black eyed peas, kim hill, singer

Black eyed peas original singer tells why she quit

Singer and songwriter Kim Hill was the original lead vocalist for the Black Eyed Peas. But when pressure rose from industry executives for her to objectify herself, Hill decided to leave the group.

Hill shares her story for New York Times’ “Almost Famous,” a special Op-Docs series of short films directed by Ben Proudfoot featuring people who nearly made history — only to fall short.

It just started to get clumsy and messy,” Hill said. “You want me to grind on will.i.am in a bathing suit. That was being asked of me never by the guys. That was happening at an executive level. How far out on this plank do you want me to go?

Here’s the full interview: