The Creative Meaning Behind the Stage Name will.i.am

The name will.i.am has taken on multiple personas. Born William James Adams Jr. in 1975, the future rapper and producer was raised in inner-city Los Angeles by a single mother. Long before he was the founding member of the Black Eyed Peas, Adams began crafting his identity as a rapper, his talent catching the attention of another iconic rapper. Below, we look at the evolution of will.i.am’s stage name.

Meaning Behind the Stage Name

Adams was raised in the low-income neighborhood of Boyle Heights. In an effort to foster her son’s musical talent, his mother Debra sent him to public school in West Los Angeles. During high school, Adams helped form the hip-hop group, Atban Klann, where he operated under the stage name Will 1X. The group caught the attention of N.W.A’s Eazy-E, who signed them to his label, Ruthless Records. Atban Klann was a featured guest on “Merry Muthaphuckkin’ Xmas” off Easy-E’s 1992 EP, 5150: Home 4 tha Sick, with Adams also serving as co-writer on the track.

Before he was Will 1X, Adams adopted the stage name will.i.am when he was a teenager. “I remember my first rap, I was 13. So I said, ‘Mam do you think I could change my name to will.i.am and not William?’” he recalled to OK! UK. “And she said, ‘If that’s what you want to be called – I like it!” The name also captures his creativity.  “I liked playing with words,” he told The New York Times in 2011. “I noticed that my name was a sentence, meaning one with will, who is strong-willed.”

The name also holds a somber personal meaning. The singer’s birth name comes from his father, William Adams Sr., whom he’s never met. In fact, the singer didn’t know what his full name was until he saw his birth certificate at the age of 25. “That’s not your dad; I’m your dad,” will.i.am said in an interview with New Zealand Herald, quoting his mother. “When people make mistakes, as far as people that they fall in love with … Well, that man doesn’t have the right to be called your dad. That’s a very powerful name that you have. You’ve utilized it. It’s his fault that he didn’t live up to that name.” 

Her perspective about her son living up to his name is valid, as will.i.am has become one of the world’s most famous singers and producers. After Atban Klann, he founded the Black Eyed Peas where he served as a singer, songwriter and producer on some of their biggest hits including “Where is the Love?,” “Imma Be” and “Boom Boom Pow.” As a producer, he’s worked with Britney Spears, Black Eyed Peas bandmate Fergie, John Legend, Nas, Mariah Carey, Rihanna and countless others.

(Photo by Jaime Nogales/ Medios y Media/Getty Images)