Allan Pineda Lindo, (born 28 November 1974) better known as apl.de.ap, is a Filipino American hip hop musician, record producer, and member of the Black Eyed Peas.

He was born in the Barangay (Barrio) of Sapang Bato, Angeles City, Pampanga, in the Philippines, to a Filipino mother and African American father. His father, a U.S. airman stationed at Clark Air Base, abandoned the family shortly after his birth; his mother Cristina Pineda raised Apl and his six younger siblings as a single mother. Two of his siblings are deceased: his younger brother Arnel committed suicide; his youngest brother, Joven Pineda Deala, was murdered at the age of 21 in February 2009 in Porac, Pampanga.

As a child Apl would take an hour-long jeepney ride to and from school to school; he helped family subsist by farming sweet potatoes, corn, sugar cane and rice. The Pearl S. Buck Foundation, an organization that finds healthier living environments for young abandoned or orphaned Amerasian children, matched him with a sponsor named Joe Ben Hudgens through a dollar-a-day program. He initially came to the United States at the age of 11 to treat nystagmus, an involuntary movement of the eyes. During a trip to Disneyland, apl expressed his interest in staying in the United States. It would take another three years for Hudgens to officially adopt him, but at fourteen he moved permanently to the United States to live with Hudgens.

In Los Angeles, he attended John Marshall High School and he met will.i.am, the nephew of Hudgen's roommate. He also spent two years at Curie High School in Chicago, Illinois. He stated in an interview that Chicago "is where he started to love music and get involved" and said that he "goes and visits at times."

Apl's early musical influences were Stevie Wonder, The Eagles, The Beatles, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Leaders of the New School and the popular Filipino rock/folk group, Asin. Apl was introduced to hip-hop by break dancing. "I would take the jeepney all the way to Angeles City, and that's how I got introduced to break dancing," he said. "I would see kids at the corner break-dancing and I'm like, 'I wanna do that.'"

Apl and will.i.am formed a break-dancing crew called Tribal Nation and performed regularly at Southern California parties and events. From 1992-1995, their crew was re-named Atban Klann (ATBAN stands for "A Tribe Beyond a Nation") and included MC Mookie Mook, performer Dante Santiago and producer DJ Motiv8. Atban Klann was eventually signed onto Eazy-E's label, Ruthless Records but Eazy-E's death put an end to their debut album Grass Roots.

Apl has brought his Filipino culture into his collaboration with the Black Eyed Peas. He explains his life story in a song called "The Apl Song" on the Peas' 2003 album Elephunk, which includes a full chorus in Tagalog sampled from the Asin song "Balita." The accompanying video, which includes cameos by fellow Filipino-Americans Dante Basco and Chad Hugo, is also a tribute to the Filipinos who fought for the U.S. in World War II; the song reached number one in the Philippines.

"Bebot" (which is Filipino slang for "pretty woman") is another all-Tagalog song on 2005's Monkey Business album. A music video for "Bebot" was filmed in and around Los Angeles in early July 2006, including in Kenneth Hahn Park, where Dr. Dre's "Nothing But A G Thang" video was also filmed; the video features primarily Filipinos, Filipino Americans and other Asian-Americans from the Los Angeles area. The video was directed by Patricio Ginelsa who also directed "The Apl Song" and produced the Filipino-American coming of age movie The Debut. The single was not released in the US but was in the Philippines and several other Asian countries.


Official Website:
http://www.apldeap.com