Joanna Lumley Meets will.i.am

This programme contains some strong language

It's not often you get to hang out with someone you're really intrigued by.

Somebody from a totally different world from your own.

So when will.i.am invited me to visit him at home,

I couldn't resist.

It was a chance for me to get to know this huge star.

What has really intrigued me is about having the time to get deeper into people.

Bring the action.

Discovering what that person is like. What they think about.

What their childhood was like, maybe.

What they dream about in the future. What the present day holds for them.

Will.i.am has invited me to spend four days with him

in his home town, Los Angeles.

He's famous both in America and in Britain.

And his opinions are even sought by presidents - past and present.

He is an extraordinary man.

From all the research I've done, he just never stops talking.

Unlike me, of course.

-# We sing... #

-I can't wait to meet him.

# I want to scream and shout

# And let it all out, and scream and shout and let it out... #

# We sayin'... #

# You are now now rockin' with will.i.am and Britney Bitch

# Oh, yeah

# Oh, yeah... #

Will.i.am was born William Adams, 38 years ago, here in Los Angeles.

He's not only a founding member of the chart-topping band

the Black Eyed Peas and its driving force, he's also been sought out

as a producer by Michael Jackson and U2, and has worked with a

gaggle of pop princesses like Britney, Rihanna and Cheryl Cole.

He's also a DJ, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

In fact, it's fair to say he's become his own global brand.

Hi. Can I just look around?

-Yes.

-Thank you.

Will is also something of a fashionista with his own distinctive

look and style and I couldn't turn up at his home empty-handed.

You don't happen to know will.i.am's size, do you?

Yeah, I think we probably have it on file.

-Would you?

-Yeah.

Cos I think this is an ideal place to get him a gift.

-I wanted to bring him something.

-Yeah, absolutely.

And I thought that if he... This is great, if he likes these things...

Oh! I think he'd like that.

That's beautiful. Oh, look at these.

-Oh!

-That one's definitely great.

-Look at these! I like men dressing like peacocks.

-I like...

-Yeah.

..men dressing up a bit. That is sensational.

-Is it because I love it so much?

-Yeah.

Maybe it's because I love it so much. I'd wear that.

Yeah. I definitely could see him in that, performing in it.

-Could you?

-Yeah.

-Thank you.

No, obviously not. Just joking.

I've never shoplifted anything in my life.

You've been so kind. Thank you very much indeed.

-No problem. Nice to meet you.

-Thank you.

Present sorted, I meet the man himself tomorrow.

But what do I call him?

Do I call him will.i.am, Will or just Willy?

Mr Adams, or Sir, or Will, or...?

Gosh, I don't know.

When will.i.am isn't globetrotting, he lives in Los Feliz,

an affluent part of LA.

It's so fascinating,

cos it's incredibly suburban in a very grand way here.

It's got its own thinking, hasn't it?

Is that it?

Yeah, this is it.

OK.

Hello.

Hello? It's Joanna.

-OK. One second.

-Thank you so much.

"Apply brake to shift from P."

There we are.

Now.

Do these look like will.i.am cars, I wonder?

Wow, is this it?

This must be it.

Down the steep drive.

Hi, I'm Joanna.

Will has lived in this three-storey Spanish house

for the last five years.

Thank you.

Oh, this is fantastic.

We're right on the side of a hill.

Hello. I'm Joanna.

Nice to meet you.

How lovely to meet you. Thank you very much indeed.

'It looks like Will isn't home.

'His entourage is, though.'

Hi, how are you?

-'These are obviously the people who help run Will's life.'

-Thank you so much.

'They include his older brother Carl, who cuts Will's hair.

'Apparently, he's done this since they were boys.'

Joanna. It's really good to meet you.

I hope you don't mind me just, sort of, hanging around.

Polo Molina. I'm Will's manager. Very nice.

I'm so pleased to meet you. Thank you very much.

-Thanks for this.

-This is so nice.

-Sorry to keep you waiting.

-You never kept us waiting.

'I learn that Will got back late last night from a whirlwind trip to

'Kazakhstan and a stopover in Washington.'

What are you discussing at the moment?

Oh, we're just looking at the schedule which is

always subject to change, so we're looking at re-slotting a

couple of things for this afternoon to make sure we can get it all in.

-Yes.

-And just juggling a few things.

-We'll get it done.

-We always get it done.

Cos, you know, I get, like, anywhere between four

to five requests a day for Will to do different TV show publications.

-It's like juggling.

-I think we have a system, right?

-It's the way...it just IS.

-Organised confusion, but...

-Yeah.

-..we still have a system.

At last, will.i.am arrives.

-Hello.

-How are you?

-Good to see you.

-It's good to see you. Thank you so much.

-Hi, everybody. Oh, thank you.

-It's so strange to be in your house when you arrive. Sorry about that.

-Oh, that's cool.

-Here we are.

'But before I know it, he's off again.'

Fix the hair, please.

Let's go get you fixed up real quick.

He's just gone to kind of, maybe tidy up a bit. Not tidy.

He looked really tidy to me but, you know, just get shaped up

a bit for the camera, because big stars look their best at all times.

I wish I'd gone to look a bit cooler.

While Will smartens up, I take the opportunity to look around the house.

There are curious pieces everywhere.

I thought I could hear water. What is that?

