How Natalie Portman Brought the Black Eyed Peas to Harvard in 2000
Current Harvard student will.i.am revealed Natalie Portman organized the university’s first-ever hip-hop concert.
On a new episode of “will.i.a.m Presents the FYI Show” on The 10s Spot (Ch. 11), will.i.am revealed that his recent experience studying at Harvard Business School was not his first time on the Ivy League campus.
When a fellow Harvard student invited him to party in the dorms, will.i.am said he told him, “No, no, bro. I’m studying in the dorm. And what you call partying is not my kind of party because I party for a living. And so I need to study so I can change the next version of how I’m gonna be living.”
He shared that he’s only performed at a few clubs during his time at Harvard — “and Harvard clubs are different from my touring clubs,” he added — which reminded him of when the Black Eyed Peas had a show on campus over two decades ago.
“Back in 2000, the first hip-hop show to ever be at Harvard was The Roots and the Black Eyed Peas,” will.i.am said. “The people that brought us to the show was Natalie Portman and Tatyana Ali. They were students at Harvard … And so that was the first time I set foot in Harvard, performing in one of their, like, prestigious halls.”
Natalie attended Harvard from 1999–2003 and Tatyana from 1998–2002. Both received bachelor’s degrees.
When will.i.am graduates from Harvard Business School this year, it will be the first time he takes part in a traditional graduation ceremony.
“In 12th grade, graduating from high school to college, I had a record deal. I had my mind set, so I didn’t go to my graduation … So this is going to be the first time I walk the stage, you know, and it’s a big deal for me,” he said.
New episodes of “will.i.am Presents the FYI Show” debut every week on Thursdays at 9pm ET on The 10s Spot (Ch. 11) and the SiriusXM app.
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