Will.i.am On The Gavin Newsom Show: Pop Megastar Slams U.S. Education System (VIDEO)

Will.i.am has a leg up on most pop stars.

Instead of having to premiere his newest single on Earth (the least rock n' roll of all the solar system's telluric planets), he teamed up with NASA to release "Reach For The Stars" by blasting it over the speakers on the Mars Curiosity Rover.

Will.i.am's decision to debut his song in space wasn't an exercise in over-the-top rock star excess (well, it wasn't only an exercise in over-the-top rock star excess). It was also part of an effort by the musician to promote science education among America's youth.

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The Black Eyed Peas rapper sat down for a taping of Gavin Newsom's Current TV chat show to speak about how his travels around the world have shown him the urgent need for increased education investment in the United States.

"I remember going to Bangalore, and now that's the Silicon Valley of India. I see how the developing world is developing fast and my concern is home because the neighborhood I come from isn't developing," he said, recalling his childhood growing up in East Lost Angeles. "Inner cities ten years from now--it's not like there's a budget to get these kids up to speed but there's a budget for that semi-conductor, there's a budget for the chip to go faster. As we develop and get quicker with technology in America, it's like we're downgrading if you look at the investment in education...that's the thing that worries me."

Watch the segment below:

Catch Newsom's complete interview with Will.i.am, along with guests former DNC head/current Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe and Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, at 11 p.m. PST on Current TV.