A.T.B.A.N Klann(A Tribe Beyond a Nation) was an American hip hop group composed of Will 1X, apl.de.ap, Mooky Mook, and DJ Motiv8. The Atban Klann were signed to Eazy-E's Ruthless Records. Will 1X (who later changed his stage name to will.i.am) 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.[2]
History
The group was signed to Ruthless Records in 1992 and debuted 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 shortly after being jailed for 6 weeks in early 1995 on a domestic assault charge, Mookie Mook would leave after an argument. The duo would stay with Ruthless until they were dropped from the label after Eazy-E died in 1995.[3] Will 1X would change his name to will.i.am and the Atban Klann would add Taboo and later Fergie and become the Grammy award winning band, The Black Eyed Peas.[3]
Grass Roots was originally planned for release at the end of 1993[4] for Ruthless Records, distributed by Relativity Records; 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".[4] 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 apl.de.ap and will.i.am from the Bridging the Gap photo-shoot in 2000.[citation needed] It was then remastered and released properly for the first time on vinyl in 2020 by Back 2 Da Source Records, which sold out.[5]
^Feely, Peter (September 23, 2013). "Will.i.am – exclusive interview". Time Out Dubai. Retrieved October 18, 2013. Eazy E signed us [me and apl.de.ap] back when I was in high school. We were in a group called Atban Klann and Eazy E signed us to his record label Ruthless Records. Eazy was an inspiration and an instrumental part of the beginning of my career.
^ abKellman, Andy. "The Black Eyed Peas". Allmusic. Archived from the original on December 10, 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
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