The Black Eyed Peas spoke with Variety about music and gender equality this past Saturday. The group (Will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo) was at the Sundance Film Festival to promote their new virtual reality experience Masters of the Sun. Will.i.am especially had something to say about the industry as a whole and how it has treated women.

“Music is probably … it does a really good job at diminishing the power of a woman,” said the musician. “And that’s really sad. Especially hip-hop, rock — sex, drugs, and rock and roll. A woman is a resource in that sentence. It’s sad.”

Will.i.am also touched upon the evolution of music and its treatment of women today. He cited old school acts such as Earth, Wind & Fire and the Isley Brothers, who he said used their music to give a "gentle admiration of a woman." As an example, he mentioned "That Lady," by the Isley Brothers.

“If that song had to come out today, it’d be like, ‘Who that bitch?'” he quipped.

The artist also touched on the Women's March as well as the #TimesUp initiative, which he believes “should have happened a long time ago.”

“A man doesn’t have the power to empower a woman,” Will.i.am said. “All a man can do is acknowledge the power of a woman. I don’t have the power to give a woman, when a woman gave power to me. So our society is all effed up.”