For those who think Hip-Hop
is dead, you have been bamboozled; at least according to Black Eyed
Peas front man. Born William James Adams Jr., the famed MC
and producer has been a force to be reckoned with around the world,
as he has successfully immersed himself into the melting pot of musicality.
From Nas and Talib Kweli, to Fergie, Will.I.Am has left no room for
discussion as he oozes with versatility and musical prowess, hit after
hit.
While some find this mainstream
success a deviation from what is Hip-Hop, Will.I.Am argues that the
very essence of all music is Hip-Hop, thus making him a staple in the
genre in 2007. As he gears up to release his first solo debut Songs
About Girls, Will.I.Am caught up with AllHipHop.com to give us some
California Love. In the quirky conversation, he discusses what
separates him from every other producer in the industry, the problem
with Hip-Hop, and why Black Eyed Peas embody the essence of what true
Hip-Hop is. And anyone who disagrees, well frankly, he says “F**k
‘em.”
AllHipHop.com: When did you
first fall in love with production and making beats?
Will.I.Am.: I’ve been making
beats since 1991/92. This dude named DJ Motivator taught me how to make
beats. He had this drum machine, well it wasn’t even a drum machine;
it was like a work station called the Roland F550. That’s what I started
on. At the time, I was in high school with Ahmad, the dude who had that
song “Back in the Day,” and I remember coming to History class like,
“Yo! Ya’ll gotta check out this beat I did.” And they were like,
“You make beats and rap?” And I’m like, “Yeah dude, while I
make beats, I can make beats to the way I hear my rhyme.” I wanted
to write a rhyme to the beat I made, or I wanted to make a beat to the
rhyme I wrote. I was working with musicians, and I would tell the musicians
“Can you make the bass line like [this]?” I would be trying to hum
it and s**t. And it’s like, how can you lead someone when you
don’t speak their language? So I didn’t want to know just beat talk,
I wanted to play it. So I went to school and learned [music] theory
and expanded my knowledge on beats, writing songs, transposing, keys
and semitones and all that stuff.
AllHipHop.com: People often
refer to you as a Hip-Hop musician, as opposed to a Hip-Hop producer
or artist. Why do you think you garner that title?
Will.I.Am: There are so many
different names for producers. A rock producer doesn’t touch the drum
machine. He has programmers, and all he does is set-up mics, produce
the songs and EQ s**t. On the other hand, a Hip-Hop producer will have
a programmer, he ain’t a rock producer, but that motherf*****’s
an engineer. Then you have a producer that don’t do anything but sit
back in the studio and tell you what he does and doesn’t like. They’re
all producers. [Listening to production] from Papa Roach, Rolling Stones,
Earth Wind and Fire, I realized there’s a big difference in what a
producer is, regardless of a Hip-Hop producer or Hip-Hop musician.
At the end of the day, it’s just music. And in the world of music,
there’s different titles that define how songs are executed.
I just wanted to be all of them.
AllHipHop.com: So are you saying
that someone who sits behind a keyboard and creates a beat in 15 minutes
can still be considered a producer? Will.I.Am: Yeah, they’re
a producer. No matter how the song is done, whether it’s from 0 to
A, or Z to A. Like Kanye West- a perfect example. That motherf****r
is a producer. He makes a beat, he sits there throughout the whole session
and produces vocals for it, and even gives you some f****n’ ideas
on how to flip the hook. I’ve seen the n***a do that. The thing
that I don’t respect is people who makes beats and then leave the
studio, and someone else does all the hard work. Because you know, making
a beat isn’t hard. Now, with technology, anybody can make a beat.
AllHipHop.com: But that’s
the game right now. If you do get that placement, the label’s engineers
get their hands on it and master it in their studio. How do you
curb that as a new producer? Will.I.Am : As a new producer,
if you’re shoppin’ beats, you’re just a beat maker. It’s no
different than if you’re a bass player and you’re shoppin’ bass
lines. Just because you’re a bass player, it doesn’t make you a
producer. If I was a new producer, knowing some of the things that I
know now, I wouldn’t even shop beats. I would go out and find
me a superstar to make [with] the beats that the labels want.