A fountain on a tree trunk. Isn't that phenomenal?

Look at this. That looks so, sort of, Japanesey.

How old is this house?

This house has gotta be close to 100 years old.

-Really?

-I would think so.

-Yeah.

-Maybe 80 or 90 years old.

-Yeah.

-There's little stairwells everywhere.

Cos the little steps we came down were so cute and lovely.

-Hello.

-Hi, Will.

-How are you?

-Oh, hi.

-Good to see ya.

-Thank you so much.

-How was your trip?

-It was great. How was your trip?

-Oh, it was tiring, but I'm good.

Listen, before...can I... I bought you a present.

-You did?

-Do you mind? Can I just bring it to you?

-She's my favourite.

-Is she?

-Yes.

Will you look at it?

Wow! This is super-fresh.

Yeah, buttons.

Oh, thanks, Joanna.

-Oh, man, you look so good in that.

-Actually matches my shoes, too.

Yeah, it matches everything.

-What!

-Cool strides. Good pants. Look at these.

I saw one of these lovely little old-fashioned gramophones you've

got out there, which you've had adapted so that it plays.

-Is that right?

-No, I made that.

-You made that?

-Yeah.

-What - you found pieces? Can we just look at this?

-OK.

Yeah, so this puppy actually works.

Um, the power was on.

Oh, I don't have the power at the moment.

Yeah, I just made it work.

Wow! Good.

Aw, shucks. The needle's busted.

Oh, no.

Oh, well.

So sorry. I did want to hear it, though.

I'd just love to hear the sound coming out of that.

'Then I noticed a cabinet full of awards and photos.'

-Hold on.

-Is it locked?

Yeah, I'll get the key.

I think that Will is away so often that he doesn't stay here

very much, cos things seem to be, sort of, switched off and locked.

-So this is a Grammy Nominee. That means we didn't win.

-Yeah.

And then these are Grammies for the Black Eyed Peas.

This is a Emmy.

What's that?

-This is from the White House.

-Oh, look at that.

-At the Oval Office.

-Look at that.

And that's the President's writing? "To Will. Thank you for the great support and music."

-And music.

-And music.

Will used his stardom and musical talent as a potent force

in Barack Obama's election for President

by recording the campaign song Yes We Can.

This time in 2007, I suggested that we take his speech

and turn it into a song.

# It was a creed written into the founding documents

# That declared the destiny of a nation, yes, we can

# It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists

# As they blazed a trail... #

Those are inspirational words, you know,

coupled with the song that I wrote, moved the needle

and he went from trailing Hillary Clinton to leading Hillary Clinton.

So it was like, you know, a moment in the election that shifted

-the whole entire election, that's all.

-Yeah.

And when it comes to, like, issues that help shape community

and society as a whole, I really took that whole experience to heart.

So, to me, it was far beyond politics.

For me it was like a social awakening on how I can help.

The need to help, to do something more, seems to define Will

and his family may hold the key to his deep sense of social responsibility.

-So this is our little living room here.

-I love the way you've done it.

It's got a really cool feel to it. It's beautiful.

Some more pictures of my mom, my brother and my sister, Qiana, me.

Then our Christmas party with Oprah.

So we're a big family. We are.

We have a huge family. Like, there's 50 of us.

Mom was very strict.

We couldn't say words like "lie". Sorry, Mom.

We couldn't say "damn". We couldn't say "S-H-I-T".

-No.

-We couldn't even say, "Oh, shoot!"

Do you think she got that from her mother?

-She got it from my grandma.

-Yeah.

-My grandma was real special.

My family is big on prayer and her and her best friend, Miss Williams...

-Mmm.

-...they blessed the house.

-She talked really (GENTEEL) like this.

-Yeah.

Mmm, mmm. Yes, she sure did. Thank you, Jesus.

Yes, mmm-hmm.

But she passed.

Yeah, I'm sorry about that.

She sounds a honey.

Do you have a picture of your grandma?

Yeah, yeah. Hold on, I'll get it.

That's her there.

That's beautiful. What occasion was that, do you think?

Just a random Sunday, going to church.

She dressed up beautifully for church.

-Yeah. So I saw the Queen. She had a hat like that once.

-Mmm-hmm.

And I'm like, "What! My grandma dressed exactly like that."

Oh, that's excellent.

What does that say above the doorway?

"Where is the love?

"If you only have love for your own race then you only leave

"space to discriminate."

-Yes.

-Did you write that?

Yeah, I wrote that. I did that.

-Will, will you show me the recording studio?

-Yeah.

There's no doubt that his way with words

fuelled the success of the Black Eyed Peas.

They've sold zillions of records all over the world.

Look at this wall! More awards! American Music Award.

American Music.

Monkey Business. Black Eyed Peas.

This is where I recorded I Got A Feeling and the Yes We Can song.

# I got a feeling

# That tonight's going to be a good night

# That tonight's going to be a good night... #

I could make beats here all the time.

So how would you start doing a song?

How does it come into your head?

Is it the beat that starts it?

So with I Got A Feeling, the music came first

and then with Boom Boom Pow the sentence came first.

It was a Brazilian word that means derriere, derriere, derriere.

# Boom! Boom! Boom! Gotta get that

# Boom! Boom! Boom! #

But I don't want to make that song about it.

That was a polite way of saying derriere.

