How Eazy-E discovered will.i.am at 16 years old
Will.i.am is one of the most successful hip-hop artists of all time, having worked with some of the biggest stars ever and making so many wildly popular songs, but like everyone else, he started out as a kid with big dreams.
Will needed to catch a break as a young artist, and, in the early 1990s, it came – Will crossed paths with a hip-hop legend, who would prove essential in launching his career… It’s not as commonly known as one might expect, but Eazy-E was crucial to making will.i.am what he is today.
Will became involved in hip-hop as a high school student, first by getting into breakdancing – he was part of a crew for a while, but then he and another member, his future Black Eyed Peas bandmate apl.de.ap, decided to break away to start their own rap group… They called their band Atban Klann.
Operating under the stage name of Will 1X, Will used to enter rap battles around this time, which is where he first caught the attention of Eazy-E, whom he once described in an interview as having been “a different kind of dude.” It was a fateful meeting.
Characterising Eazy as “an entrepreneur”, Will credited Eazy’s presence in his 16-year-old life as providing him with the “vigour,” “fearlessness,” and sense of “individuality” that helped him to find his own voice without worrying about what other people thought. It was crucial for his development.
Eazy took the Atban Klann group under his wing, signing them to Ruthless Records in 1992. He even included them on his own EP, 5150: Home 4 tha Sick, featuring them on the track ‘Merry Muthafuckin’ Xmas.’ It was their first credit on a song.
Plans were made for an Atban Klann album, Grass Roots, but it never made it into the world… When Eazy-E died in 1995, that project was derailed forever, and without their mentor around anymore, they felt a need to reinvent themselves.
Atban Klann became the Black Eyed Peas, and Taboo was brought into the fold – the core of the group that would one day become world-famous was now in place, and they released their debut album Behind the Front in 1998. The singer Kim Hill helped them out.
Fergie joined later, and the road to superstardom opened up before them… They became one of the most successful rap groups of all time, but, despite their immense fame and the attention paid to them, few understand just how crucial Eazy-E was to their development.