Black Eyed Peas

Second, the music delivers a message that goes against type. The three Peas aren’t about obtaining a fine car and getting with the ladies. And while they have nothing against a good time, they’ve got more on their minds than having one.

If Will.i.am, Appl.d.ap and Taboo have their way, the word positivity will become a permanent addition to the hip-hop dictionary.

“We want to present an alternative for young people,” said Appl. “Kids don’t think past hanging out at the mall or wanting to get into a gang, or thinking about how much they can get. It’s like they get stuck in this one way of thinking and we want to show them that there’s more out there than materialism and that whole mind-set.”

Instead of constantly checking their image, the Peas have worked hard to portray themselves as diverse individuals who draw strength from each other. The chemistry between the three MCs has given the group the confidence to grow past the hip-hop stereotypes and they want their fans to have the chance to do the same.

“We’re not cocky,” said Taboo, “but we are confident as musicians and performers. We aren’t a typical hip-hop act. We don’t use DATs; we have a band. We don’t wear the dopest clothes. We’re not talking about the same hardcore stuff, standing there, grabbing ourselves.”

“And we’re into breakdancing even though that’s not a cool thing right now,” Appl added.

They may eschew the lifestyle popularized by the biggest names in hip-hop but the Peas have earned the respect of many of their most prestigious peers. Their very first national tour was Smokin’ Grooves ‘98, which meant sharing the stage with Public Enemy, Cypress Hill, Wyclef Jean and Busta Rhymes. It was an elite package and a huge break for the young band.

“It was like going straight into the NBA,” Taboo said. “It was an honor to be on the same stage as these cats. They challenged us and we worked hard to show that we were worthy of being on tour with them.”

It’s good that this group likes a challenge because their business team is pushing them a little further all the time. The Peas don’t play it safe; the three MCs continue to make their own way, taking on tours that put them in front of some decidedly difficult audiences.

Smokin’ Grooves was quite an initiation process but at least they were playing for a hip- hip crowd. Then last winter, the Peas were on the Sno-Core tour with alt-rockers Everclear and hardcore rapper Red Man.

“It was a great experience performing for that audience,” Taboo said. “They weren’t really used to our kind of hip-hop; they were on a totally different level – hearing it with different ears. We love that different energy. It was really good for us.”

“By the third song, the punk kids got more into it than the hip-hop audience,” Appl said. “They’d get into the dancing when they saw that we were having fun onstage. There’s a segment of the show where we let the kids come up and show their dance skills, and then we join in with them after the show.”

The ability to interact with the crowd and adapt to its particular vibe is an intrinsic part of a Peas gig. “It’s like mental telepathy between us, so we can just go for it every night. We’ve become a lot tighter, a lot closer, because of all the touring. We can really improvise,” said Appl.

The Peas can get away with those spontaneous outbursts because they are so well rehearsed and they have a band that can roll with them. “We have a lot more freedom because we play with a live band,” said Appl. “I’m not knocking DATs, but when you rely on that, you’re stuck with it. We can do so much more with a band and we don’t wind up sounding the same every night.”

The constant touring has cemented the band members’ resolve to do hip-hop on their own terms. This summer, the Peas distinguished themselves as one the first hip-hop acts on the Warped Tour. They played all the U.S. dates, and if that wasn’t challenging enough, they were recording their next album on the tour bus.

“We literally have a studio on the bus,” said Taboo. “Being on tour gives us food for thought. I’m sure some of our daily experiences will influence the album.”

The new album will likely be different from the first in several ways. The Peas’ debut release, Behind the Front, started out strong but faltered when Interscope got caught up in Universal Music Group’s consolidation process.

“That shake-up at Interscope was a problem,” said Taboo. “It took the label eight months to release the second single. I think touring really kept the record alive.”

Yon Styles, the band’s manager, is already planning how the follow-up album will go down and he’s determined to see that it doesn’t fall through the cracks. “We’re shooting for an early 2000 release date but we’ll be marketing and promoting the record well before that,” he said.

The Peas have been test driving some new material live and will continue to do so through the fall. The band plans to announce some college shows and one-off dates in the near future.