will.i.am

Indeed. will.i.am has helped steer The Black Eyed Peas into one of the most popular groups in music. They have sold 18 million albums worldwide, have won three Grammy awards and have been nominated for 10 total. The group, though, is a partnership amongst four people. “A will.i.am solo album is a different entity. It’s not a Peas record.”

On his own, will.i.am has established himself as one of music’s top producers. He has collaborated on tracks with Justin Timberlake, John Legend, Kelis, Nas, The Game, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Sergio Mendes, Carlos Santana, The Pussycat Dolls, Busta Rhymes and fellow Black Eyed Pea, Fergie. He has developed into a highly revered, sought-after musician, songwriter and producer. So when it came time to work on his solo material, will.i.am not only had a blank canvas on which to work, but a palette of A-list talent to team up with.

But SONGS ABOUT GIRLS is not a cavalcade of other people’s talents.

“I didn’t want to come out and say, ‘Hey, I’m a producer and here are all my friends,’” he explains. “I wanted to be my own man and do my own thing and really try out some ideas that have been bubbling in my head.”

Indeed, SONGS ABOUT GIRLS is a musically adventurous album that is solely from the funky, eclectic brainchild of will.i.am taking inspiration from a range of sounds from around the world. It is also a conceptual album, with a story rooted in will’s own personal evolution. While on the surface SONGS ABOUT GIRLS could be interpreted as an ode to the female gender, it is actually an album inspired by a longtime personal romance. “It’s about one particular relationship that, reflecting on it, I was really sorry how it ended up,' will explains. 'It was just me being a young dude making dumb decisions. But I was just growing up into a man, learning how to juggle a career with a relationship.'