It might not be at the top of your mind or the tip of your tongue, but it wasn’t long ago when The Black Eyed Peas were pumping out hit after hit. Led by the rapper and producer will.i.am, the group was a major force in the early 2000s.
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With songs like “Where Is The Love?” and “Let’s Get It Started,” the band was on the radio and television screen on a consistent basis.
The group’s frontman, born William James Adams Jr., is a multi-time Grammy Award winner who has also released four solo albums. As a producer, will.i.am has worked with Justin Bieber, Kesha, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, U2, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Nicki Minaj, and more.
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Black Eyed Peas originated as an underground rap group in the mid-’90s in Los Angeles with albums like Behind the Front in 1998, but later they morphed into a commercial pop success, especially so with their 2003 LP, Elephunk. The band’s fourth album, Monkey Business, was three times Platinum in the U.S. in 2005. A mark of their pop success was the inclusion of the fashionable vocalist Fergie.
To date, the group has sold some 80 million albums, making them one of the best-selling groups (let alone rap groups) of all time. Here are the Black Eyed Peas’ Top 10 songs.
1. “Let’s Get It Started”
“Let’s Get Started” is a party anthem if there ever was one. From the group’s 2003 album, Elephunk, this song dominated the airwaves on the radio, on TV, and in the club. It was even the soundtrack for the 2004 NBA playoffs on ABC in 2004.
2. “Where Is The Love?”
Released in 2003 as the lead single from Elephunk,”Where is the Love?” was written by will.i.am, Justin Timberlake, and several other artists. It’s a more down-temp, contemplative song about bringing affection and adoration back to the fore.
3. “Mas Que Nada” with Sergio Mendes
Technically, this song was released by Latin musical legend Sergio Mendes and it features the Black Eyed Peas. But we couldn’t resist including it here on the list. The original track was originally released by Mendes in 1963 but he and Will.i.am worked on the remix together and released the new version in 2006 for Mendes’ album, Timeless.
4. “Shut Up”
Another song from the 2003 album Elephunk and another that was on the airwaves constantly, this track features unique production and is all about a courtship gone wrong. The chorus, as the title suggests, is just the repeated phrase, Shut up, just shut up, shut up.
5. “Don’t Phunk With My Heart”
Also known as “Don’t Mess with My Heart,” this song was released as the debut single from the group’s 2005 album, Monkey Business. It’s about a relationship ending, with one person severing ties and the other not believing what’s happening. The song also features music from two Bollywood films from the 1970s, Apradh (1972) and Don (1978).
6. “I Gotta Feeling”
“I Gotta Feeling” comes from the group’s fifth studio album from 2009, The E.N.D. It was the second single from the record, dropped on June 15, 2009. It debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 behind the band’s other single, “Bob Boom Pow.” That fact made Black Eyed Peas one of 11 acts that have boasted the top two spots on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time.
7. “Don’t Lie”
From the 2005 album, Monkey Business, this was the second single to drop from the record, hitting the airwaves on June 29, 2005. It came on the heels of the successful track, “Don’t Phunk with My Heart.” The track also contains a sample from Slick Rick’s 1988 track, “The Ruler’s Back.”
8. “My Humps”
While some critics called this song over-sexualized and immature, “My Humps,” which was on the group’s 2005 album, Monkey Business, is a duet between will.i.am and Fergie. As the title (and certainly the music video) suggest, it’s all about a woman getting what she wants based on her physical attributes. The song was the third single from Monkey Business.
9. “Boom Boom Pow”
From the 2009 album, The E.N.D., “Boom Boom Pow” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for an astonishing 12 weeks. This song, along with the group’s “I Gotta Feeling” were both atop the Billboard chart in spots No. 1 and No. 2.
10. “Pump It”
From the 2005 album, Monkey Business, this song makes use of the iconic guitar line from Dick Dale’s 1962 surf version of “Misirlou,” which became famous thanks, in part, to the 1994 movie Pulp Fiction. It was the group’s fourth-consecutive top-20 single on the U.S. Billboard hot 100. It was later remixed for a deluxe edition of the group’s fifth studio album The E.N.D. from 2009. That track was called “Pump It Harder.”
Photo by Frank Mullen/WireImage
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