New Black Eyed Peas album

The Black Eyed Peas haven't released a record since their 2005 smash, Monkey Business, but frontman will.i.am (birth name: William Adams) has remained nearly as ubiquitous in pop culture as lady-Pea-turned-solo-star Fergie. This year alone, there were the much-watched celebrity-stuffed Obama videos he spearheaded, the score he co-wrote with legendary film composer Hans Zimmer for Madagascar 2, an Election-night appearance as a hologram(!) on CNN, and more recently, several newsy announcements the recent multiple-Grammy nominee sat down to discuss (or, in some very top-secret cases, beg off).

First order of business? A role in the upcoming X-Men Origins: Wolverine. "I’m a big fan," i.am says, "But I know I'm not allowed to say much. What I can talk about is that I’m in it and that I’m a mutant, John Wraith, and I have the power to teleport." He recently flew to London (the old-fashioned way) to work with U2 as well, but alas, on that topic his lips are even more sealed. "I can't say anything," he promises, "I swear!"

So what can can talk about? The upcoming BEPs record, due next spring and entitled The E.N.D. (a.k.a. The Energy Never Dies). "We’re gonna try to experiment with what a song is, what an album is," he says passionately. "The world’s different, and this is our attempt to get in on that. These kids that are on the Internet are utilizing all these tools, they’re being more creative than artists that have million-dollar contracts. So here we are talking about yesterday’s culture, saying what’s the first single or whatever. F--- yesterday, it’s about what are we going to do to define tomorrow. I’m really trying to push what it is and how we do it and why we do it. With technology, a song can do anything, and I don’t want to give away too much because I don’t want motherf----s biting on what I’ve been working hard for, but there will rollouts on my network, DipDive.com, rolling out different versions and different songs and interactive stuff...I’m moving away from the record business and starting the experience business."

Don't look for his Go-Bama stance to make any big waves on The E.N.D. ("it’s not fair to the people who aren’t as passionate as I am about the political endeavors," he claims), but do look for Fergie to return to the fold, refreshed and ready to reunite for a tour with the band through next summer. Says will.i.am: "We’re all one big family, you know? We didn’t break up, we still toured while she was promoting her solo record, and there’s no division because of our solo efforts. It pretty much made us appreciate what we bring to the table individually, and it strengthened us by knowing how powerful we are. There are certain things that BEP as a group does that we can’t achieve on our own.... We’re looking forward to new realms of ways to do things. Now that there’s no records stores, it’s gonna take some real visionary people to see around those corners and formulate a new plan."