A.T.B.A.N Klann ''(A Tribe Beyond a Nation)'' was a hip hop group whose members were Will 1X,

apl.de.ap Allan Pineda Lindo (born November 28, 1974), known professionally as apl.de.ap (), is a Filipino-American rapper, singer and record producer. He is a founding member of the hip hop group Black Eyed Peas. Early life Allan Pineda Lindo was born ...

, Mooky Mook, and DJ Motiv8. The Atban Klann were signed to

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. He is often referred t ...

Ruthless Records Ruthless Records was an American record label founded by Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and Jerry Heller in Compton, California in 1986, where all of the Ruthless trademarks have been owned by Comptown Records, Inc. since 1997. Several artists on the la ...

. Will 1X (who later changed his stage name to

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas. ...

) and apl.de.ap were first signed by Eazy-E when they were in high school and would later become members of

The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hil ...

History

The group was signed to Ruthless Records in 1992 and made their debut on Eazy-E's EP, '' 5150: Home 4 tha Sick'' on the track entitled "Merry Muthaphuckkin' Xmas". Soon after, the group recorded their debut album, ''Grass Roots'' which was to be released on October 6, 1994; however, the album was shelved shortly before its release, and Mookie Mook would leave in 1995. The duo would stay with Ruthless until they were dropped from the label after Eazy-E's death in 1995. Will 1X would change his name to will.i.am and the Atban Klann would add

Taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

and later Fergie and become the

Grammy award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

winning band,

Discography

Singles

*1994: ''Puddles Of H2O''

Studio album

''Grass Roots'' was originally planned for release at the end of 1993 for

, distributed by

Relativity Records Relativity Records was an American record label founded by Barry Kobrin at the site of his company, Important Record Distributors (IRD) in metro New York. Relativity released music that covers a wide variety of musical genres. When it entered in ...

; however, the album was put on hold. In 1994, the group released the first single from the album, "Puddles of H2O", as a CD single and promotional twelve-inch, with the B-side single "Let Me Get Down". However, with the band being dropped from Ruthless in 1995 it was not released at that time. The songs from the album later leaked and a cover was made using a photo of

and

from the '' Bridging the Gap'' photo-shoot in 2000. It was then remastered and released properly for the first time on vinyl in 2020 by Back 2 Da Source Records, which sold out.

Track listing

# "Open Your Mind" # "Put On Your Adidas" # "Goin for a Ride" # "Mountain Top" # "L.A. Borrio Woman Beater" # "Lord of the Flies" # "No Sequel" # "Focus on You" # "Quid Pro Quo" # "World's Gone Mad" # "Strollin" # "This Is Dedicated" # "Let Me Get Down" # "Duet" # "Puddles of H2O" # "Rain on Me" # "Eyougodah"

Personnel

;A.T.B.A.N. Klann * Will 1X - vocals *

- vocals *Mooky Mook - vocals *DJ Motiv8 - turntables ;Featured Artists *Dante Santiago - vocals *Mr Shaw - vocals *Dandillion - vocals *Huck Finn - vocals *Longevity - vocals

References

{{Ruthless Records Hip hop groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles Ruthless Records artists Black Eyed Peas