William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He rose to prominence as the founder and lead member of the hip hop musical group Black Eyed Peas, which formed in Los Angeles in 1995.
As a solo artist, will.i.am has released four albums, beginning with Lost Change (2001), through Atlantic Records. His second solo outing, Must B 21, was released on September 23, 2003. The track "Go!" was regularly used as the theme for the NBA Live 2005 and Madden NFL 2005 seasons. The third album, Songs About Girls, was released on September 25, 2007. He released his fourth studio album, #willpower, in 2013.
As a music producer, will.i.am has worked for other artists including A. R. Rahman, Cheryl, Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, Kesha, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, David Guetta, U2, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Usher, Justin Timberlake, Nicki Minaj, 2NE1, and Baby Kaely. In collaborations and with the Black Eyed Peas, he has a total of 41 top-40 entries on the UK Singles Chart since 1998, and has sold 9.4 million singles in the UK.
In addition to his music career, will.i.am has also been a judge and mentor on the television talent show series The Voice UK (2012–present), The Voice Australia (2014), and The Voice Kids (2017–2023). He is the recipient of seven Grammy Awards, a Latin Grammy Award, and a Daytime Emmy Award.
Early life
William James Adams Jr. was born in Los Angeles on Saturday, March 15, 1975, the son of an African-American mother Debra (née Cain) and Jamaican father William Adams Sr. He has never met his father, and was raised by his mother in the Estrada Courts housing projects in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, where they were among the few African-Americans living in a predominantly Hispanic community. He did not discover his full birth name until he was 25. His mother encouraged him to be unique and to avoid conforming to the tendencies of the other youths in the neighborhood. To guide his musical career, she sent him to public schools in the more affluent West Los Angeles area such as Paul Revere Charter Middle School, which was one hour-long bus journey away. During the regular school year, he attended Palisades Charter High School. During that time, he started going to raves with classmate Pasquale Rotella.
Adams' maternal uncle is former NFL player Lynn Cain, who inspired him during his early years. While studying at summer school at John Marshall High School, Adams became best friends with Allan Pineda (better known as apl.de.ap), who would later become a member of the Black Eyed Peas. While still in high school, Adams and Pineda performed in East Los Angeles clubs and were soon joined by three others to form the socially conscious Atban Klann rap group. Atban Klann caught the attention of rapper Eazy-E and Mason Miller, signing to his record label Ruthless Records in 1992. Adams later said his history with rave culture is why he chose a more electro sound for the Black Eyed Peas' albums The E.N.D. and The Beginning. Despite the use of electro and house music elements, will.i.am prefers to separate the underground from pop; in an article with Los Angeles Times, he mentioned that the secrecy surrounding the whereabouts of raves is what made raving special and different from the mainstream.
