Hip Hop Lives: Traditions of Filipino Performance

Keep the Bells Ringin! Rock the School Bells 2012

2012-01-13T18:29:00.000-08:00

Rock the School Bells is back! On March 24th, 2012 at Skyline College in San Bruno, CA, the alternative educational conference and concert returns for another round of workshops, performances, and forums. Last year we at Fil Am Funk presented on documentary filmmaking. Will the Funk be present again this year? We shall see.

RTSB organizer and emcee Nate Nevado continues with his firm belief in the power and praxis of hip hop in our communities. Sometimes traditional schooling has failed us. For many of us, hip hop has been there to fill the void. But an event like RTSB that champions the educational utility of hip hop does not come free.

Let's help Nate and the good folks at RTSB make the event happen. Their IndieGoGo online fundraising campaign is in full swing, having raised to date over $1,000 of the $15,000 goal. You can help them reach their goal by February 15th.

Keep the bells ringin!

What is Rock The School Bells?

Rock The School Bells (RTSB) is a hip-hop educational youth conference based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It includes a comprehensive blend of workshops and performances that enhance students' ability to:

think critically about current issues in their communities as well as in the world
read and write about topics related to their life's experiences
display effective oral and written communication through readings, spoken word and poetry
understand the historical and cultural aspects of hip-hop and its effect on society, education and personal development

These workshops integrate the four key elements of hip-hop: b-boying (breakdancing), graffiti art, DJing (turntablism) and emceeing.

Some of RTSB's past workshops have covered topics such as:

Hip-Hop Entrepreneurship
DJ Fundamentals
Hip-Hop and Social Justice
B-Girl It's Your World
Weapons of Mass Promotions

READ MORE...

Watch Global Pinay Style

2012-01-05T10:42:00.000-08:00

Global Pinay Style from FilAm Funk Productions on Vimeo.

Global Pinay Style documents the rich hip hop dance scene that Filipinas are creating in the Philippines and these dancers' creative influences around the world. Focusing on members of the Philippine All Stars and Stellar, the film shows how Pinays are carving out spaces for a vibrant dance subculture and proving their skills for a global audience.

Welcome to 2012! It's been a year-and-a-half since making Global Pinay Style. As the women in the film will attest, so much has happened within that time period: more championships won, more world tours, more music, more albums, the opening of Capital G Shop in Robinson's Galleria where young (and older) people can learn dance moves, and many more updates!

I hope 2012 has much more in store for Pin@y dancers, musicians, artists, and performers all across the globe!! It's just the beginning.

Bay2LA Beatrock Music Dec. 17th

2011-12-14T18:27:00.000-08:00

An evening of music and art; with live performances from the Beatrock Music family and a photo portrait series of Beatrock Music artists by Leo Docuyanan

Saturday, December 17, 2011

@ 2150 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA 94110

ages 18 and up. Please bring photo id.
$12 door
8pm-12am
*cash-only bar*

PERFORMING LIVE:

Prometheus Brown & Bambu are The Bar
Otayo Dubb
Rocky Rivera
Power Struggle
Kiwi
Bwan
DJ Phatrick on the turntables

Visit:
http://beatrockmusic.com
http://www.leodocuyanan.com/
Video by Tony Rain (http://www.strivefilms.com)

Global Jologs Style: Pacquiao's flexible meanings in the Filipino diaspora

2011-11-28T20:02:00.001-08:00

After a recent controversial win over his long-time foe JuanManuel Marquez and a looming Floyd Mayweather showdown closer than ever (Moneyannounced today a proposed May 5, 2012 fight date), Manny Pacquiao's notorietyshows no sign of waning, even though critics argue that his fighting ability ison the decline. As a congressman in Sarangani Province, the globally popularFilipino icon has had to juggle between his political responsibilities and hissports career. Was this juggling thecause of his uncompelling and indecisive win over Marquez?

Filipinos in the U.S. and around the world cheered for theirchamp, with some making the holy pilgrimage to Las Vegas to simply be withinPacman's orbit. And for Filipinos in thePhilippines, waking up early and missing holy mass was a legitimate excuse forthe sake of a Pacquiao fight. The wholeworld watches when the athlete once featured in Time Magazine's "mostinfluential people" list steps in the ring.

And the whole world also wears him.

Nike's "Team Pacquiao" brand has becomerecognizable to many non-Filipinos, with the Philippine flag colors becomingsynonymous with the boxer. For sure,Pacquiao gear (and also Philippine flag-themed gear) has set its place at thetable of Filipino American fashion sensibilities.

Blue Scholars don't mind the jologs

But do the meanings of Pacquiao's image, especially throughPacman fashion, remain the same for all Filipinos around the world?