Cos my mom's going to be part of the show,

so I'll stay with derriere.

Will, you play keyboards? You play drums?

-I barely play the keyboards.

-Mmm.

-Like, enough to write music.

-Yeah.

But if I was jamming out and the MD, the music director said, "Solo",

I'd have a hard time soloing.

And drums I could barely play enough.

-Show me.

-I can't play like our drummer, Keith Harris.

I hope I have sticks.

If I needed to write a song, I'd come in here

and put my headphones on.

That's all I need.

So then I'll go on my computer, chop it up a little bit.

Then go to the piano then add all my parts.

Then the drummer will come in here and he'll make it...

-he'll perfect that.

-Yeah.

-So I'll just have the sketch, because I want the personality of the beat.

When people are hearing at the club or if they're hearing at a

restaurant or a social gathering, I want them to go,

-"Boom-boom-Ka. Ch-boom-cha..."

-Yeah.

-"Ch-k-hey-ch. Ch-k-yah-ch."

Oops! I just like doing, like, all kinda crazy things, you know.

Well, the last time I recorded here was 2012.

-I thought I was doing something like, yeah, man!

-But you were.

Yes, but compared to what I'm doing now.

And I have a meeting today

about this piece of technology that I invested in.

Man, watch when you see it. It's outta this world.

Are we going to see it?

-I'll let you see it. Not the cameras, though.

-Oh, no, OK.

But it is freakin' whoa!

We ready? Let's go.

-Cool. So can you give us a couple a seconds?

-Yes.

So Will's down there with about five really important guys

and it's some huge, very important techno kind of wizardry

conversation going on which was really important to do today,

so we're kind of tactfully leaving it aside.

It's rather exciting.

I mean, something might be happening there which we'll all know about in the future.

I wait for Will in the garden.

I'm not sure how long his meeting will take.

When you're with him, you can feel the energy - his mind racing ahead.

I can't imagine he could do what I'm doing now -

just sit still and think.

How did the meeting go?

Oh, great. I have to fly to San Francisco tonight.

-Tonight?

-But I'll be back tomorrow morning.

-Do you ever sleep?

-I slept today. About four hours.

I usually get, like, four hours of sleep a day.

-Four hours?

-Mmm-hmm.

-That's not a lot.

-That's a lot.

-Is it?

-Yeah. You know what you can do with 20 hours?

Will's best friend is Allan Pineda, better known as apl.de.ap,

co-founder of the Black Eyed Peas.

# All, all these girls they like my swagger

# They callin' me Mick Jagger I'll be rollin' like a stone... #

And he's dropped in to see us before flying off to Australia later today.

# Rockin' just like that

# Big mega radio smasher... #

How long have you guys known each other?

Literally for what, this? Little tiny guys?

No, since we were 15.

-15?

-14.

So this is...this is your brother.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, my best friend.

And I was adopted from the Philippines and brought to the US.

-That's how we met.

-Yeah.

-And he asked me, like,

"Dude, so, you know, you're from the Philippines."

He's, like, "What do you guys do there?"

And I was, like, "Oh, you know, I like to break-dance

"and I just learned this dance move called the running man."

He's like, "The running man? You guys do the running man there too?"

I was, like, "Yeah".

So I guess I was doing it pretty goofy at first.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, cos his chest was out and he was like...

He was, like, like that.

So really you're supposed to just do it like this, right?

But I was like....

I was like it and then he started laughing.

Look at this dude doing the Running Man!

Did the group have another name before Black Eyed Peas?

Yeah, it was called Atban Klann, which was an acronym for

"A Tribe Beyond a Nation."

And then, eventually, started the Black Eyed Peas in 1995.

-And that was your name?

-That was, yeah.

And you thought that up together?

No. First it was, like, "What about Seven Sign?"

-"Nahhh. Blue Unit."

-"Yeah, what about Blue Unit?"

-BOTH: "Nah!"

-"How bout Beets and Rice?

"Nah!"

Yeah, so Black Eyed Peas. "What about Black Eye Peas?"

It just felt like it was...something.

The big breakthrough hit for the Black Eyed Peas came in 2003,

when their single Where Is The Love went to number one around the world.

So, Where Is The Love, how did that start, where did it put you?

Oh, so in 2001 we were living in San Francisco.

And then 9/11 happened. Boom!

So I remember, like, going to everybody's room, like,

"Dude! They just attacked America!"

And then we had a tour, September 12th, the day after 9/11.

And the result of that tour was we wrote

Where Is The Love in November 2001.

# Father, father, father, help us

# Send some guidance from above

# Cos people got me, got me questioning

# Where is the love? #

That's the first time we saw,

like, ginormous success with Where Is The Love.

-# We only got

-One love, one love

-# That's all we got

-One love, one love... #

We did it! We did it! Everything was against us.

The whole world was like, "Argh!"

And two people dreaming...did it.

Beyond what we thought we could possibly accomplish.

Do you think it was just a chance that both of you were

really outsiders at that point, when you met?

Because you'd just come fresh in from the Philippines, and you

were kind of one of the only black kids in the school, was that right?

-No, in my neighbourhood.

-So I think it comes from where we came from.

You know, Will coming from the ghetto

and me coming from the Philippines.

-You almost had no choice BUT to make it, you know.

-Yeah.

