If it's possible to condense the evolution of hip-hop into a single entity - embodying its street perspectives, pop dominance and global multicultural appeal - it'd be the Black Eyed Peas. The union of rappers will.i.am (William Adams) and apl.de.ap (Allan Pineda Lindo) dates back to hip-hop's early-90s golden age when their L.A.-bred jazz-rap crew A.T.B.A.N Klann signed with N.W.A. icon Eazy-E's Ruthless Records. After Eazy's death in 1995 derailed the group's momentum, the duo teamed up with MC Taboo (Jaime Luis Gomez) and supporting vocalist Kim Hill to form Black Eyed Peas. But when Hill departed in 2002, the group didn't just find a replacement; they acquired a new figurehead in girl-group exile Fergie (Stacy Ann Ferguson). Her seductive swagger pushed the Peas to the top of the pop charts with mid-2000s bangers like "My Humps" while recasting the Peas' social commentary as inspirational post-9/11 uplift on "Where Is the Love?" And as EDM went overground at the decade's end, the Peas were waiting in the festival dance tent with beat-pumped thumpers like "I Gotta Feeling".
In 2003 the Black Eyed Peas released Elephunk – the group's third studio album. The album charted at number 14 on the American Billboard 200 albums chart and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, and has gone on to sell more than 9 million copies worldwide, with 3.2 million in the United States alone. This is the group's first album with Fergie and their first album where the group is credited as The Black Eyed Peas.
Markus Klinko created the record's cover art.
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