I was surprised to learn that in the Philippines, manyFilipinos regard Pacquiao as symbolizing "jologs," which roughlytranslates to "ghetto" or "kitsch." Yes, the heroicFilipino icon represents more dimensions than mass admiration. But that's just it. "Jologs" operates as a disparagingmarker for people who are seen as mindless and naive (think people who wear toomuch Steelers or Lakers paraphernalia). Hip hop too in the Philippines, as I try to show in my film Lyrical Empire: Hip Hop in Metro Manila (also viewable in the right column), representsfor a certain segment of Filipinos a supposedly "uneducated""jologs" spirit.

For Filipino Americans, Pacquiao is an emblem of Filipinopride, identity, masculinity, and power. Even for non-Filipinos, as Davey Dargues, Pacquiao has become a "People's Champion" because of hispro-common people values.

But there is an undeniable phenomenon among many Filipinosin the Philippines in which they will happily watch the Pacquiao fights, butwill refuse to wear Team Pacquiao clothing. I wouldn't be surprised if the Team Pacquiao merchandise sold in thePhilippines was mostly purchased by Filipino balikbayan tourists.

For some reason, Pacquiao in the Philippines and Pacquiao inthe Filipino diaspora isn't the same person.

Certainly a major explanation is class (and the specter ofclass aspirations). Since Nike'stakeover of Pacquiao merchandise, it has been much more difficult for poorer peoplein the Philippines to buy expensive Nike-brand Pacman shirts, hence the noticeable (and ironic) lackof Pacquiao clothing among the masa in the islands. But the middle classes aren't sporting iteither. The real market, it seems, arethose Filipinos "out there" across the globe who are unaware of the culturalpolitics in the mother land, who are oblivious to "baduy,""bakya," or "jologs"--epithets that describe the culturaltastes of the masa.

When Pacquiao makes his post-fight interviews, we might flinch and chuckle. In thePhilippines, the "jologs"-induced cringing moment could not bestronger. As a major political figure whohas little education, limited English (compared to more-educated citizens), anda manic masa following, Pacquiao exemplifies at best an ambivalent figure formany Filipinos in the Philippines, especially among those who have been critiquing civil society and are engaged in the political process,a process in which the champ has quickly assumed a degree of leverage and power (thinkErap).

When Pacquiao sings Karaoke songs on Jimmy Kimmel Live, manyFilipinos in the diaspora embrace him for his levity and charm. Without the "jologs" factor intheir vocabulary of Filipino cultural politics, Manny remains harmless. He might seem as simple as the poor peoplewho sing on variety shows like Wowowee, but he is excused for his pronunciationand grammar "errors" because he is a winner--a masculine embodiment of Philippine nationhood.

But in the Philippines, the complex and oftencontradictory cultural politics of everyday life manifests itself whenthe boxer-legislator appears on the TV screen. In a poor country, "being" Filipino means muchmore than wearing the three colors. WhenPacquiao fights his opponents in the ring while also fighting key legislation suchas the Reproductive Health bill, the cultural consciousnesses ofFilipinos around the world become strangers.

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Filipino American Dance Culture in Suburbia: The Story of Funki Junction

2011-11-13T21:43:00.001-08:00

Our project Empire of Funk: Filipino Americans in the Cipher of Hip Hop is continuing to grow. Please check out this compelling article written by Cerritos-native Cheryl Cambay. It time stamps a very critical moment in the development of Filipino American culture in the 1980s and early 1990s. Great work, Cheryl!

Also, as a reminder, we are taking submissions for poetry, fiction, photography, and visual art for publication on the website until November 28th. Visit our website for more information.

Filipino American Dance Culture in Suburbia: The Story of Funki Junction

by Cheryl Cambay

"...I remember rehearsals well – we’d end up at someone’s house and practice in the garages, front yard or the street. At one of girls’ houses - without the mirrors like you see in dance studios, the way we viewed our progress was literally to video tape rehearsals on a camera that was propped up on a tripod and view the footage and make adjustments, corrections, blocking as needed. When we rehearsed at Emil’s house I remember his mother had a glass-mirrored closet that we used to rehearse in front of and it was small so you couldn’t see the whole group from the reflection! Oh the joy of practices at our parents’ houses after school! And whenever we needed to rehearse or perform at a gig we literally had to call each other at home (no cell phones or email) or page each other to make sure we scheduled rehearsals and made ourselves available for the gigs we were asked to perform at. We also went shopping for performance outfits, which consisted throughout the years of overalls, paisley shirts, timberland boots, embroidered hats, parachute pants – what we considered cool and hip at the time!..." [continue]

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Multigeneration Fil-Am Cipher at D-Cypher!

