Black Eyed Peas' apl.de.ap urges fans to help typhoon victims

CEBU, Philippines - Black Eyed Peas member Apl.de.Ap has urged his fans all over the world to provide relief support to the flood victims of his native country, which was left devastated by Typhoon Ketsana when it slammed into Metro Manila and nearby provinces this weekend.

The Filipino-American musician, whose real name is Allan Pineda Lindo, has been distressed to learn that the typhoon ravaged the majority of his nation’s capital region on Saturday, when Ketsana, whose local code name is Ondoy, unleashed a month’s worth of rain in a single day on Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Over 200 people have been confirmed dead and thousands were left homeless when the tropical storm hit the nation. More than P4 billion worth of properties were damaged.

In response to the sorry situation that has befallen his countrymen, Apl, who has recently been tapped by the Department of Tourism as a creative ambassador to the Philippines, has launched a campaign to help the damaged country. “My heart is broken to see so many of my Filipino brothers and sisters hurt by this disaster,” Apl wrote on his website.

“We must all bond together and move forward to restore the city we hold dear.”

Apl is asking fans and supporters to donate money to the Apl Foundation, through his website www.jeepneymusic.com, as Philippines residents struggle to gather their remaining belongings in the wake of the flood.

Apl.de.Ap was born in Sapang Bato, Angeles City, Pampanga, to a Filipino mother and an African American father. His father, a U.S. airman stationed at Clark Air Base, abandoned the family shortly after his birth; his mother raised Apl and his six younger siblings as a single mother. Apl.de.Ap would eventually relocate to the US, thanks to the Pearl S. Buck Foundation, an organization that finds healthier living environments for young abandoned or orphaned Amerasian children, which matched him with a sponsor who legally adopted him.

But Apl.de.Ap would never forget his roots. In fact, since becoming wildly famous with his hip-hop group, Black Eyed Peas, the rapper would make it a point to incorporate the Filipino culture via a song in every album the Peas produced.

He came up with the “The Apl Song” on the Peas’ 2003 album Elephunk, which includes a full chorus from the Asin song “Balita”; “Bebot” (which is Filipino slang for “pretty woman”) on 2005’s Monkey Business album; and the song “Mare” for the Peas’ fifth studio album, “The E.N.D.”.

Apl.de.ap is working on a solo album. He recently disclosed in an interview that he would be collaborating with fellow Filipino-American Chad Hugo of The Neptunes and Illmind from G-Unit to incorporate traditional Filipino instruments into his songs. Some of his songs are uploaded on his MySpace page. On January 3, 2009, he debuted the first single, “You Can Dream” featuring Billy Crawford, on Wowowee. In August, he released a music video for his second single named Mama Filipina. Apl.de.ap also started the Apl Foundation, which is committed in giving back to communities and children within the Philippines and throughout Asia.