Black Eyed Peas member Taboo was in town on Tuesday to debut his line of trainers, but he also shared some news that will make fans of the band very happy. Taboo was here to promote his limited edition shoes, a collaboration with Taiwanese company Jump. The four shoe models are the artist's latest project. 'I designed them. They represent my different moods: red displays confidence; gold shows that they are high-end, royal shoes; black represents nightlife. The white one is just an everyday sneaker you can go out with,' said Taboo, whose shoes, hat and belt were all red. 'I'm feeling confident today.' Taboo stands by the products, having worn them onstage for the Oprah Winfrey Show and the Grammy Awards. 'The first thing I had to make sure was I could dance in them because I have to move onstage. So they're comfortable, and they look great,' he says of the trainers. 'They are going to stand the test of time.' The four members of the group have long been branching out into solo projects, leaving many Peas lovers worried that they were teetering on the brink of a break-up. But Taboo feels these side ventures just make more people aware of their collective projects. 'Solo projects don't get in the way of our music production at all,' says the Californian. 'Fergie has her own records and shoes; will.i.am does endless production for other people; apl.de.ap works hand in hand with the Philippines. And now I have my own sneakers,' he said. 'They just add more publicity for the Black Eyed Peas. 'We're always supportive to each other. For example, when I had my sneaker launch party in New York, they were there to support me. We went to Fergie's launch for the movie Nine. We went to will.i.am's launch for the movie X-Men [Wolverine]. And they went to my launch of Street Fighter,' he says. After a long day of interviews, Taboo finally had a chance to sit down with Young Post. Although it was only his second trip to Hong Kong, the vocalist says all the band members loved the city. 'Hong Kong is one of the places that is very inspirational to Black Eyed Peas. The first time we performed here in 2006, it was such a great show.' Taboo's own love of the city stretched back much further than that visit, even though he hadn't been here. He started practising jeet kune do - a kind of martial arts founded by Bruce Lee - when he was 12 years old. 'Bruce Lee is my biggest inspiration, so his homeland always has a special place in my heart,' the 34-year-old said. Taboo, whose real name is Jaime Gomez, has had a very busy couple of years. As well as his work with the band and his shoe designs, he married his long-term girlfriend in 2008. They had a baby last year. He also took on a couple of movie roles, appearing in Cosmic Radio and Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-li. But all these extra-curricular activities won't deter Taboo and his bandmates from their shared goal, and Hong Kong fans have reason to get excited. 'We're going to have a concert in Hong Kong if not late this year, then early next year,' he said. 'I can promise that.'
