Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Music

Will.i.am’s heart hurts for today’s fame-hungry youth

The 43-year-old Black Eyed Peas frontman on where he found his entrepreneurial spirit and why he doesn’t consider himself to be 'political'

“I don’t know what the f**k the word ‘star’ means,” says will.i.am. “When I was growing up, I didn’t want to be a star, I just wanted to take care of my mom. I wasn’t even looking for a record deal.”

It’s here, half way through this week’s Letter To My Younger Self, that it becomes obvious Black Eyed Peas frontman and The Voice judge will.i.am is the product of decades of hard work, sincerity, and and a steadfast entrepreneurial spirit.

“It hurts my heart when young people tell me they want to be a star,” he tells The Big Issue. “I didn’t actively chase a record deal until Eazy-E passed away in 1995 and we started the Black Eyed Peas and I thought, I know what a record deal is now, and we need one.”

The singer also talks about his friendship with Black Eyed Peas bandmate apl. “The reason I am who I am today is because I met that kid at 14,” will.i.am says. “When Eazy-E died… doors were shut in our faces. But we kept going, ‘til one day we both went back to the Philippines together as the Black Eyed Peas. And the people who used to call this little kid Nub Nub because he was half-black, they celebrated him as a Filippino national treasure. I saw how he felt. And I felt like it was me coming home too.”

Shop The Big Issue’s will.i.am collection

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Big Issue vendors are back!

It’s not just the shops that are opening again. From Monday 12th April onwards,  Big Issue vendors are back in business, with a big smile and a stack of magazines. Buy from your local vendor today!

Find out more
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

READER-SUPPORTED SINCE 1991

Reader-supported journalism that doesn’t just report problems, it helps solve them.

Recommended for you

View all
What's behind the enduring appeal of Paul Weller?
Music

What's behind the enduring appeal of Paul Weller?

Homelessness 'should not exist in a country that values human life', says Alt-J star Gus Unger-Hamilton
World Homeless Day

Homelessness 'should not exist in a country that values human life', says Alt-J star Gus Unger-Hamilton

Tosca's Russian soprano row sees politics replace performance for Royal Opera
Music

Tosca's Russian soprano row sees politics replace performance for Royal Opera

Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie: 'It was hard to get artists to take part in Gig for Gaza'
Bobby Gillespie
Music

Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie: 'It was hard to get artists to take part in Gig for Gaza'