| Will.i.am |
will.i.am, 2009
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| Background information |
| Birth name |
William James Adams, Jr. |
| Born |
March 15, 1975 (1975-03-15) (age 34)
Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres |
Hip hop, pop rap, R&B, electrohop |
| Occupations |
Singer, actor, rapper, lyricist, producer |
| Instruments |
Vocals, keyboards, bass, clavinet, drums, piano |
| Years active |
1991 – present |
| Labels |
Ruthless Records
Warner Sunset Records
Atlantic Records
Geffen Records
A&M Records
Interscope Records
Columbia Records
will.i.am music group |
| Associated acts |
Black Eyed Peas,
Cheryl Cole, Common, Estelle, Fergie, Esthero, John Legend, The Game, Eazy-E, Justin Timberlake, Macy Gray, Nas, Flo Rida, Pussycat Dolls, Nicole Scherzinger, Michael Jackson, Daddy Yankee, David Guetta, U2, Chris Brown, Zuper Blahq, Steve Aoki, Taboo, apl.de.ap, Lady Lashes, Rihanna. |
| Website |
www.will-i-am.com |
William James Adams, Jr. (born March 15, 1975), better known by his stage name Will.i.am (pronounced /wɪlaɪˈæm/ will-eye-AM), is an American rapper, songwriter, singer, actor, and producer. Will.i.am rose to fame as frontman and co-founder of the hit hip hop and pop group the Black Eyed Peas, with rappers Taboo, apl.de.ap and later added member pop singer Fergie. As a producer, he has produced for some Reggaeton singers such as Daddy Yankee.
Biography
Early life
Will.i.am was born March 15, 1975 and raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California to Jamaican parents.[1] His father, William Adams, Sr., was absent for much of his childhood; however, his mother encouraged him to be unique and avoid conforming to the tendencies of the other youth of the L.A. ghetto. By the time Will began high school, he was already working on a musical career. In high school, Will became best friends with Allan Lindo, AKA fellow Black Eyed Peas member apl.de.ap. The two formed a unique bond, and soon began performing at East L.A. clubs. Will would rap while apl.de.ap break-danced. Another friend of Will joined the entertainers to form the socially conscious rap group Atban Klann. The trio eventually caught the eye of Compton rapper Eazy-E and was signed to his label, Ruthless Records.
Music
Will.i.am started in rap in late 1991 under the name "Will-1X" after being discovered by Compton rapper and former N.W.A. leader Eazy-E and signed a deal to Eazy's Ruthless Records. Will.i.am's first rap song was "Merry Muthafuckin' Xmas" from Eazy-E's 1992 EP 5150: Home 4 Tha Sick. Shortly after Eazy-E's death in 1995, Will left Ruthless to start a group that would later be called The Black Eyed Peas.
Will.i.am was also featured in 2004 singing Secrets(Dexters Hip-Hop experience) for The Dexter's Laboratory Series on Cartoon Network
Will.i.am is featured in Flo Rida's debut album, Mail on Sunday, on the song "In The Ayer," and on Usher's latest album, Here I Stand, on the song, "What's Your Name." In September 2007, will.i.am's record label Universal Music Group decided on a pilot scheme to reward file sharing with cash incentives, which included tracks from his latest solo album, Songs About Girls.[2]
In 2008, will.i.am was hired by Michael Jackson to produce and remix some songs for the Thriller re-release, Thriller 25.
In 2008, will.i.am contributed the song, "One People," to the Survival International charity album, Songs for Survival. In 2009, will.i.am worked with rappers Flo Rida and Akon on Flo Rida's new album, R.O.O.T.S..
He co-created a girl group in 2007 called the Paradiso Girls, who are signed to Geffen/Interscope Records. They will debut in 2009.
Will.I.Am has also helped Girls Aloud member Cheryl Cole with her album 3 words by Also doing a feature with her
Will.I.Am is mentioned in the song Believe it or Not (feat. Gucci Mane) by Drake in the lyrics "..Wonderin' if I'm the best; Will.I.Am, No Black Eyed Peas.."
Acting career
He first started acting alongside the rest of the members of the Black Eyed Peas in the commercial series "Instant Def" to advertise Snickers.[3]
He starred in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa as 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. Will.I.Am also guest starred on the CBS drama Joan of Arcadia as God.
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.[4] 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.[5] will.i.am instead has new partners and is launching i.am clothing at Project Las Vegas in September 2009. will.i.am has also designed clothing for the Black Eyed Peas.
