<P> The Black Eyed Peas were ranked 12th on Billboard's Decade - End Chart Artist of the Decade, and 7th in the Hot 100 Artists of the Decade . At the 52nd Grammy Awards ceremony, held in January 2010, they won three awards out of six nominations . In November 2010, they released the album The Beginning . In February 2011, the group performed at the Super Bowl XLV halftime show . </P> <P> The Black Eyed Peas date back to 1988, when eighth - graders William Adams (will.i.am) and Allan Pineda (apl. de. ap) met and began rapping and performing together around Los Angeles . The pair signed to Ruthless Records (run by Eazy - E) in 1992, catching the attention of Eazy - E manager Jerry Heller's nephew . Along with another friend of theirs, Dante Santiago, they called their trio Atban Klann (ATBAN: A Tribe Beyond a Nation). Will 1X (aka will.i.am), apl. de. ap, Mookie Mook, DJ Motiv8 (aka Monroe Walker), and Dante Santiago formed Atban Klann . Their debut album, Grass Roots, was never released due to Ruthless Records founder Eazy - E's death . </P> <P> After Eazy - E died in 1995, Atban Klann reformed and changed their name to Black Eyed Pods, and then Black Eyed Peas . Dante Santiago was replaced with Jaime Gomez (Taboo), and Kim Hill became a steady background singer . Unlike the "gangsta rap" sounds of Los Angeles - based hip hop acts at the time, the trio performed with a live band and adopted a conscious musical and appearance style . After being signed to Interscope Records and releasing their debut, Behind the Front (1998) the group (and their accompanying live band) earned critical acclaim . One of the singles from the album was "Joints & Jam", and was featured on the Bulworth soundtrack . Singer Sierra Swan joined in 1998, appearing on the 1998 song "Fallin' Up", before she left in 2000 . Their second album, Bridging the Gap (2000), produced the singles "Weekends" featuring Esthero and "Request + Line" featuring R&B singer Macy Gray . Hill left the band while producing the album, but was still featured on the album tracks for "Hot" and "Tell Your Mama Come" as well as in the video for "Weekends". </P> <P> Their third album Elephunk began development on November 2, 2001, but was not released until 2003 . It was the first album to feature the vocals of current member Fergie . Nicole Scherzinger was originally approached to join the Peas, but was forced to decline because she was a member of Eden's Crush and was under contract . Fergie joined the group in 2002, introduced to will.i.am by Dante Santiago . Elephunk is also the first album that indicated and demonstrated the new, polished pop sound designed to attract mass audiences . In a positive review of the Black Eyed Peas' new - found style, Rolling Stone noted that since 2002, when the group "hired a blond bombshell named Stacy' Fergie' Ferguson and gave up their pursuit of backpack - rapper cred, they have made a kind of spiritual practice of recording futuristic songs--a total aesthetic commitment that extends from their garish wardrobes to their United Colors of Benetton worldview ." </P>

How did the black eyed peas get their name
find me the text answering this question