But, yeah, I think that drive of you making it,

you know, providing for your family,

-I think that's what, you know...

-Yeah.

..that kept us going.

WILL AND APL LAUGH

After Apl leaves for his flight, Will shows me round the garden,

which - like everything here - he's designed to fit in with his needs.

-So, eh, this is...

-This is beautiful.

-Yeah. So this is a little basketball court area.

-Yeah.

And I can't swim, so I built a pool that's three feet.

If we want to watch movies outside, we have a cool little blue thing.

-What, this is the screen here?

-Mm-hmm.

And I like looking here...

..cos on the other side of those buildings...

the downtown skyline is where my projects are from, my ghetto.

-Yeah.

-It's on the other side.

-The other side of that?

-Mm-hmm.

-Want to come meet my mom?

-I'd love to, yeah.

-So my mom is through here...

-Yeah.

..my uncle Donnie, my uncle Lynn, who played professional football,

-and then Miss Williams, my grandma's best friend...

-Yes.

..and my brother Carl.

'Will has invited me to join his family for supper at home,

'and the guest of honour tonight isn't me,

'it's Miss Williams, his beloved grandmother's best friend.'

LAUGHTER

-That's my mom.

-Hi. Nice to meet you.

-Can I call you Debra?

-Sure.

-Will you call me Joanna?

-Sure.

Lovely to meet you.

This is Miss Williams. Miss Williams, this is my friend Joanna.

-You're so beautiful.

-Oh!

WILL: I told you I'd take you by McDonalds!

-MISS WILLIAMS:

-OK, we going to pray.

Oh, dear Lord, we thank and we praise you.

We magnify your name.

Lift us up, strengthen us, teach us how to pray.

And that you do it with your mother and your grandmother.

They all taught you well how to do that.

This family shares a deep Christian faith,

and it's clear that Will's grandmother is missed by everyone.

And anyone else want to say a word?

WILL: I want to thank you for being Nanny's best friend.

And...

I loved that lady.

And I always will. Always.

To me, she's not gone.

Her spirit is still strong, and she just loved it

when we all came together like this.

You want to... Remember, William, you're doing great.

Your mother's very proud of you. She love you.

You a awesome son.

Yes, and we thank the Lord for you.

Yes.

'Will never knew his father.

'His mother Debra brought up the children with some

'help from her brothers Donnie and Lynn -

'who played American football professionally.'

-Amen.

-ALL: Amen.

You were a single mother, and yet it doesn't seem

to have affected your children in any way.

-They seem, the two that I've met, fantastic.

-Mm-hmm.

Did you consciously feel that you had to be

mother and father to them both?

No, I just thought that I had to be...the best mom that I could be.

Not trying to be the mother and the father,

but being the mother.

I tried to give him that, you know,

feeling that he can do all things.

Were you strict, do you think?

-Will says you were strict.

-I was very strict.

-Were you?

-Mm-hmm.

My mom raised eight kids. None of them have gone to jail.

So I figured, "Well if she did things this way...

"..and everything turned out fine",

then I wanted to do the same thing that she did,

then I had to be strict.

So me and Nick was in Kazakhstan and they was like,

"Why don't you try some of this horse?"

-'Will's immense fortune and position now...'

-'Mm-hmm.'

..has it affected your relationship with him in any way?

No. You know, we're still close. When he's down or if he gets sick,

the first thing he does is he picks up the phone.

"Mama..." you know, "..my throat is hurting."

Or, you know, "My stomach is hurting."

-He still, to me, he's Willy.

-Mmm.

And he's left Will.i.am at his house.

Much has been written about his attention deficit disorder,

or ADHD. Do you think that was real,

or do you think it's just that he's got

a very lively mind which skitters and changes

and picks up lots of different things?

Well, I know that he was hyper. He was very hyper.

-Was he?

-As a kid, yes.

He walked at six months, you know.

He was just like everywhere. Nothing could hold him.

As soon as one project ends, comes to a completion,

even before the project is completed, in his head

he has another project that's getting ready to start.

HE SCRATCHES RECORD

DRUMS KICKS IN

# Yeah, hip-hop, you don't stop.... #

'Will promised me he'd fix the gramophone,

'and true to his word, he has.'

# We up in the place rocking, it's cool

# I don't want to curse cos I'm up in here

# I be up, up in the atmosphere... #

'He's determined to please, which makes him all the more endearing.'

Scratch. HE SCRATCHES RECORD

-Mess it up. Anyways, yeah, it works.

-Fantastic.

MUSIC: "Good Morning" by Will.i.am

So this is the morning after the first day of meeting Will.i.am,

which was, to me, a revelation.

What thrilled me was that I was allowed to come

right into the heart of his family, who are SO important to him.

And then to meet Apl.de.ap, his childhood friend who'd come

from the Philippines with his own extraordinary story,

and to see these two young men who'd made friends just as kids

in Boyle Heights, which is just miles away

and as different as can be from where he lives now.

Ever the gentleman, Will is picking me up at my hotel.

He's taking me back to his old neighbourhood.

-Hi, Will.

-Hi, babe. Mmm.

-Thank you for picking me up.

-Oh, thank you.

Let's go.

God, I've just seen your gold shades. Woo!

-Yeah, those are my gold ones.

-Fantastic.

-You look hot in those.

-Woo-woo!