Political advocacy
In January 2008, will.i.am wrote a song, "Yes We Can", in support of the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign of Barack Obama, which in turn became a music video directed by Jesse Dylan. The lyrics of the song are composed almost entirely of excerpts from Obama's speech on January 8, 2008, following the New Hampshire presidential primary election. The video features appearances from numerous celebrities like Scarlett Johansson, Tatyana Ali, John Legend, Herbie Hancock, Kate Walsh, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Adam Rodríguez, Kelly Hu, Hill Harper, Amber Valletta, Eric Balfour, Aisha Tyler, Nicole Scherzinger, Nick Cannon, Bryan Greenberg, and Common and first appeared on the website for Dipdive. The video racked up three million views within a week and over four million subsequently on YouTube. On June 13, 2008, the "Yes We Can Song" won an award at the 35th Annual Creative Arts and Entertainment Daytime Emmy Awards for "New Approaches in Daytime Entertainment."[6]
On February 29, 2008, a second video, "We Are the Ones," was released on Dipdive and YouTube. Including cameo appearances from Jessica Alba, Ryan Phillippe, Kerry Washington, pop punk band Yellowcard's front man, Ryan Key, John Leguizamo, Regina King, Tyrese Gibson, Eric Mabius, Tichina Arnold, Adrianne Palicki, comedian George Lopez, and singers Macy Gray, Zoe Kravitz and Black Eyed Peas' Taboo, the video features everyone chanting "O-BA-MA" as a portrayal as their hopes and wishes for Barack Obama and his presidential campaign.
On November 4, 2008, will.i.am spoke to CNN's Anderson Cooper about his support for then-Senator Obama using CNN's 'hologram' technology.[7]
After the 2008 election, will.i.am released "It's a New Day." The video reflects on the historical events that led to the election of the first African-American president and the public's reaction to his election. The video features celebrities such as Fergie, Olivia Wilde, Kanye West, Harold Perrineau, Kevin Bacon and his wife Kyra Sedgwick. The video first debuted on The Oprah Winfrey Show. The track also appears on the 2009 compilation album, Change is Now: Renewing America's Promise.
In honor of the inauguration of Barack Obama as president, will.i.am collaborated with producer David Foster on the patriotic song "America's Song", with contributing vocals from Seal, Bono, Mary J. Blige, and Faith Hill.
Zuper Blahq
will.i.am is the man behind Zuper Blahq, a mysterious Electro House artist, [8] who has had one solo release and one collaboration with Steve Aoki.
Controversies
After-party incident in Toronto
On June 22, 2009, 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.[9] From his account, Hilton was rude to Fergie and will.i.am confronted the blogger. Will.i.am gave his account on his blog:[10]
| “ |
I didn't hit you. I told you that I didn't like the fact the you disrespected us. It’s cool to have your opinion, but dude, apparently you were bleeding outside the club, I was like next to you by a tree, waiting for my car and instead of calling the police you Twitted that I assaulted you. Sounds like somebody wants mad attention and is not really concerned about his health. I didn’t hit you, and this is very wrong that you are Twitting that I did that, once again disrespecting me and everything I stand for. And they’re lies and that’s wrong. Shame on you, shame on your behavior. And that’s just messed up. |
” |
According to news reports, AP article via MSNBC,[11] Hilton called will.i.am a faggot in the club, but Polo Molina, Black Eyed Peas's tour manager, was responsible for punching Hilton from behind. The incident was caught on photo by a nearby photographer[12] and by a video which documents the encounter. Gossip website TMZ released a video showing the encounter.[13]
Liborio Molina, a 36-year-old California resident, has been charged with one count of assault.[14][15]
Since the incident, will.i.am has received support from a variety of other celebrities including Josh Duhamel, John Mayer, Tila Tequila, Kelly Clarkson, Zac Efron, Breckin Meyer and Jimmy Kimmel.[16][17][18][19][20]
Awards and nominations
I Am Scholarship Fund
will.i.am created the i am scholarship program to assist students who want to attend college but need financial assistance to make it a reality.[citation needed] He announced the start of this fund on The Oprah Winfrey Show when he surprised four teenagers from Delaware with scholarships to attend college.[citation needed] The four teenagers Jaiquann Beckham, Darien White, Barien White, and Elijah Williams all went to Christiana High School in Newark, DE.[citation needed] They came from single parent homes.[citation needed] They were all track stars, they had good grades, and they had been accepted into colleges of their choices.[citation needed] The fund started in 2009.[citation needed]
Discography
Studio albums
References
External links
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Will.i.am |
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| Studio albums |
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| Singles |
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| Featured singles |
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