Shut Up (The Black Eyed Peas Song) - Background and Release

Background and Release

will.i.am needed a female singer for the song, so he brought in Fergie. She helped out in most of the songs in "Elephunk" and eventually became the fourth member of The Black Eyed Peas in 2003. While Will, apl.de.ap, and Taboo were making the song, their girlfriends' phone calls would interrupt the session. Will said "The vibe was blown" and Taboo said "So we turned the negative into positive", by adding the problems they were having into the song they were making.

The song contains an uncredited sample of Kurtis Blow's "Tough".

"Shut Up" was not released in the U.S. but became an instant success internationally. "Shut Up" was released as the album's second single in late 2003, after "Where Is the Love?".

There is a remix version on the deluxe version of the fifth studio album, The E.N.D., titled "Shut the Phunk Up"

The Knee Deep/E.N.D. Remix samples the song Knee Deep by Funkadelic. In December 2010, Funkadelic leader George Clinton filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against will.i.am, Fergie and Universal Music. Clinton claimed that he did not give his permission for the sample and that his signature was forged on the release form.