2011-10-28T00:17:00.000-07:00

Witness this multigenerational cipher of Fil Am dancers from the D-Cypher event at the Liwanag Cultural Center!

Description:

Big shout out to JDB Creativity for the dance footage. Please check out http://www.jdbcreativity.com/ for more info.

D-Cypher was a discussion with some of the most influential Filipino Street dancers from the San Francisco Bay Area. The organizers bridged their personal histories, discussed how the scene was back in the day, and learned about Filipino contributions to street dance, Hip Hop, and Filipino/Fil-Am Kulture. Learn and hear stories about the local dance scene!

Panelists:

- Don Boogaloo
- OG Smurf (Master City Breakers)
- Finesse (Master City Breakers)
- J Krush (Star City Crew)
- Andre (Star City Crew)
- Gizmo (Renegade Rockers, Knuckle Neck Tribe)
- Chaz (GroovMekanex, Zulu Nation, Natural Elements Crew(DC))
- G Boogz (Knuckle Neck Tribe)
- wish1 (Jughead Tribe, Jedi Clan, Mindtricks, Groovaloos, Jabbawockeez, Sub Ren, w1shone.com)
- Sha Boogie (Renegades, Mind Over Matter, MPM, Tribe)
- Dennis (GroovMekanex, MuthaFunkers)
- Delrokz (Break for Tots, Zulu Nation)
Moderated by Alan Mar David
Edited by Will Kong
Sponsored by Liwanag Kultural Center, Kalayaan School for Equity, North County Peninsula Partnerships, and Rock the School Bells

2011-10-17T13:31:00.000-07:00

Empire of Funk: Filipino American in the Cipher of Hip Hop is taking submissions for publication on our website! Deadline for submissions is on Monday, November 28th. This is an exciting project me and DJ Kuttin Kandi have been formulating for some time now. Big ups to all our contributors (who include DJ Icy Ice, DJ Niel Armstrong, Kimmy Maniquis of Kaba Modern, DJ Nasty Nes, literary award winner Patrick Rosal, and many, many others!) and supporters for being with us the whole way. Can't wait to see everyone's submissions! Here we go!

Description of Empire of Funk:
Empire of Funk: Filipino Americans in the Cipher of Hip Hop is a project that seeks to highlight the history and talent of Filipino Americans in hip hop. Long overdue, this endeavor attempts to demonstrate the intimate and meaningful link between the Filipino American experience and hip hop. Sometimes seen as a culture separate from the Filipino American experience, Empire of Funk provides a forum to foreground the exact opposite: hip hop culture has been integral to the Filipino American community, functioning as a legitimate part of the Filipino American experience well before hip hop gained mainstream popularity.

Furthermore, we believe that rather than spreading negative "pathology," hip hop provides a cultural medium for spreading knowledge and exploring cultural consciousness.

Empire of Funk serves as an artistic and literary canvas, gathering the talent of multiple generations of artists, writers, performers, photographers, scholars, educators, and activists.

We want your talent! We will be reviewing visual art, photography, fiction, and poetry submissions to be published on our website.

The theme for submitting original work is: Knowledge of self. Priority will be given to work that relates to Filipino American experiences in hip hop.

Submission procedure:

1. Email a jpg (less than 5MB) sample of your piece or a word document of your writing to EmpireofFunk [at] gmail.com.
2.Type Art Submission and your name in the Subject of line of your email.
3. Include your name, email, location, and website (if available) in the body of your email.
4. Submit your work by Monday, November 28th.

Although we are eager to review all submissions, we cannot guarantee acceptance of your work on our website or in future publications. Please note that artists whose work we accept and publish will retain ownership of their material.

In addition, we are looking for eager and talented minds to join us in the planning and growth of Empire of Funk, including web designers, print designers, and publication liaisons. Please contact us if you are interested.

Entry into "Official" Filipino American History?

2011-10-10T15:26:00.000-07:00

It has always been history in the making. On Thursday, October 13th--in observance of Filipino American History Month--the event Built from Skratch: Rediscovering the Pin@ay DJ Scene(s) in Daly City will be held at the Liwanag Kultural Center in Daly City (San Francisco area). Once written (or even dismissed) as "contemporary" or "modern" Filipino American culture (and therefore supposedly less important than "real" history) Filipino American popular music culture (i.e. hip hop forms) is more and more being archived along with "official" Filipino American history.

At the same time that Filipino American hip hop performances are legitimized and historicized under the auspices of researchers (check out OW's article "Unlimited Creations" in the Atlantic), educators, and community institutions, a younger generation of Filipino American who seem to feel distant from the Filipino American hip hop experience of the 1980s and 1990s (up to the 2000s for the very young) are now afforded the opportunity to learn more about the cultural contributions of their kuyas, ates, titos, titas, and parents.

