Will.i.am

William James Adams Jr., known professionally as will.i.am, born March 15, 1975, in Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles, California, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who rose to global prominence as the founding member and creative center of The Black Eyed Peas — one of the best-selling music groups of all time — and who has since carved out an additional career as an in-demand solo artist, technology entrepreneur, and arts education advocate. Raised in the Estrada Courts housing project in Boyle Heights by his single mother, a Jehovah's Witness, Will grew up in circumstances of genuine economic hardship that gave his ambition and later his philanthropy their particular urgency and authenticity. He formed The Black Eyed Peas in 1995 with childhood friends apl.de.ap and Taboo, initially as a hip-hop trio before the addition of Fergie in 2003 transformed the group's commercial reach and crossover appeal. The group went on to produce one of the most commercially extraordinary runs in pop music history with Elephunk (2003), Monkey Business (2005), The E.N.D. (2009, one of the best-selling albums of the year globally producing I Gotta Feeling — one of the best-selling singles in history — and Boom Boom Pow), and The Beginning (2010). will.i.am also produced hit albums for Michael Jackson (Scream, 2003), Britney Spears, Rihanna, David Guetta, Cee Lo Green, and many others, establishing himself as one of the most in-demand producers of the 2000s and 2010s. He co-founded i.am+ technology company, developing wearable technology and AI applications, and has been a passionate advocate for expanding STEM education in low-income communities, partnering with the i.am.angel Foundation to provide college scholarships for students from Boyle Heights, the neighborhood where he grew up.