I’d be like, “You want beats? F**k that. Use my beats to build
your artist? How about you build my artist?” Just in the business
of it, if you make a beat, they may give you like 2500 dollars, and
that’s a foot in the door; but your foot in the door could be a lot
bigger if you come in with a project. Like, if you introduce the next
Fergie or 50 Cent, oh you’re large. Producers need to control things.
AllHipHop.com: few people know
about your roots with Eazy E’s Ruthless Records. What’s the
story behind that? Will.I.Am : Eazy E and
Ruthless Records was a big deal. You know, Eazy E and Dr. Dre
all come from that. And now that Black Eyed Peas is so big, it’s hitting
people like “Whoa! Ya’ll come from the same place Dr. Dre comes
from?” Yeah, that’s crazy huh? When Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and
all these people left, Eazy E went to the LA underground and found MCs
to ghostwrite and be a part of his camp, and I was one of those guys.
Ruthless Records was influx
after Eazy E passed away and the whole infrastructure of Ruthless Records
was trying to get over the fact that Eazy was gone. And we were some
group on Ruthless [Records], but it didn’t become relevant until recently,
selling 30 million albums. So, in 1997, who cared? Yeah we put
out albums, but it wasn’t a big story. In 2000, we put out the second
record. The people who talked about it talked about our affiliation
with Eazy E, but it wasn’t until recently that anywhere you go on
the planet, people know who the Black Eyed Peas are.
AllHipHop.com: Most producers
out of California have a distinct sound, but your sound is so unique
because it isn’t distinct. Is that something you had to work
at, or was it natural for you to go against the grain? Will.I.Am : That was a result
of how we got put on. The person that put [Black Eyed Peas] on
passed away and then we had to get back on, and we got back on through
performing with a band. We’re not on because I did a track for
such and such that blew up and now I’m getting my shot. We got on
because we kicked and knocked down walls, and we did a whole bunch of
s**t. So for me, I loved producing and I hated saying “That s**t’s
wack.” Like, if you can’t do something, then it’s not wack.
This is just me personally, but if you don’t know how something was
made then you can’t comment on it. So I can’t say an MC is
wack if I don’t know where his influence is. I would practice and
do samba songs, or Hip-Hop, or soul ballads. I built all that information
from f***in’ with musicians and trying to flip different styles of
music. That’s why I can make a record for The Game, then do
“Hip-Hop is Dead” for Nas, then turn around a do “Big Girls Don’t
Cry” for Fergie, and still work with John Legend on “Ordinary People.”
I just love music.
AllHipHop.com: We talked about
how you guys became popular, recently. Do you think that was in large
part due to the addition of Fergie? Will.I.Am : I think Fergie being
in the group was a definite bonus, but if we didn’t do the NBA campaign,
the iPod commercials, or the song “Where’s the Love?” I don’t
think people would’ve cared. What that song did alone was make everyone
pay attention to the group, because everyone was on the same accord.
So if we didn’t have those things, it would be no different than with
Esthero. We did a song with a white girl before, same s**t, but
Fergie added fuel. She’s beautiful, she sings great and she has a
story. And after that story is told, she’s dope.
AllHipHop.com: Now with the
addition of Fergie and dumbed down lyrical content, to many you became
predominately pop. Do you feel the need to validate yourself in
the world of Hip-Hop? Will.I.Am : See, I care but
I don’t really care, because I know what I am. I know what got
me into music and the things I’m inspired by. I know my capabilities
as a beat maker, a producer, an MC and a dancer, and f**k it, a graffiti
artist. The thing that saddens me is that there’s a flaw in Hip-Hop.
Hip-Hop is the only culture that doesn’t keep the things relevant.
In rock & roll, people are always talking about the clash, punk
rock, and they keep their music relevant. Like, the only people benefiting
from Public Enemy, sadly but true, is VH1. Sorry, that’s f***ed up.
That ain’t nobody’s fault but Hip-Hop’s fault. Hip-Hop should
be making all that loot. There should be a f***in’ Hip-Hop infrastructure,
not just little things that fans build that turn into things like AllHipHop.com.
Hip-Hop has turned into a disposable lifestyle, where someone else profits
from it.
