The Black Eyed Peas

If it’s possible to condense the evolution of hip-hop into a single entity—embodying its street perspectives, pop dominance, and global multicultural appeal—it’d be the Black Eyed Peas.

The union of rappers will.i.am (William Adams) and apl.de.ap (Allan Pineda Lindo) dates back to hip-hop’s early-’90s golden age, when their L.A.-bred jazz-rap crew A.T.B.A.N Klann signed with N.W.A.

icon Eazy-E’s Ruthless Records.