Will.i.amBy Donna Smyth

History of Will.i.am

• Will.i.am was born on born March 15, 1975. William Adams (named "William James Adams Jr." on his birth certificate) was born in East Las Angeles 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. He never met his father, William Adams, and grew up with his mother, Debra (née Cain), who encouraged him to be unique and to avoid conforming to the tendencies of the other youth in his neighborhood on the east side of Los Angeles. She encouraged him to begin working on his musical career by sending him to public schools in affluent  West Las Angeles. While attending Palisades Charter High School, will.i.am became best friends with Allen Pineda (stage name apl.de.ap), who was also a future member of The Black Eyed Peas. While still in high school, will.i.am and apl.de.ap 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 was signed to his label, Ruthless Records.

The start of Will.i.am’s career

• Will.i.am's music career began in the summer of 1987, when as an eighth-grader, he met up with fellow rapper Allan Pineda (apl.de.ap) and fellow student Dante Santiago. They began performing together around Los Angeles and were soon discovered by rapper/entrepreneur Eazy-E, who signed them to his label Ruthless Records in 1992. After this, the trio began recording an album, "Grass Roots", with the help of producers Mookie Mook and DJ Motiv8, however, the album was never released, due to Eazy-E's death in 1995. After Eazy's tragic death, Atban Klann changed their name to the Black Eyed Pods, and Will replaced Dante with Jaime Gomez, better known under his stage name of Taboo. In 1997, they once again changed their name, this time to The Black Eyed Peas, and began recording their first album, "Behind the Front", with the help of soul singer Kim Hill. They were soon signed to Interscope Records, and released their debut single, "Joints & Jam", in early 1998. The album was successful enough for the group's contract to be renewed, and in 2000, a second album, Bridging the Gap, was released.

Will.i.am performing with the Black Eyed Peas in June 2009

Will.i.am’s career

• William James Adams better known as Will.i.am (pronounced "Will I am"), is an American recording artist, songwriter, entrepreneur, voice actor, DJ, record producer, and philanthropist, best known as one of the founding members of the hip hop\pop band, The Black Eyed Peas. He is the recipient of seven Grammy Awards, eight American Music Awards, a Billboard Award , a Teen Choice Award, two MTV Video Music Awards, and three World Music Awards all won with the Black Eyed Peas.

• Will.i.am has also released four solo albums. The first, Lost Change, was released in 2001 on Atlantic Records. The album itself is the original soundtrack to the movie of the same name. A music video was made for the song, "I Am", but no singles were released from the album. The second solo album Must B 21 was released on September 23, 2003. Track seventeen on the release, "Go!", was regularly used as the theme for the NBA Live 2005 and Madden NFL 2005 seasons. A video for the track was also recorded for use within the sports, however, no singles were released from the album. The third album, Songs About Girls, was released on September 25, 2007. The first single released from the album was a club track titled "I Got It from My Mama" which peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #31 on 17 August 2007. The album also featured the singles "Heartbreaker" and "One More Chance". He released his fourth studio album #willpower in 2013.

• Will.i.am is also a music producer. He has produced with other artists including Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, Eazy-E, Britney Spears, David Guetta, U2, Rihanna, Usher, Justin Timberlake, Earth, Wind & Fire, Nicki Minaj, Cheryl Cole, 2NE1, SMAP, The Game, Nas, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Daddy Yankee, Wolfgang Gartner, and Juanes. He is a coach on The Voice UK. In collaborations and with the Black Eyed Peas, he has a total of 34 Top 40 entries on the UK Singles Chart since 1998, and has sold 9.4 million singles in the UK.

The start of Will.i.am’s career (cont.)

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

• In November 2001, work began on a third Black Eyed Peas album, Elephunk. Development of the album began on November 2, 2001 and was released just under two years later in 2003. At the time of development, only will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo were to feature on the album. During the production of "Shut Up" (the second single released from the album), they realized that a female vocal would work well with the song. Originally, Nicole Scherzinger (lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls) was approached to make a guest appearance on the record. She was forced to decline because she already was signed to a contract with Eden's Crush. Danté Santiago then introduced Fergie to Will who was impressed with her vocal talents. She immediately formed a bond with the band and became a permanent member of the Peas and her photo was printed onto the album cover. Nine out of the fourteen tracks were composed by lyricist Robbie Fisher, who has been working closely with the band since the beginning stages of the album. In the United States, Elephunk reached number 14 on the Billboard Top 200 and is their first album to chart in the top 15. It gained even more commercial success in the UK Album Charts where it reached number 3. It has sold over 1.6 million copies in the UK and 8.5 million copies worldwide.[13] The singles "Where Is The Love?" and "Shut Up" reached number 1. "Hey Mama" has been used for several advertisements including advertisements for Apple and iTunes. "Let's Get It Started" also received universal acclaim in the media section where a cover version of the song appears in the film Hot Tub Time Machine. After the success of Elephunk, the Peas were approached by EA games to feature some of their music on the 2004 game The Urbz. They remixed some of the tracks on Elephunk and translated it into Simlish and created new tracks for the game. They also feature in the game as playable characters.