-What's up, Joanna?

'Will's father left before he was born,

'and his mum often struggled to make ends meet.'

When you're growing up and you're, like, seven, eight, nine,

you don't know you're poor,

-especially if everyone else around you is poor.

-Yeah.

I didn't even know what poor is.

Then you realise it, like, when you're 14.

And you start comparing... Comparing things.

"Why are my shoes like this and my schoolmates' shoes are like that?"

Like, "Ma, do you have any money?"

"Boy, you ain't got no change."

-Like, "Wow!

-She probably didn't even have a dollar, did she?

-No.

Just breaks my heart now, thinking about the fact that my mom,

she probably wanted to say yes, but couldn't.

Half an hour after leaving Hollywood we arrive in Boyle Heights,

the area Will grew up in.

Back then, gangs were commonplace.

They still are, and the risk of young people getting involved

or caught in the crossfire is very real.

Yes, these here are the rival projects, is what they call them.

And then, a gang in this low income housing is called...

I don't want to mention it.

And then on the other side is where my neighbourhood is,

and that's a gang over there.

-And did you clash?

-There was clashes and shootings.

-Really?

-Drive-bys and deaths.

What was the neighbourhood like?

Was it a bit tempting for children to go off the rails, do you think?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-Yes.

I was a bit younger than the other mothers in our neighbourhood...

and to see the way some of the kids were going,

I used to be worried.

You know, because he was so here and there and here and there.

I used to protect him a little bit more.

My older son, he can go out to play, but Will, I kept him inside.

I protected him.

'This is a neighbourhood of social housing,

'or "projects" as they call them here.

'Will lived in Estrada Courts.

'His was the only black family in this

'predominantly Latino community.'

Good to see you. Where's your mom?

-She's in the house.

-Oh, tell her I said hi.

-OK.

-So that new little black girl?

-Yeah.

She's the only black girl in the neighbourhood.

-Is she?

-Hi, Will.i.am.

-Hello.

-Like my new doggy?

-I like it.

-My little friend.

-It's your dog in there?

-It's a dog!

You thought I was sporting a new purse or something?

-No, I thought you went shopping.

-This is a Chihuahua?

-Yeah.

What a little beauty. Hello, sweetheart.

-Oh, he's very well-behaved too.

-Hello, baby.

Shit, I was going to sneak up on you!

You can't sneak up on a playa.

She used to have a crush on my uncle Donnie.

-Still do.

-LAUGHTER

-How you doing, man?

-Ahh, man! It's been a long time, man.

-I know.

Oh, man. I remember when you used to be dancing right here.

-Shit, about 30 years ago now.

-Yeah.

LATINO MUSIC PLAYS

My mom was strict. She was like, "You can go outside and play"

" - right there on that grass!"

-Just this little square here?

-Yeah. So I'm like, "Ma, can I go outside?"

I only could play here.

-Oh, Will, that's...

-So if you remember, everyone said,

"Hey, I remember you dancing right here."

Because I only could come here.

So if she'd seen me here, I would have to go inside.

So usually I would always be here, dancing right here.

HE SINGS TO HIMSELF

Doing my little dance. I couldn't go there.

I couldn't go there. I couldn't go anywhere else but here.

LATINO MUSIC CONTINUES

And they always used to play that music.

Mexican. There's my old house.

(Hey.)

KNOCK ON DOOR

-Hi.

-Hey, hey! Hello.

-How are you?

-How are you?

-Good.

-Hiya.

If we may just look around and just see how it was when you were here.

Seemed a lot bigger when we were... No, wait.

So the mirrors were here. Doo-doo-doo.

And...

TV was there sometimes. Mom moved it around.

And this was a little heater, but my friend Hector

lived on the other side, so we used to talk through the heater.

Nice gramophone.

-Which was your bedroom?

-This way.

-This one?

Yeah. This is me and my brother's bedroom.

-Yeah. How was the room set out then?

-Oh, we slept on the floor.

On the floor?

So before, when we were little, we had bunk beds,

-and then when we got a little older, we just slept on the floor.

-Yeah.

Wow! It seemed a lot bigger when we were little.

But you were just a little guy, don't you think?

They added a shower. We didn't have showers.

And this was my sister's room. Mom's room sometimes.

HE HUMS TUNE

Thank you. Thanks.

I bet you don't remember me.

We were always outside running around,

and you'd give us candy sometimes.

Yeah, cos we used to go get candy from the candy lady over there.

Thank you, guys.

Oh, happy birthday!

'Will stays connected to where he grew up.'

Be good in school too.

And me?

'He's keen to contribute to the education of neighbourhood kids.

'Last year, he donated computers to their library.'

-How you doing?

-Good.

-Had a meeting at the White House...

-No kidding?

-Three days ago.

-Uh-huh?

And I left President Obama this brochure on

how I want to turn my community around. Hopefully he responds.

There's no reason why every kid shouldn't be here utilising it.

-Sure, yeah.

-And it's great that, you know, it's staffed properly.

PUPILS AND WILL LAUGH

See you later.

'Will believes that getting a good education was what

'opened his eyes as a young boy.'

All right, we have to jam on it.

# Get down on it Come on and get down on it... #

'He wasn't educated in his own neighbourhood, he was bussed to a

'school nearly 20 miles away from home

'when he was only eight years old.'

