Top 200 for the first time and is the first album to chart in the top 15. It also did well in international markets, particularly in the UK Album Charts, where it ranked No. 3. It has been released over 1.6 million copies in the United Kingdom and 8.5 million copies around the world.

The singles "Where Is the Love?"

"Shut Up" and "Shut Up" have risen to the top of the charts, with "Shut Up" debuting at number 1. Several commercials, including Apple and iTunes, have been used for "Hey Mama." In the media section, where a cover version of the song appears in the film Hot Tub Time Machine, "Let's Get It Started" received widespread acclaim. The Peas were approached by EA games to feature some of their songs on the 2004 game The Urbz, following the success of Elephunk. They remixed some of Elephunk's songs and converted it into Simlish, making new tracks for the game. They're also included in the game as playable characters.

"Where Is the Love?" the group's breakthrough album, "Where Is the Love?" has been released. "In November 2002 (featuring Justin Timberlake, but he did not appear in the film). Elephunk also sold 8.5 million copies around the world in the wake of single and follow-up single "Shut Up." During this period, Will released Must B 21. Will recorded the song "Secrets" for the soundtrack to Dexter's Laboratory: The Hip-Hop Experiment in 2002, a musical complement to the Cartoon Network original collection. He had also composed the theme song for another Genndy Tartakovsky film, Samurai Jack, prior to this.

Monkey Business, the second album with new band member Fergie, was released in November 2003. The album was tripled Platinum by the RIAA in the United States and has sold over ten million copies around the world, reflecting Monkey Business's success in 2005. Monkey Business 6th Platinum has been awarded by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (or CRIA) with over 600,000 copies sold. The Australian Recording Industry Association (or ARIA) has also rated Monkey Business 6: Platinum, indicating that over 420,000 copies have been sold. The album's songs received four Grammy Award nominations in 2006, as well as the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Don't Phunk with My Heart." According to IFPI, over 2 million copies have been sold in Europe. It has sold over 1 million copies in the United Kingdom alone, although it is considerably less than Elephunk's sales, which are still have more than 1.6 million copies and ten million worldwide. The band announced that they would take a break from work to work on their own personal projects. Will continue to produce Fergie's first solo album, The Dutchess, which was released in 2006, before starting to work with Michael Jackson, who had requested Will's assistance in the recording and production of his new album. Beginning on the Jackson album in 2006, it was continued into 2009 until the singer's death, at which time no information from the period was revealed. However, remixes of Jackson's Thriller 25th anniversary album were released in 2008.

Will.i.am revealed in 2007 that he had co-created the Paradiso Girls, an all-female soul band he wanted to work with on a forthcoming solo project. Songs About Girls, a compilation of girls' songs, was released in 2007. "I Got It From My Mama," "One More Chance," and "Heartbreaker," the album's third singles, but it did not sell more than 75,000 copies as compared to his previous solo ventures. Hilary Duff's film "With Love" will be a remake.

Will.i.am contributed the song "One Tribe" to the Survival International charity album Songs for Survival in 2008. He appeared on rapper Flo Rida's debut album, Mail on Sunday, where he produced and appeared on the album "In the Ayer" and appeared on Usher's fifth album, Here I Stand. Will.i.am revealed plans in January 2008 that he was orchestrating a political album, Change Is Now: Renewing America's Promise in support of Barack Obama's presidential campaign. Jesse Dylan produced a music video for "Yes We Can" the first single. Following Obama's retort of excerpts from his speech on January 8, 2008, the song's lyrics are almost entirely made up of excerpts from Obama's address. The video features appearances from several celebrities as well as the first appearance on Dipdive's website. Within a week and over four million viewers on YouTube, the video earned three million views in a week and more than four million later. "Yes We Can" received an award at the 35th Annual Creative Arts and Entertainment Daytime Emmy Awards for "New Approaches in Daytime Entertainment" on June 13, 2008. "We Are the Ones," the album's second single, "We Are the Ones," was released on Dipdive and YouTube on February 29, 2008. Several celebrities appear to be singing "O-BA-MA" as a representation of their hopes and aspirations for Obama and his presidential campaign. Will.i.am spoke to CNN's Anderson Cooper on November 4, 2008, about his support for then-Senator Obama's 'hologram' technology (actually tomography). Will released "It's a New Day" after the 2008 election and Obama's win. The documentary explores the historical events leading to the appointment of the first African-American president and the public's reaction to his election. The video premiered on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Willi.am collaborated with producer David Foster on his album "America's Song," a tribute to Barack Obama's as president, with contributions from Seal, Bono, Mary J. Blige, and Faith Hill. Will.i.am penned the album's fifth and final single, "The Jackass Song," in reaction to Kanye West's departure from Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. It featured a preview of Kanye West's "Heartless" film "Heartless." Will wrote a blog post that featured the song on Dipdive and was released in February 2009, saying, "I am a FIRST fan." On his official Twitter page, FIRST founder Dean Kamen "one of [his] heroes."

Will.i.am revealed plans for the Black Eyed Peas to return in March 2009, and their comeback track, "Boom Boom Pow," debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart and Billboard Hot 100. They went on to have three top-one hits before releasing their comeback album, The E.N.D. The album's popularity prompted the release of The Beginning, the album's second comeback album that was released in November 2010. Following the success of their world tour, the band announced plans to break again. Will.i.am recorded four tracks with Girls Aloud's first studio album, R.O.T.S., in 2009. He also worked on Rihanna's fourth studio album, Rated R, for a track titled "Photographs." Raymond vs. Raymond was written and produced by him in February 2010. Will.i.am expressed his desire to work with Korean K-pop girl group 2NE1 and help them achieve international recognition in a YouTube video posted by YGLifeOfficial on March 15, 2010. Will has collaborated on "Big Fat Bass" with Britney Spears, which appears on her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale.

