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The Black Eyed Peas, also widely known as BEP for short, is an American hip hop group from Los Angeles. Since 2003 onwards, the group comprises of will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo and Fergie. Since its breakout album Elephunk in 2003, the group’s pop/dance-oriented style of hip hop music has sold an estimated 27 million albums and singles worldwide.

Pre-Fergie era

Behind the Front is the debut album by the Black Eyed Peas, released in 1998. “Joints & Jam“, a track from the album, was rerecorded and renamed as “That’s The Joint” for the Deluxe Edition of their fifth studio album, “The E.N.D.”

Bridging the Gap is the second album by The Black Eyed Peas, released in 2000. It contained the famed single “Request Line“, featuring Macy Gray. I remembered watching the video for it on MTV. The tune kinda stuck in my head. “Weekends”, a track from the album, was rerecorded and renamed as “Another Weekend” for the Deluxe Edition of their fifth studio album, “The E.N.D.”

Elephunk Era
Considered as their commercially successful breakout album starting from the lead single “Where is the Love?“. It was the group’s first album to feature the vocals of Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson and she became the replacement for background singer Kim Hill, who left the band in 2000. Singles released from “Elephunk” are “Where Is the Love?”, “Shut Up“, “Hey Mama” and “Let’s Get It Started“.

“Where is the Love?”, a single featuring Justin Timberlake which became Black Eyed Peas’ first major hit, peaking at #8 on the US Hot 100 chart.

Second single “Shut Up” was not released in the US due to the success of “Where Is the Love?”. But it became an instant success internationally. “Shut Up” was released as the album’s second single in late 2003, after “Where Is the Love?”.

“Hey Mama” was released as the album’s third single in 2004 and was a moderate hit. The single was played in the original television commercial for the iPod, which is famous for the “silhouette” dance. To me, this song is my fave for the album.

“Let’s Get Retarded“, also known as “Let’s Get It Started“, is the fourth single from their 2003 album, Elephunk. It gained popularity as the theme song for the 2004 NBA Playoffs on ABC.

Monkey Business Era

Monkey Business is the fourth album by the Black Eyed Peas, released on June 7th 2005 in the US. “Don’t Phunk with My Heart” is the first single from Monkey Business. The single reached number 3 in the US and was nominated for two 2006 Grammy Awards for the song and won for “Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group”.

“Don’t Lie” is the second single and reached a peak position of number 14 in the US and number 6 in the UK. “My Humps” is the third single and it reached number 3 in both US and UK. The song won the 2007 Grammy Award for “Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal”.

Their next and last commercially-released single from the album was “Pump It“, which borrows much of its sound from “Misirlou”, specifically Dick Dale’s version.

The E.N.D Era

The group’s fifth studio album, The E.N.D. (“The Energy Never Dies”), will be released on June 9th 2009. This album has a more techno-funk beat feel rather than the usual hip/hop and R&B feeling on their previous albums.

Lead single from the album, “Boom Boom Pow” was released on February 22nd online and March 30th on iTunes. It has become the group’s first song to reach number 1, where it has remained for nine weeks so far, on the Billboard Hot 100. The song uses the auto-tune vocal effect, and blends the genres of dance pop, electro-hop and hip hop.

“I Gotta Feeling” is their second official single and the song samples the song “Love Is Gone” by David Guetta. They are scheduled as the opening act for U2 on the final dates of their 2009 American tour.

The first promo single, “Imma Be,” was released for download on iTunes on May 19th, entering the Billboard Hot 100 at number 50. The second promo single “Alive” was released for download on May 26th and the third promo single “Meet Me Halfway” was released for download on June 2nd.