(antiMusic) Black Eyed Pea will.i.am gets pretty candid in a new interview published in the October issue of Radar. He defends the much maligned "My Humps", talks a bit about the hypocrisy of Al Gore's Live Earth, "branding" music and of course a little about his new solo album, Songs about Girls. Radar's publicist was kind enough to send over some highlights from the article for you to enjoy, if you want the full interview you'll have to pick up the October issue. Maybe this will convince you. will.i.am On Live Earth: "When Al Gore asked me to perform, I was like, 'Wow, that sounds great, people coming together to stand for something." But then I was like, 'Wait a second, it's sort of hypocritical to throw a concert. Everyone there is going to be drinking water out of plastic bottles.' It can't be the consumer that changes the world, it has to be governments that make laws for corporations and demand they produce alternatives. We won't stop buying things, so give us something else to f*cking buy!"
On turning Black Eyed Peas into a "global brand": "People don't mind doing a song that goes on the radio right after a commercial. That money comes from Jergens and Coke. If your song gets huge, soon you're playing the Staples Center, which is branded, too. So brands help bands from the beginning. I was like, 'Dude, I've always liked Dr Pepper, and they're going to let me play my music.' So f*ck it."
On accusations that the Black Eyed Peas have lost their mission: "Some people could say 'My Humps' isn't art, and I'd say, cool. But I think it is. Also, our biggest hit ever was 'Where Is the Love?' which is a very political song."
On his new single, "I Got It From My Mama": "It's about a guy going out to pick up girls and thinking it's true that if your mama's hot, you're hot. And if your mom's busted, then nine times out of 10, you're about to be busted, too. I came up with it because my ex-girlfriend's mom was hot. Everyone knew it."
