From a shelved album to the longest run at number one

The Black Eyed Peas story begins in 1988 at an all-ages dance venue in Los Angeles called Club What?, where two teenagers from different high schools, William James Adams Jr and Allan Pineda Lindo, met. They formed a hip-hop dance crew called Tribal Nation, taking the names Will 1X and apl.de.ap.

Early success was a near miss. Rapper Eazy-E saw them play and signed them to Ruthless Records as Atban Klann. Their album Grass Roots was due out in 1995 but was shelved, and Eazy-E died of HIV/AIDS. Members left, the contract stalled, and Will 1X became will.i.am. The group regrouped, signed with Interscope and released Behind the Front in 1998 and Bridging the Gap in 2000 as an alternative hip hop trio.

The pivot to a more marketable pop-rap sound paid off with Elephunk in 2003. Its lead single “Where Is the Love?”, featuring Justin Timberlake, topped charts in 13 countries and spent seven weeks at number one in the UK. Fergie was part of the group during its peak years in the 2000s, and Monkey Business in 2005 went triple platinum.

The peak was The E.N.D. in 2009. It reached number one on the Billboard 200 and produced three Hot 100 chart-toppers: “Imma Be”, “Boom Boom Pow” and “I Gotta Feeling”. The last two held the top two spots at the same time, and the group remained there for a then-record 26 consecutive weeks. The group won three Grammys at the 52nd ceremony and played the Super Bowl XLV halftime show in 2011.

Later albums, including Translation and Elevation, moved towards reggaeton and Latin influences, a long way from the days of Tribal Nation and a track like “Mas Que Nada”. With an estimated 80 million records sold, the group went from a shelved debut to a place among the best-selling acts of all time.