The E.N.D. Is Nigh for Black Eyed Peas

Fergie, will.i.am and the gang reveal a June 9 release for their first new studio album in four years

Four years ago, the Black Eyed Peas got it started. Now, they've come to The E.N.D.

At least in name.

Fergie, will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo have announced a June 9 release date for their long-anticipated acronym-friendly new studio album, the Peas' first batch of fresh material since their Grammy-winning Monkey Business was released back in 2005.

Reconvening after a couple of übersuccessful bouts in the solo arena, the group is also expected to launch a world tour in conjunction with the release of the album, which stands for The Energy Never Dies, though dates and cities have yet to be confirmed.

"Boom Boom Pow" is on track to be the group's first single, though how many more may follow it remains to be seen.

"When [the album] comes out, there'll be 12 songs on it, but the next day there could be 100 songs, 50 sketches, 1,000 blogs all around The E.N.D., so the energy really, truly never dies.," a philosophical will.i.am told Billboard last year.

"I'm trying to break away from the concept of an album. What is an album when you put 12 songs on iTunes and people can pick at it like scabs? That's not an album. There is no album anymore."

While there may not be an album, there will be, per the politically-active, Oprah-approved rapper, "a lot of dance stuff, real melodic, electronic, soulful. We call it, like, electric static funk, something like that."

In other words, The E.N.D. is shaping up to be a whole new beginning.