Black Eyed Pea is Shoshone

Taboo of Black Eyed Peas Rejects Super Bowl Hate, Says He's OK With Role in Group

By Nicki GostinFresh off his halftime performance at the Super Bowl, Black Eyed Peas member Taboo spoke to PopEater about the controversial show and also about his memoir called 'Fallin' Up,' which details his beginnings in east LA and his rise to superstardom. Amazingly, Taboo's troubles really began as the band became an international success. You guessed it, the usual 'Behind the Music' stuff, lots of drugs and alcohol and the birth of a son when he was just 18. He's been clean and sober for more than three years.

In our chat, Taboo (born Jaime Luis Gómez) brushes off criticism of BEP's much-derided set in Dallas and swears that he's comfortable being a side player in the group. He also opens up about the onslaught of misfortune that nearly sunk him just as the Black Eyed Peas were making it big.And:Did you write this book mainly to let people know you're actually not Asian?

(Laughs) Yeah, I let people know I'm a Mexican-American from east LA, and I'm Shoshone Native American, and I represent my Latino culture to the fullest. Everybody always mistakes me for Filipino or Japanese.

I'm also letting people know me as an individual and showing my vulnerable side and that I'm actually a funny dude. I'm not a scary guy with long hair that's a ninja, that's beating up people on stage. There's a perception: Oh, that's the ninja guy, the kung fu guy. All that stuff was me putting up a front because I was high or drunk. I had to pretend I had a hard shell.Comment:  For more on Natives at the Super Bowl, see Maya Pyramids in Kia Commercial and Native Commercial on Super Bowl Sunday.