So they were enrolled in the Magna Program, which is

basically a higher learning, gifted.

-You know, smart kids.

-Yeah.

The bus was anywhere from an hour to an hour and 45 minutes.

-Each way?

-Mm-hmm. Every day.

-It's quite a thing for little children, isn't it?

-Mm-hmm.

-But it was worth it?

-It was well worth it.

Today, we're making the journey in Will's 100,000 Tesla,

which he's told me is the ultimate electric car.

-It's like the best car in the world.

-It's brilliant.

You just do that...

Amazing!

-It's fast.

-Yeah.

-Really.

-Yeah.

-See, I told you.

-Oh-oh-oh!

HE RAPS: # Zoom-zoomy

# That's what they call me when I'm in my car with a lotta room-roomy. #

The school was in the wealthy Brentwood district of Los Angeles.

But this was like 30 years ago.

-Hello. Alice Taylor.

-Hi, Miss Taylor.

Welcome back. I'm the principal.

-Good to see you.

-You're the principal?

-Yes.

-Whoa!

-A-ha.

-You're the principal?

-Yes.

Wow! The principal used to be much older.

Let's go this way.

Thank you for not hitting us, boys.

See, some things never change.

It's over here.

Will is looking for his old classroom where his favourite

teacher, Mr Wright, taught.

The sixth grade with Mr Wright and I think it was room 33.

Yeah, it was room 33, my sixth grade teacher's class.

Dude, it is room 33. It's Mr Wright!

Oh, good to see you.

Surprise, huh?

It's crazy.

Yeah, this was our room, right? I'm pretty sure.

Yeah. I was right there.

Yeah. I haven't seen this.

My wife dug it out for me.

Those are the teachers and there's your class.

Yeah. There I go, look at me.

We had a lot of fun, though, in this class.

Was Mr Wright a special teacher?

I mean, it's quite odd to say it when he's standing here.

-Oh, no. So there's...

-Influential.

..two teachers that...

Well, not even teachers, two people that actually moulded how

I look at the world and how I see myself.

It's Mr Wright first who, when we graduated, I remember that day.

-I was, like, I thought...

-I remember it too.

..I wasn't going to graduate. I was, like, crying.

Like, "Am I going to graduate?"

He was, like, "Just ask questions."

You know, and ever since then I've been curious

and asking all the while these questions.

Yeah, that's great.

That's great. I always try to do that.

You can be your own teacher, you know.

Can I have your autograph?

-Can I have your autograph?

-What's your name?

Always everybody call me Jamie Foxx.

They do, cos you look like Jamie Foxx.

See you later.

Thank you.

Bye, guys. Bye.

# Great times are coming

# Coming down the boulevard

# Coming down the avenue

# I can see it from a bird's eye view

# Here come the good times... #

Just when I think he's driving me back to the hotel,

a tireless Will decides to show me a venture very close to his heart.

This programme that I started called EKOCYCLE.

Yeah.

So I came up with the concept in 2008.

Pitched it to Coca Cola in 2009 and it became an official thing in 2011.

-And it feels like regular cloth.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-These pants I'm wearing are EKOCYCLE pants.

-Stop it.

-Yeah.

I daren't put my hand across on your leg

cos that would be wrong but I'm going to do it.

-Fantastic.

-Yeah.

That feels like smooth mohair or something. Really beautiful.

It's an uphill battle to turn what one would call

waste into aspirational fabrics.

People come to things slowly.

I heard that in advertising you have to say something seven times before people get it.

-Tell me about this.

-Oh, remember I was telling you in the car?

-Yeah.

So, like, this is a water bottle.

So they take a water bottle and they turn it into these flakes, right?

Yeah.

Sheesh!

Then they refine those flakes to even thinner flakes.

-Then they turn them into...

-Cotton wool.

-Cotton.

-Yeah, cotton.

Then we take that cotton wool and we turn it into this thread.

-That's extraordinary.

-Yeah. And then we weave that thread...

-Feels like silk.

-..into fabric.

Wow!

So that's the process.

This is almost unbelievable, isn't it?

Or we take it and make headphones.

Oh! That's a tail coat! Please!

Yeah.

My husband's a conductor - do you think I could ever get him

into one of these again?

This is so nice. He might wear this.

He doesn't like the pompous ones.

-Am I allowed to buy this?

-No, that's a gift.

-No, it can't be a gift.

-OK, cool, that'll cost 2,000.

Amazing. Amazing.

Oh! I just love this.

I mean, this is surely one of the most extraordinary

sidelines for somebody who's kind of a rock idol.

The man amazes.

Whoa!

You feel the torque.

-Did you feel that?

-Whoa!

It's crazy.

That was us going zoom, wasn't it?

Yeah, that was that we just did.

RAP MUSIC

Well, Will, thank you so much.

-Thanks, Joanna.

-Thanks for today.

-See you later.

-Thank you, babe.

-See you later.

-See you tomorrow.

So, an extraordinary day. I've got this sensational Coca-Cola bottle.

I mean, can you believe it? Miracles or what?

# I went to sleep last night

# Tired from the fight

# I've been fighting for tomorrow all my life

# I woke up this morning

# Feeling brand-new... #

I have to keep reminding myself that will.i.am makes music but you can

sometimes forget that with his enthusiasm for new technology

and what it can do.

He's launched products through his own hardware business,

taken a computer science course...

But his biggest investment to date is a state-of-the-art building

appropriately called The Future.

This is the place that Will has been longing to show us.

The technology I think he will have installed there will be mesmeric.

I won't understand a lot of it

because I'm extremely stupid about things like this.

There's a truck the size of a train coming past us.

Anyway, driving in his car with him,

that fantastic car which is electric and white

and seemed to be about as futuristic as you can get, he already found

that the technology in that has been leapfrogged, is slightly outdated.

He's going, "This wouldn't work with that because that would work with that."

He's thinking, in a way, light years ahead. It's fascinating.

Is Will around?

Hey, Willy! What is this?

-How are ya?

-Good to see you.

Good to see you too.

-Want to do a tour?

-Would you do that?

-Yeah. Yeah.

As you can see, we're still doing construction.

Oh, shucks. I'll be right back. I'll come in from the side.

-I'll guard the door for you.

-Wait for me there.

Oh, God!

So when it's all complete and it's all finished it'll be

the ultimate audio, visual, social creative facility.

-Over there, on that side, is, like, our vocal booth.

-Yeah.

So, when this is complete, this will be the editing facility.

You don't have to wait,

like, five months to do a video or five months of fine product for it.

It all happens here.

It's like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Remember Mike Teavee? That was my favourite movie, Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory.

I used to love Willy Wonka.

-So, in a way, it's like today's Willy Wonka.

-Yes, it is.

Except for I'm Willy and I'm chocolate and this is my factory.

So now the only light that's in the room is coming from the walls.

And here is our conference room.

So, over here, is where the 3D printing will be.

So here's our rest room.

Oh, look at this!

Oh!

We haven't been in here, have we?

No, I'd have recognised this guy.

This is for the comic book

that I wrote called Wizards And Robots.

This is our lead character for our comic.

We have all the technical details of how he operates and what he's made of.

And just one red eye?

-Well, he doesn't really need eyes.

-He doesn't need to see.

The world of comics, that's not my world

but I respect that world.

-Yeah.

-My world is music, entertainment.

Being here in The Future with Will shows all the different aspects

of his grasshopper personality

but the heart of this whole place is still a recording studio

and he's about to create a song for me from scratch.

I'll call it Joanna.

Joanna.

I realise that it's in here he feels most at home

and perhaps it's here that I'll find the real man behind the music.

Right, so now I've got that. Boom-boom. Boom-boom. Ba-doom-boom.

No, that was very George Of The Jungle.

Let me get rid of that. I didn't like that.

Me in the house with Joanna-anna.

I'm in the house with Joanna-anna-wanna.

I got my little rhythm. I got a blueprint. Jam!

Shazam! Now I gotta put some music in there, right?

Some instruments. Some emotion.

HARSH BLEEP Not that.

Will, you seem to me a sort of person who, no matter what you've achieved,

you're always taking risks. You're always going a bit further.

-Why is that, do you think?

-I remember living in that ghetto, coming from nothing,

and I never dreamed I would have a studio like this.

What do I want to do? Imagine you won the World Cup.

First thing you'd say is, like, "Man, we did it!"

It's cool. It's going. It's growing, it's growing.

Pretty cool. Almost got it.

Almost got it.

That's cool.

You're just about to do your first solo tour, is that scary?

Feels weird.

Why?

Because I'm used to performing with the Peas.

I miss my group. It's going to be a great show.

Let me get this chord right.

I don't need to make music any more, but I love to make music.

But there's something else I have to get. I'm reaching for something else.

MUSIC PLAYS

That's it, right there.

Yes! Then, it's rockings. Then, it's rockings.

'I'm ignoring my problems and I'm paying attention to my dreams.'

HE SINGS TO HIMSELF

'So, you just got to put yourself in the situation of opportunity,

'optimism, confidence,

'determination, discipline,'

surrounding yourself with good people.

You know?

Good people. That's how you get there.

Even though I love my neighbourhood that I come from.

We still go back there.

But I love my neighbourhood, but, damn, imagine I stayed there?

What?!

Imagine I never met apl. Life would be fucked.

Imagine I had a different mom. What?!

Or my brother was a... You know, if he went the other way

and joined a gang, my life would be fucked.

And I never would've had this place.

Don't be afraid of the dark.

Look inside, grab your heart, let it shine, let it shine.

If it's dark outside, shine your light.

Oh, shit, that's nice.

# Don't be afraid of the dark

# Grab your light in your heart

# Cos you will be all right

# You will be all right. #

If you had to think of one word

that's most important to you or that sums you up

or that would be, kind of, like a little beacon.

Will.

Not in an egotistical way, either. Just the will

and not the thing you write before you die.

The will... To have will... Determination.

To have strength, courage - will.

MUSIC PLAYS

# You'll be all right

# You will be all right

# You will be all right

# Don't be afraid

# Of the sky

# Spread your wings Then just take to the sky

# And just fly

# And just fly

# You won't fall, you won't fall Cos you know you can fly

# You'll be all right

# You will be all right

# You will be all right

# You will be all

# Right, all right, all right... #

-That's cool.

-Fantastic!

-Thanks, babe.

-Thanks, Joanna.

I love you!

HE SINGS

'That was just extraordinary.'

