On Tuesday, Pinoy rapper Allan Pineda Lindo aka Apl.de.ap launched What’s Ap?, a children’s book that details his journey from Sapang Bato in Pampanga to Los Angeles, California.
He hopes that the kids who will read his books will learn the value of hard work and education. “I want them to learn about the value of pasisipag sa pag-aaral, to work hard and to study hard,” Pineda says during the book launch in Makati.
When he was 11 years old, Pineda was brought to the US under a sponsorship of the Pearl S. Buck Foundation. He remembers how, a month into his stay, he begged his adoptive father to bring him back to the Philippines. “But my dad advised me to study hard and build a career so I could one day go one and help my family out.”
And work hard he did. He met William James Adams Jr., aka will.i.am and together with Fergie and Taboo, they broke into the international music scene as the Black Eyed Peas.
In the book, Pineda also talks about performing “until their throats hurt and their muscles ached”.
What’s Ap? is written by Town and Coutry editor Yvette Fernandez and illustrated by Ray Sunga. Published under the Dream Big line of Summit Books, it hopes to pay forward the kindness Apl.de.ap has received in his life.
Apart from sharing his inspiring story, Pineda is also donating all the proceeds of his books to his foundation that helps students who are in dire need of classrooms. The apl.de.ap Foundation builds classrooms in areas that need them the most, you see. It had just finished building its 34th classroom in Zamboanga.
National Book Stores is also donating 5% of its sales, while Fernandez donated her professional fees to help out.
Photo: Summit Books/Facebook