Fergie, the Black Eyed Peas' sixth studio album, reported in an interview that the artist is recording a new solo album, tentatively named Black Einstein. will.i.am has officially revealed that he was working on his fourth solo album, with some of it being released under the name Zuper Blahq. Due to strong downloads, a cut from the album, "I'm In the House," a partnership with Steve Aoki, was released as a single in January 2010. "Check It Out," a two-cut from the album, debuted on the UK Singles Chart in October 2010, a second cut from the album, and Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj's collaboration with Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj, debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart. "Dance," a collaboration with Natalia Kills, reached number 62 on the UK Singles Chart in February 2011. The music video was produced by James Sutton and also included a cameo by Natalia. Will.i.am released four songs on the soundtrack of the animated film Rio in which he portrayed Pedro the red-crested cardinal. "I Wanna Party")," "Reality In Rio," "Get It Low"), and "Advice To The Young At Heart" are among the artists on "Hot Wings" featuring an array of artists, including Jamie Foxx, Anne Hathaway, and Tears for Fears. However, Will say he would remix the songs for inclusion on Black Einstein. "Forever," Wolfgang Gartner's fourth cut from the album, was unveiled as a single in September 2011. Will.i.am announced that he had changed the name of the album from Black Einstein to #willpower, around this time. On August 26, 2011, the film premiered. "T.H.E." is the album's official lead single, and Will premiered in November 2011. A collaboration with Jennifer Lopez and Mick Jagger, "The Hardest Ever" appears. The video for "T.H.E." was posted on Twitter by Will.E. (The Most Ever)" was shot in Los Angeles, and the actor, who returned home, stopped off in Brazil to film the album's second official single, "Great Times," in Brazil. "Party Like An Animal," Eva Simons' collaboration with LMFAO and Dutch singer Eva Simons, premiered at the HTC Beats Launch Party in December 2011. Will.i.am has also revealed that he collaborates with Britney Spears, Alicia Keys, Busta Rhymes, Swizz Beatz, and a few others on the album. Shakira may also be on the album, according to he. #willpower is expected to be released in 2013, and Cheryl and Justin Bieber will also appear on #willpower. Britney Spears revealed on her Twitter account in mid-October that she had filmed the music video for the single "Scream & Shout" single she was featured in.

On June 4, 2012, he was one of the artists at the Diamond Jubilee Festival, which took place outside Buckingham Palace.

"Reach for the Stars" was Mars' first song on radio. After returning from the Curiosity rover, he talked and watched it live at NASA in Pasadena, California.

Also included will be "Hall of Fame" by the script. It debuted on television on July 23, 2012, and it was announced for digital download on August 21, 2012. In Priyanka Chopra's debut single "In My City," he appeared later. On Kesha's second album Warrior's track "Crazy Kids," it was revealed in October 2012. The Dr. Luke co-wrote and co-produced the song.

Will.i.am's third single, "Scream & Shout," starring Britney Spears, was released in November 2012. It debuted in the top 20 on the Billboard 100, peaking at number three and debuting at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart and staying at number one for two weeks in January 2013.

It went number one in many countries

Will.i.am revealed in an interview with Capital FM that he collaborated with Justin Bieber for his upcoming release "#thatPOWER" and premiered the single on the same day it was announced on iTunes in the United States and debuted on the Billboard 100 at number 42.

Will.i.am and Chris Brown's track "Let's Go," which was also from the #willpower album, became the center of a copyright controversy in April 2013, with trance producers Arty and Mat Zo claiming that they used portions of their 2011 song "Rebound" without permission from the artist or their label. This alley was later supported by Anjunabeats, the record label behind Arty and Mat Zo.

#willpower, his fourth studio album, was re-released in December 2013 and features various new songs, including Miley Cyrus, French Montana, and Wiz Khalifa.

Willi.am appeared on her eighth studio album Britney Jean, which he co-wrote and produced many songs. He served as an executive producer of the program.

Will.i.am appeared on Alan Carr: Chatty Man, where he discussed the prospect of releasing his own Smartwatch on April 4, 2014. He announced that it could be used as a phone, to store music, and to post messages on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. He also gave a preview of a music video for the song "It's My Birthday." A 90-second snippet was posted on SoundCloud on May 20, 2014. Will and Damien LeRoy's produced Cody Wise, while Keith Harris' script Cody Wise appears. On July 6, 2014, it was announced.

Will.i.am said in an interview with Capital FM that the Black Eyed Peas were getting back to life. Will.i.am unveiled the single "Boys & Girls," starring Pia Mia on April 7, 2016. Nicole Scherzinger appeared on "Mona Lisa Smile" a week later this week.

Will.i.am collaborated with a group of musicians made up of Bono, Jennifer Hudson, and Yoshiki for the song "Sing For Life" in March 2020. The musicians were inspired by the widespread feeling of dissatisfaction with the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent attempts by many people to pursue creative endeavors despite new social constraints. The official YouTube description said that the track was designed to bring "joy" during "times like this."

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