'We spent four hours in there and, like a patchwork quilt being made,

the privilege of watching Will gradually putting

the piece together, the way that he does it.

He invented that song while he was sitting there.

He hadn't thought of it before. Fantastic.

It's going be called All Right.

Whoa! I was there.

It's my last morning in Los Angeles.

I thought about Will in the recording studio last night

and just how aware he is of where his story might have ended

without his family's deep love and support.

I feel he is grateful to them every day.

He has asked me to meet him back at Boyle Heights,

before I go to the airport.

He wants me to see his charity, i.am College Track.

It's a programme that helps local kids go to college.

So, here it is.

-i.am College?

-i.am College Track Centre.

And my aunt works across the street, at the police station.

So if any of our students get out of hand,

we're connected to some pretty cool people.

So, let's go meet some of the kids.

Thank you.

Hi.

-We've only been doing this for two years now.

-Yeah.

Expected outcomes by 2016 -

100% of seniors will graduate from high school, 95% will be eligible

for a four-year college and 75% will graduate from college in six years.

Will kick-started this after-school programme

and helped raise the 15 million needed for the building

and for teaching 120 students.

-He come from the same projects as me. What street?

-100th Street.

Yeah, that's where my grandma used to live, on 100th Street.

My aunt used to live right down the street from there.

ALARM WAILS

# Clear the place!

-# Clear the place! #

-They want you out!

'Will is a conscious philanthropist.

Last year, he donated £500,000 to The Prince's Trust in the UK,

to fund enterprise schemes, with a focus on technology.

Will.i.am - that means future eye.

This i.am College Track is,

sort of, everything he's really been dreaming of.

This extraordinary thing of, not so much giving it back,

but passing on all the good luck and all the fortune and love

and support and inspiration he had.

'Unlike most people in the world, he wants to pass it on.

'A lot of people just go, "Oh, well, I was lucky and that's the way

"it was." Keep their doors shut. Will's got all his doors open

'all the time.'

Gosh, the sun's beginning to set and I've got to go now.

-Oh, have a safe flight.

-I hate it.

-I'll see you in London.

-I'll see you in London.

-Maybe see you backstage?

-I will. Can I?

-You take care.

-You, too. Doo-wop. Bam! Boom! Wham! Jam!

THEY LAUGH

-Bye, Will!

-Bam! Boom! Wham! Jam!

This man has become a bit of a hero for me.

I get why he needs to give back. It's his way of saying thanks.

For now, it's goodbye LA and goodbye Mr Will.i.am.

Well, it's a month since I left Will in California

and now, this is mid-winter in England and Will's coming over

to do his first solo gig, at the O2 Arena, which is just extraordinary.

# If you love it like I love it

# And you feel what I feel inside... #

And I know he's a bit jittery about doing a solo gig.

Not jittery, he's never jittery, he's not a jittery guy,

but this is the first time he's performed on his own.

It's something else. It's really thrilling.

I wonder what it'll be like.

I wonder...

-FAKE DRAMATICISM:

-I wonder if he'll remember me.

20,000 fans will see Will tonight

and a lucky few get to meet him backstage.

-I like your shirt.

-Thank you!

Good to see you again.

-Hey!

-Are you talking, Will?

-No, no.

-Are you doing stuff?

-Good to see you.

-How are you?

-I'm all right.

-It's great to see you.

-Good to see you, too.

-Yeah.

-I'm in your city.

-Yeah. You're here.

-It's your city, as well.

-Yeah, but it's your city first.

-No, you're an honorary Brit. You are.

-No.

-You are.

-Kind of.

I wanted to ask you something - is it going to be odd without the Peas?

-This will be show number four.

-Yeah.

-So...

-How was the first show

-without them?

-The first show was emotional.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, that brings some water in the eyes.

-Did you start?

-No, I controlled them. I was gangster about it.

-Yeah!

-Last thing you want to do is be like boo-hooing on stage.

-Sure.

Will, what do you do? As an actor, before we going on stage,

we do, kind of, mouth exercises...

Do you do anything before the show?

-We go on the internet.

-Yeah.

-We Google things.

We talk about what we did wrong yesterday, try to fix it. We laugh.

-What time is it?

-Time we left.

-6.48.

-Auf wiedersehen.

-Danke schon.

-Bye-bye, babe.

-Bye-bye.

Danke schon, in German, means "I thank you".

Will has only got 15 minutes to change before the show begins.

And in the arena, the anticipation is building.

Have a great show. It's going to be so fantastic.

-I'm real nervous.

-I love you, Will. Come on! Don't be afraid.

-I'm not afraid. I'm nervous. Nerves are good.

-Nerves are good.

You just control them.

You're beautiful.

-See you soon.

-Bye-bye.

MUFFLED CHEERING AND CLAPPING

Let's do it.

With his charm and courtesy, his energy, generosity

and inventiveness, Will.i.am is surely a Renaissance Man

for our times. And I've enjoyed every moment of being with him.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

# Bigger, better, stronger, power

# I got that power

# I got that power

# I got that power

# Power, power, power

# They call me Will-A

# Stay so cool, I'm chilly

# I done made that milli

# On my way to that billi

# Used to have a piggy bank

# But now I got that bigger bank

# Who cares what the haters think?

# They hatin' on me cos I'm doin' what they can't

# I stay on that hustle I flex that mental muscle.... #