As a 15-year-old rapper growing up in L.A. and dreaming of hip-hop superstardom, will.i.am wrote a song and titled it “#willpower.” Now seven Grammys and 33 million album sales later, The Black Eyed Peas frontman is gearing up for the release of a solo album bearing the same name as that glory-seeking track he authored as a kid. The first solo effort since The Black Eyed Peas’ platinum-selling 2010 release The Beginning, #willpower once again finds the songwriter/musician/producer fulfilling his dreams of music-world domination.
The follow-up to 2007’s solo CD Songs About Girls, #willpower builds on its predecessor’s bold fusion of hip-hop, R&B, and electronic/dance music to offer up the latest of will.i.am’s irresistibly infectious and genre-warping party anthems. The standard album’s 15 hook-heavy tracks showcase more than a dozen A-list guest artists, ranging from pop mega-stars (Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Nicole Scherzinger, Miley Cyrus) to a highly inspired mix of up-and-comers (including Dutch dance diva Eva Simons, South Korean girl group 2NE1, singer/songwriter Skylar Grey and seven-year-old rapper Baby Kaely). Also featuring fellow BEP member apl.de.ap—and, perhaps most outrageously, the 70-piece, Prague-based Czech Symphony Orchestra—#willpower sees will.i.am expanding his sound by sharing production duties with leading-edge collaborators like Dr. Luke, Cirkut, Benny Blanco, Afrojack, Swedish House Mafia’s Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso, Lazy Jay, and FRESHM3N III.
