American rapper, singer, and songwriter William James Adam Jr., or as his fans would know him, Will.i.am is a multi-talented entertainer with several acting and producing credits under his belt. He is also primarily known for being the leading member and the founder of the music band called Black Eyed Peas, a popular hip-hop group.
The rapper was born in Los Angeles, where he lived with his mother, and it was while he was still in school that he met Allan Pineda. He two joined by a few others and formed the rap group Atban Klann, a rap group that focused majorly on social issues.
This group came under rapper Eazy-E‘s radar, who pursued and pushed them to sign a contract with his label, Ruthless Records. In 1995, they changed their name, first to Black Eyed Pods and then to Black Eyed Peas. The band finally released their first single called “Joints & Jam” in the year 1998. The band took over the music world and became the trend in no time. Will.i.am has been a part of the group right from its start, and the musician even confirmed that there is a high chance that the band will get back together.
The artist, Will.i.am, has also continuously released solo music over the years while also working behind the scenes for other famous artists like A.R. Rahman, Michael Jackson, Justin Beiber, Britney Spears, David Guetta, 2NE1, Nicki Minaj, and so many others.
While the artist has put out great music for his fans both by himself or by being a part of some collaborative effort, he has also managed to be extremely controversial and embarrassing in public. Let us take a look at musician Will.i.am’s string of controversies over the years.
Will.i.am Controversy
The forty-eight-year-old rapper has received major backlash from fans and media on a lot of different events, be it his blackface scandal to accidentally stealing a song to defending late singer Michael Jackson on his statement about the holocaust.
His first big controversy was with Michael Jackson when he was being called out for the alleged rumors of him sexually abusing and grooming minors and really young kids. And when the entire world was out to get him, Will.i.am decided to defend him in a strange way. He said that we indulge in a lot of things that are presented to us by people who are not all that morally correct, and nobody calls them out.
His idea was that there are many bad people in this world, so what if there is one more? Obviously, fans did not appreciate this remark, and he ended up facing major backlash. When this controversy died down, the rapper appeared at the VMAs with an all-black outfit and face painted all black.
It caused quite an outrage as fans called him out for wearing ‘blackface’ to the award show, with some even comparing it to the racist blackface minstrel shows of the 19th century. Will.i.am once again defended his actions saying that the black mask had no racial intent, that it was only there to create an all-black outfit.
Another controversy that surrounded the rapper after some time was one related to the copyright infringement of a song that he released with artist Chris Brown called Let’s Go, which to many sounded very similar to another song by a Russian artist, DJs Arty, called Rebound.
Will.i.am commented on this topic in a radio interview admitting that he based his song on the original one, but DJs Arty revealed that he had not received any notice or compensation regarding the matter. He gets into scandals, admits to doing things he should not have done, and then very nonchalantly moves on to the next thing.
While he has been silent and not involved in any controversy, in 2019, his technology company called i.am+ had several delinquent property taxes, and the total amount with interest actually went up to $1.78 million. Though this was a private legal matter that not many people seemed to care about. The rapper seemed to have withdrawn from his music career, inclining more toward technology and expanding his businesses more.
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