The Non-Stop Life Of Will.I.Am

Black Eyed Peas Producer/Rapper Expands His Creative Horizons

(CBS)  Both "Monkey Business," and "The Dutchess" were recorded while the Peas were out on one of their extensive tours.

"I have a pro tools rig that I carry in my backpack," he said. "Depending on how good the song is, we go to a studio in that city, but in some cities we don't have that luxury. In the Philippines or Korea they didn't have a studio."

Somehow, will.i.am is able to juggle his tour schedule with more projects than most people do in a decade, let alone in less than a year.

2"We had a real intensive Asian tour (in August), and before that tour we were touring Europe. Before Europe we were touring America, and we don't stop touring," he said. "I finished four songs for Kelis' record, three songs for Justin Timberlake's record, four songs for John Legend's album, 10 songs on Fergie's record. I finished two songs for Nas, three songs for Snoop, two songs for The Game, and finished scoring half of (a) movie, and 10 songs on Macy Gray's record. (All this) from January to now, including four tours around the planet. And (I) filmed and scored the Instant Def. ..."

He paused and added, "and three songs on Ciara's album."

Instant Def, a series of sci-fi short adventure films online featuring the Peas, was one of will.i.am's forays into filmmaking. "That was a very nice experience. I personally learned a lot filming it. It was just an idea at one point in time. For Snickers to come in and allow us to execute that idea; it worked for them and it worked for us."

Will.i.am would like to explore working on a larger film project. "I don't want do a large film project that's comedy," he said. "I want to have comedy elements inside the film but I don't want it to be all comedy like Instant Def is. I love (Instant Def), but I like the length of it."

In addition to his work on Instant Def, will.i.am scored half of an upcoming feature film called "Freedom Writers," starring Hilary Swank. The film's theme fits in with will.i.am and the Peas' multicultural sensibility.

"It's a movie based on a true story," he said. "These kids from Long Beach (Calif.), they were going to school in 1992-93, when all the interracial (problems) were going on (there) due to the Rodney King beatings. Koreans weren't getting along with blacks, blacks weren’t getting along with Latinos — they were all fighting. Hilary Swank ... is a teacher who influences them to read "Diary of Anne Frank," and that was the thing that bonded them together. They formed a crew called Freedom Writers, where they wrote poems about their childhood and their upbringing. It's a really great film."

Will.i.am did the title song with rapper Common, and did most of the scoring from his hotel room overlooking the Kremlin while on tour in Russia.

His main focus, though, is making albums, a process that has paired him with diverse artists from Sergio Mendes to Justin Timberlake to Stevie Wonder. Sometimes, worlds collide and the artists he's working with end up working together.

Will.i.am is nominated for a Latin Grammy in the Record of the Year category for the song "Mas Que Nada" from Brazilian piano legend Sergio Mendes' album "Timeless." On the album, will.i.am explored pairing hip-hop and pop artists with the pianist's bossa nova and samba beats.

"I remember when I first got with Sergio he was like, 'who do you want to put on the record?' I was just 'hoop dreaming,' like, yeah Justin (Timberlake), I wanna get Stevie Wonder, I could get Q-tip, I could get John Legend. All the people I said I can get I ended up getting, but it was all out of luck, it was all out of timing."

One night, will.i.am ran into Wonder at a recording studio. Will approached the Motown great and introduced himself. Wonder said he was a big fan of the Black Eyed Peas, and of Sergio Mendes, and immediately said yes to working on one of the tracks on "Timeless."