Whether on stage or on asphalt: will.i.am and Mercedes-AMG have more in common than pure performance. As a car enthusiast, the musician and tech entrepreneur has always had an eye for the performance cars from Affalterbach – but above all he shares the brand's innovative spirit. The co-founder of the legendary Black Eyed Peas loves to question conventions and break down boundaries. With his progressive and innovative ideas, will.i.am is the perfect partner for the journey into a new era of electrified driving performance and a further step towards the exciting future of Mercedes-AMG!

How does it feel to be a part of the Mercedes-AMG family?

will.i.am: As a car-enthusiast, car-lover, collector and a builder of customs cars, this is an honor like no other. I have loved cars since I was a little kid, so much that I’ve built a couple of cars on my own. And to be acknowledged by AMG, to become part of the family is a dream come true.

Do you ever get nervous before you appear on stage or when you start filming a new video or are you cool as a cat?

will.i.am: I usually don’t get nervous anymore. I may get nervous when I’m working by myself, but when I’m working with my best friends and Black Eyed Peas bandmates I don’t get nervous.

Would you say that’s because of lots of experience, both behind the camera and in front of the camera you’ve been doing this for so long, that you just have a mental checklist of all the things you should do to make sure everything goes smoothly and you’re a detail-guy?

will.i.am: Because I like to solve problems and improvise, I love to improve. Improvising is my tool. I equip myself with the drive to improve. And if you know that your weapon or your skillset is improvisation, then that’s it. You don’t prepare yourself when improvising, you just do it. Fast-thinking and free-styling, that’s my shit, that’s my super skill. And as an improviser, you don’t prepare, you don’t rehearse. You just get into a freaking scenario and improvise.

How did it feel on the track?

will.i.am: The highest-level engineering makes sure that vehicle doesn’t wobble and is well-balanced. What held that vehicle back, from to its full potential, was me, the driver. This car has the best of everything to make sure that vehicle performs at its best. Then when a person like me gets behind the wheel, because I’m not Lewis Hamilton, it didn’t perform at its best. It goes to show you like: just because you want do it, doesn’t mean you can, because you didn’t put the right steps to equip yourself with all the skillset that’s needed to push and perform at its highest level. And desire is not enough. Desire and wanting to do it, this is not enough. And that’s what I realise.

Just because I wanted to get in a car, and drive with no limitations, on a professional racetrack…the desire to do that did not allow the car to go to it full potential because the limiting factor was me. They have the right engineers, they have the right scientist, they have the right freaking aerodynamic folks, they have the right freaking design of aerodynamic, they have the right freaking combustion as far of gasoline and electric, they have the right everything except for the person with the foot on the pedal and the hand on the steering wheel that was not equipped with Lewis Hamilton’s driving knowledge, that was overcome by „Uhh-oh“-nes. I had several „What-If“ questions in my mind while on the track, and it made me realise out of the car, where else do I need that same narrative in my  life beyond the track?