Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American funk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The band's current line-up is Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Michael "Flea" Balzary (bass), Chad Smith (drums) and Josh Klinghoffer (guitar). Their musical style has fused traditional funk with elements of other genres including hip hop, punk rock, and psychedelic rock.

The group originally featured guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons. Slovak, however, died of a heroin overdose in 1988, resulting in Irons' departure. Irons was replaced briefly by former Dead Kennedys drummer D.H. Peligro before the band found a permanent replacement in Smith, while Slovak was replaced by guitarist John Frusciante. This lineup recorded the band's fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth albums, Mother's Milk (1989), Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991), Californication (1999), By the Way (2002), and Stadium Arcadium (2006).

Blood Sugar Sex Magik was a significant record for the band; having sold over fifteen million copies, it provided the group's initial mainstream commercial success. Frusciante grew uncomfortable with this new found success and left abruptly in the middle of the tour for the album in 1992, descending into heroin addiction. After recruiting guitarist Arik Marshall to finish the tour, Kiedis, Flea, and Smith employed Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction for their subsequent album, One Hot Minute (1995). Although successful, it did not match the critical acclaim of Blood Sugar Sex Magik and sold less than half the copies of its predecessor. Shortly afterwards, Navarro departed the band due to creative differences. Frusciante, fresh out of drug rehabilitation, rejoined the band in 1998, at Flea's request. The reunited quartet returned to the studio to record Californication (1999), which went on to sell fifteen million units worldwide, becoming their most commercially successful album to date. It was followed three years later with By the Way (2002), which continued their success. In 2006, the group released the double album Stadium Arcadium, giving them their first American number one album.

Red Hot Chili Peppers have won six Grammy Awards. The band has sold over 55 million albums worldwide, has had eight singles in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 (including three singles in the Top 10), five number one singles on the Mainstream Rock charts, and holds a record of eleven number one singles on the Modern Rock charts.

Originally Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were formed by Anthony Kiedis, Hillel Slovak, Flea, and Jack Irons while they attended Fairfax High School in California.  Tony Flow and MMMM's first performance was at the Rhythm Lounge, to a crowd of approximately thirty people, opening for Gary and Neighbor's Voices.  One song had been created for the occasion, which involved the band improvising music while Kiedis rapped a poem he had written called "Out in L.A.". Since Slovak and Irons were already committed to another group, What Is This?, it was intended to be a one time performance. However, the performance was so lively that the band was asked to return the following week.  Due to this unexpected success, the band changed its name to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, playing several more shows at various LA clubs and musical venues. Six songs from these initial shows were recorded onto the band's first demo tape.

Several months after their first performance Red Hot Chili Peppers was noticed by EMI and was signed to the record label. Two weeks earlier, What Is This? had also obtained a record deal but with MCA. Slovak and Irons still considered the Red Hot Chili Peppers as only a side project and so they quit to focus on What Is This?. Instead of dissolving the band, Kiedis and Flea decided to recruit new members. Cliff Martinez, a friend of Flea's, was asked to join the Chili Peppers shortly thereafter. Auditions for a new guitarist produced Jack Sherman.

Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill was hired to produce their first album. Despite Kiedis and Flea's misgivings, he pushed the band to play with a cleaner, crisper and more radio-friendly sound. The Red Hot Chili Peppers was released on August 10, 1984. Though the album didn't set sales records, college radio and MTV airplay helped to build a growing fan base. The album ultimately sold 300,000 copies. During the ensuing tour, continuing musical and lifestyle tension between Kiedis and Sherman complicated the transition between concert and daily band life. Sherman was fired soon after, with Slovak returning to the Chili Peppers after growing tired of What is This?.

The musical style of the band can best be described as a mix of funk, alternative rock, and hard rock. The band's influences can be traced from Parliament-Funkadelic, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, Bob Marley, Sly and the Family Stone, Ohio Players, Stevie Wonder, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Black Flag, Ornette Coleman, Led Zeppelin, Bad Brains, Fugazi, Fishbone, Marvin Gaye, Billie Holliday, Santana, Elvis Costello, The Stooges, The Clash, Devo, and Miles Davis.

Kiedis provides a range of vocal styles while singing. His approach of spoken verse and "rapping" (the primary characteristic of his vocals up to Blood Sugar Sex Magik), complemented with more traditional vocals, have helped the band maintain a relatively consistent style. Nevertheless, as the group has matured, the vocal sequences present in albums starting from Californication have drastically reduced the number of rapidly sung verses. By the Way only contained two songs which remained true to the rap-driven-verses and subsequent melodic choruses. Kiedis' more recent style has been developed through coaching throughout all nine of Red Hot Chili Peppers' albums.

Hillel Slovak's style was strongly based on blues and funk. Early replacements, including former guitarist John Frusciante, based their style significantly on Slovak's.

Frusciante brought a more melodic and textured sound to more recent albums such as By the Way, Californication and Stadium Arcadium. This contrasts with his previous abrasive approach in Mother's Milk, as well as his dry, funky and more docile arrangements on Blood Sugar Sex Magik.

Dave Navarro brought an entirely different sound to the band during his tenure, with his style based on heavy metal, progressive rock and psychedelia.

Flea's bass guitar style is an amalgamation of funk, psychedelic, punk, and hard rock. The groove-heavy, low-tuned melodies, played through either finger style, picking, or slapping, have contributed to the Red Hot Chili Peppers' signature style. While Flea's slap bass style was prominent in earlier albums, later albums (post Blood Sugar Sex Magik) have more melodic and funk driven bass lines. He has also used double stops on some newer songs.

Smith blends high powered rock with funk grooves. He mixes funk, rock, metal and jazz to most of his beats. He is influenced from the jazz of Buddy Rich to the big beats of John Bonham. He brought a different sound to the band in 1989's album Mother's Milk, playing tight and fast. In 1991's Blood Sugar Sex Magik, he displays a more powerful way of playing drums. He is very recognized for his grace notes, his beats and his fast right foot. MusicRadar put him in sixth place on their list of the "50 Greatest Drummers Of All Time", behind Mike Portnoy, Neil Peart, Keith Moon, Buddy Rich and their number one choice, John Bonham.

Through the years, Kiedis' lyrics have covered a variety of topics, which have shifted as time has progressed. Themes within his repertoire include love and friendship, teenage angst and good-time aggression,  various sexual topics and the link between sex and music, political and social commentary (Native American issues in particular), romance, loneliness, globalization and the cons of fame and Hollywood, poverty, drugs, alcohol and dealing with death.