The 2005 track “Bebot” by the Black Eyed Peas – apl.de.ap (left), will.i.am (center), and Taboo (right) – is experiencing a renewed surge in popularity on TikTok, introducing the Tagalog-language song to a new generation of listeners. – Photo courtesy of the Black Eyed Peas / Official social media image
The Tagalog-language album cut from Monkey Business is finding new life on TikTok, introducing the song to a younger generation of listeners.
The Black Eyed Peas have resurfaced archival clips of their 2005 track “Bebot” as the song trends anew on TikTok, driven by a wave of user-generated transformation and beauty videos.
“Bebot” appears on the group’s fourth studio album, Monkey Business, released in 2005. The track is rapped entirely in Tagalog by founding member apl.de.ap. The term “bebot” is widely understood as Filipino slang for a “pretty woman.”
In recently shared social media posts, members of the group revisited the song’s origins and its ties to the Filipino community in Los Angeles, underscoring apl.de.ap’s role in bringing Tagalog lyrics into mainstream American pop during the mid-2000s.
Although “Bebot” was not released as a major commercial single at the time, it later received a music video treatment in 2006, directed by Patricio Ginelsa. The video emphasized Filipino cultural imagery and dance, reinforcing the song’s diasporic identity.
apl.de.ap, born in Angeles City, Pampanga, has long been one of the most visible Filipino figures in global pop music. “Bebot” remains one of the group’s most direct Tagalog-language releases and a distinct marker of Filipino representation within their catalog.
The song’s current resurgence reflects a broader pattern in which catalog tracks from the 2000s gain renewed momentum through short-form video platforms. In this case, user adoption has propelled “Bebot” back into circulation, introducing its Tagalog verses and cultural references to a new digital audience.