So I care but I don’t care,
because when you say Hip-Hop you say “they.” When you talk
to Nas, Premier or The Game, they view me as Hip-Hop. I mean, was Heavy
D Hip-Hop? Yes. Was MC Hammer Hip-Hop? Yes. All of them are Hip-Hop.
AllHipHop.com: You’re working
with like, the entire pop culture roster right now, with Michael Jackson
at the top of that list. Will.I.Am : Michael Jackson
is dope. Working with him has taught me a lot, just talking and asking
him questions.
AllHipHop.com: Speaking as
objectively as possible, do you think he can make a smash record like
Off The Wall or Thriller ever again? Will.I.Am: I don’t think
anybody can do that. Justin Timberlake can’t even do that. I don’t
think he’s supposed to even do that. That’s what we talked
about in the studio, like “Let’s not compete with you.” I mean,
they don’t even make records anymore. Even if you came out with
Thriller today, it won’t sell what it sold [then].
AllHipHop.com: Anyone else
on the roster that you are particularly excited about working with? Will.I.Am: Whitney Houston,
Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Ludacris, Snoop, and finishing my record
really.
AllHipHop.com: How is that
project coming along? Will.I.Am: Good. I’m
working on two albums at the same time. Songs About Girls
is coming out on September 25th. That has songs like
“I Got It from My Momma.” The second one is called Black
Einstein, and that one is finished but I don’t know when I’m
putting it out. I have Nas, Kanye, Slick Rick, Common all on that album.
But I’m focusing on Songs About Girls right now.
AllHipHop.com: I just saw the
video for the first single “Got It From My Momma” and it reminds
me of Sir Mix A Lot’s Baby Got Back video. What are your views on
misogyny and it’s prevalence in Hip-Hop? Will.I.Am : I think it’s the
same as in every form of music on the planet and movies. That’s
just the mentality of humanity right now. It isn’t just on Hip-Hop.
I was watching Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
and I seen a n***a kick a chick in the t####. But people are like,
“That’s so fresh.” Let 50 Cent talk about the same thing and he’s
labeled a woman abuser. Hip-Hop just gets a bad rap, no pun intended,
because it’s made by Black people.
AllHipHop.com: Talk to me about
Musicane. Will.I.Am : Right. There
is this player with this company I’m a part of called Musicane. You
go to musicane.com and you download the player to any site, and if someone
comes and buys the song from your player, then whoever has that player
gets paid when I get paid. Black Einstein
will be released on the player and Songs About Girls
will actually launch [the player] when it is released.
AllHipHop.com: And I know it
isn’t scheduled to be released until next year, but what’s the deal
with BEP’s next album? Will.I.Am : We’re gonna flip
the script on that one, because we flipped some marketing s**t on that
project too. It’s going to be dope.
AllHipHop.com: For you, where
does the production process begin and where does it end? Will.I.Am : It depends.
It can develop just from this conversation right now. I can take
what you just said, “where does it begin, where does it end?” and
we can develop that into a hook, or that could be the melody. [begins
to make the beat with his mouth and sing the melody] Then we can add
some bass and strings, and then I can start adding my rap. Or
it can start with a beat. The way the cuff drops could be hot.
Then you build on it with the piano. Or I can hear two people
talking, not even in the same conversation, and if you combine it together,
that could make a hot melody.
AllHipHop.com: I wish I could
see you doing this. In 2007, do you feel that the Hip-Hop producer has
to open up to the idea of more than Hip-Hop in order to garner the mass
appeal of Hip-Hop artists such as Jay-Z and Kanye West, who have worked
with the Adam Levines, Jon Brions and and Chris Martins of the music
industry. Will.I.Am : I think Hip-Hop
producers, today, need to know what Hip-Hop means in order to call themselves
Hip-Hop. And once you know what Hip-Hop means, you’ll go out
and start to realize that Hip-Hop is everything. Hip-Hop is James
Brown, Led Zeplin, Sly and the Family Stone, gospel, blues…it borrows
from everything. Hip-Hop is the most open-minded form of music
because it feeds off everything to make it Hip-Hop. But it has become
so close-minded because we stopped doing that. So if there’s any group
that embodies what Hip-Hop truly is on the planet, I don’t give a
f**k what anybody says, that’s Black Eyed Peas, because we incorporate
all the elements. So if somebody says we ain’t, f**k them.