Other Ventures

Acting • Will.i.am first started acting alongside the rest of the members of The Black Eyed Peas in the

commercial series "Instant Def" to advertise Snickers. He starred in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa as the voice of the character Moto Moto. He contributed a number of tracks to the movie's motion picture soundtrack in collaboration with industry heavyweight Hans Zimmer. will.i.am played John Wraith in his major film debut, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a prequel to the X-Men film series. He also guest starred on the CBS drama Joan of Arcadia as God, one of several actors who played this role during the series. He also starred in the 2011, animated film Rio, as a rapping red-crested Cardinal named Pedro, and like Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, he contributed his singing voice to the film's soundtrack, along with his fellow co-stars. will.i.am played a fathering role in The Urbz: Sims In The City, which uses The Black Eyed Peas' songs as it's own soundtrack. He briefly played himself in the Tina Fey and Steve Carell comedy film Date Night.

The Voice UK

• On 25 October 2011, it was reported that will.i.am would be joining The Voice UK as a coach. A source said, "Will is 95 per cent a done deal. He a big star and loves nurturing new talent. He shoots from the lip, and will not be afraid to tell it like it is. Although, I doubt The Voice will be as bitchy as The X Factor". will.i.am was later confirmed as a coach on The Voice UK, of this he said, "I'm proud to be doing The Voice UK because the UK was the first place I saw success," he said. "It's the place I'm the most creative outside of home." Cohen added, "I am thrilled that will.i.am has signed up to be a coach on The Voice. He is a huge star who will bring a unique creativity to the show." Talking about the differences between the show and X Factor, "I won’t be a judge on X Factor. The Voice is different. You can’t even compare the two. One, you have people in the music industry, current and legends, coaching the next generation. The other format you have judges critiquing, giving their opinions on things when they don’t really know, other than Randy Jackson on Idol.

• In preparation for the role as a coach, he asked friend and ex-The X Factor judge Cheryl Cole. Talking to Capital FM he said, "I reached out to Cheryl for advice on keeping your cool, having a poker face, the importance of sticking with the singers – it's their dream, a lot of the times when you have other performers a part of the show, celebrities tend to want the shine so they hog up time. So my whole thing was that I want to do The Voice, but I don't want to hog up time to where the singers up there are looking like, 'Is this about you guys?'. In March 2012, it was reported that he had turned his "plush" dressing room into a recording studio, and "instead of just listening with his headphones, he has installed some mega bass bins".

Fashion • Before joining The Black Eyed Peas, will.i.am attended the Fashion Institute of Design &

Merchandising in Los Angeles. In 2001, he began designing his own signature clothing line, i.am, which made its official debut in 2005 at the Magic Apparel Trade Show in Las Vegas. In 2007, will.i.am teamed up with Blue Holdings to design a premium denim collection, i.am Antik, that was scheduled to debut in August 2007 at the Project Show in Las Vegas. Will.i.am instead had new partners and was launching i.am. will.i.am is currently being sued for $2 million for abandoning the project for which, the label states, he was obligated until 2016, but Will.i.am insists is already over.

Other activities • Will.i.am appeared at the kickoff event for the 2011 FIRST Robotics Competition, Logo

Motion held at Southern New Hampshire University. He stated that he is "a big fan", and that the newly unveiled game was "dope". During his interview, he said that "his mama will work with yo mama". He also performed a concert for FIRST at the 2011 FIRST World Championship at the Edward Jones Dome. will.i.am appeared in concert with the Black Eyed Peas as a part of a special concert for 2011 FIRST Robotics Championships. It was recorded for a special aired by ABC on August 14, 2011 at 7 pm. will.i.am continues to support FIRST, and at the 2013 FIRST World Championship he became the first recipient of the Make It Loud award, which is given to the person who has contributed the most in increasing the awareness of FIRST to the general public.

• In January 2011, Intel Corp. named Will.i.am as director of creative innovation, with input in developing smart phones, tablets and laptops. In January 2012, he appeared on the BBC TV series Top Gear, as the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car, where he revealed he will be starting his own car company called IAMAUTO.

• Will.i.am is the founder of i.am angel, a non-profit dedicated to "transforming lives through education, opportunity and inspiration." In an interview, the performer said "I hope none of the kids I send to school only want to do music. The world doesn't need another musician. They need another Bill Gates."

Other activities (cont.)

• Will.i.am has made history by being the first artist to stream a song from the surface of Mars on August 28, 2012. The event took place at 1 p.m. PDT (4 p.m. EDT) Tuesday, Aug. 28, at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. Song title: Reaching for the Stars.

• Expanding his forays into iPhone accessory development, will.i.am has announced plans to release a camera enhancer that will "dramatically enhance the clarity and definition of iPhone photographs," by making the 8-megapixel sensor into an effectively 14-megapixel one. Termed the i.am+, the device is said to be the first in a series of "digital real estate" for the singer.

Will.i.am speaking at the 2011 FIRST kickoff at Southern

New Hampshire University with Dean Kamen

Personal life

• According to an interview with the British tabloid The Sun, Will.i.am says he suffers from tinnitus, a disorder which is common among musicians who have been exposed to loud music for prolonged periods of time. In April 2013, he stated that he has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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

Photos of Will.i.am

Photos of Will.i.am on The Voice UK

Photos of Will.i.am (cont.)

THE END