Background and career
Allan Pineda Lindo (born November 28, 1974), known professionally as Apl.de.ap (pronounced IPA: AP-əl-dee-AP and stylized in all lowercase), is a Filipino-American musician based in Los Angeles, California. He is a founding member of the hip hop group Black Eyed Peas. With them, he has been nominated for 16 Grammy Awards; the band won six awards, including Best Pop Vocal Album.
Allan Pineda Lindo was born in Angeles City, Philippines. His African American father, an airman stationed at Clark Air Base, left the family shortly after his birth. His Filipino mother, Cristina Pineda, remarried and had six more children. As a child, Pineda would make an hour-long jeepney trip to and from his school and helped his 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 American children, matched him with a sponsor named Joe Ben Hudgens, a lawyer, through a dollar-a-day program. Allan initially came to the US at age 11 for treatment for nystagmus, an involuntary movement of the eyes. After a trip to Disneyland, Pineda expressed his interest in residing in the US. It would take another three years for Hudgens to officially adopt him; however, at age 14, he relocated and resided with them.
In Los Angeles, California, Pineda attended John Marshall High School, where he met and befriended William Adams (stage name will.i.am), the nephew of Hudgens' roommate. Pineda's early musical influences came from his mother who listened to Stevie Wonder, the Eagles, the Beatles, and the Filipino rock/folk group Asin. Pineda was introduced to hip hop and break dancing by watching urban kids in Angeles City: "I would see kids at the corner break-dancing and I'm like, 'I wanna do that.'" Pineda revealed to People magazine in 2011 that he is legally blind in both eyes, as he has continued to suffer from nystagmus. His vision was corrected in 2012. He has lost two of his siblings: his younger brother Arnel died by suicide (this is referenced in "The Apl Song" in the lines "I guess sometimes life's stresses get you down on your knees/Oh brother, wish I could have helped you out"). His youngest brother, Joven Pineda Deala, was murdered at age 22 in February 2009 in Porac, Pampanga.
1988–2000: Formations and the Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas date back to 1988, when eighth-graders will.i.am and apl.de.ap met and began rapping and performing together around Los Angeles. The pair signed to Ruthless Records (run by Eazy-E) in 1992, catching the attention of Eazy-E manager Jerry Heller's nephew. Along with another friend of theirs, Dante Santiago, they called their trio Atban Klann (ATBAN: A Tribe Beyond a Nation). Will 1X (aka will.i.am), apl.de.ap, Mookie Mook, DJ Motiv8 (aka Monroe Walker) and Dante Santiago formed Atban Klann. Their debut album, Grass Roots, was never released because Ruthless founder Eazy-E had died.
How apl.de.ap makes money
His youngest brother, Joven Pineda Deala, was murdered at age 22 in February 2009 in Porac, Pampanga. 1988–2000: Formations and the Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas date back to 1988, when eighth-graders will.i.am and apl.de.ap met and began rapping and performing together around Los Angeles. The pair signed to Ruthless Records (run by Eazy-E) in 1992, catching the attention of Eazy-E manager Jerry Heller's nephew.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth, in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