Then, on Monday, October 17th, Liwanag is also hosting an event on Filipino American dancers called D-Cypher: Dialogue with Bay Area Filipino Street Dancers.

I'm hoping that these "cyphers" of knowledge will be constructive for "old school" practitioners and younger people alike so that the culture can continue building and expanding boundaries. In addition, I hope that these sessions will avoid bashing the existing state of hip hop that young people may identify with while glorifying the "golden age" of so-and-so decade. Whatever the case, this is a wonderful and promising start to future dialogues, hopefully in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond!

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"The Learning" and the teaching: Episodes of education

2011-09-21T16:52:00.000-07:00

Class is in session at UC Berkeley

Filipino students become indoctrinated

Yesterday was a day packed with education.

I had the privilege and honor to appear via video chat for Professor Griff Rollefson's music class "Planet Rap: Global Hip Hop and Postcolonial Perspectives" at the University of California, Berkeley. The students were assigned my article "Hip hop over homework: Filipino Americans 'failing'?" and my documentary Lyrical Empire: Hip Hop in Metro Manila.

In a bizarre performance of pedagogy through technology (I'm picturing my 20 ft. talking head lighting up an auditorium), I had the opportunity to answer student questions about the article and the film. The questions were a great exercise in thinking through the value of studying the topic of Filipino Americans and hip hop culture, and the urgency (if any) with which to approach political projects involving hip hop. Some of the questions were quite provocative, including the following:

-"What is the usefulness of postcolonial studies when studying hip hop?" In other words, why should we study hip hop using the same lens that we use to view the contexts of formerly colonized nations?

-"How can one make sense of hip hop if it is both an expression of radical politics globally, but it is also an object of global commodity capitalism?"

-"Are there possibilities of Asian American and African American collaborations with which hip hop plays a role?"

-"Do you see Filipino Americans seeking 'stability' as the goal of 'success'? And why should Filipino Americans gain consciousness about the Philippines?"

Thanks for the opportunity to "appear" for yall's class. Hopefully I gave sufficient responses to some tough questions. I hope to do something like this again in the future.

Angel, a Filipina teacher recruited by Baltimore's school district, performs Pandango sa Ilaw with her students.

Later on that evening, I was able to catch the PBS premiere of Ramona Diaz's documentary The Learning, which documents one year in the lives of four Filipina contracted teachers recruited by the Baltimore school district.

So while I am teaching U.S. college students to critically study the historical formation of the Philippines and criticizing the Asian Journal article's definition of "success" (see my article "Hip hop over homework"), Filipina teachers make a geographical trek to the U.S. in order to teach fundamentals of survival and life skills. They are facilitators of "success", and I pray students and school districts value their contributions.

Dorothea teaches a science lab to her high schoolers.

At a time when many school districts around the nation are in crisis because of a dearth of math, science, and special education teachers, Filipina sojourners have taken up the calling to fill the gaps. Leaving their family and students behind in order to enter a version of America they do not know from TV or books, these women enter the battlefield of education in black and brown communities across the U.S.

The Learning gives an intimate portrait of the bravery, sacrifice, and love of these four teachers, who represent a small slice of the thousands of Filipino/a teachers imported to provide low-cost labor in neglected school districts. The documentary points out that the "tides have turned" on U.S. colonial programs in the Philippines--which inaugurated U.S.-style instruction to Filipino students beginning in the early 1900s--with Filipino teachers fluent in American English coming to the U.S. to teach American students. In Baltimore alone, 10% of teachers (or 600 total) are recruited from the Philippines.

One Filipina student in the UC Berkeley music class asked me what I thought about Filipino Americans becoming conscious of the Philippines. I think The Learning is a testament to the importance of critically analyzing the historical condition in the Philippines, where the "tides have turned" in a way, where First World nations are seeking Filipino/a workers--who are fluent in English and other valued skill sets--to compensate for First World labor voids. As Filipino Americans, having a critical look at the Philippines means understanding that "we are here" because "they were there."

As Filipino Americans, the battlefield is not only in geographic districts where many of us attend crumbling schools. The battlefield is also in our minds; of reclaiming our own histories and debunking the myths that continue to disparage our lives and bodies.

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"Bad about You" video

2011-09-07T23:43:00.000-07:00

The Good Sin can't shake that something "bad about you"

Seattle emcee The Good Sin brings you his love/lust tribulation video "Bad about You", which can be heard in his EP Late that came out early this year. Produced by our dear friend 10.4 Rog, Late provides you with that laid back rap. "Bad about You" is a good mix of relateable romantic quandary complete with a singable chorus, Phonte-like crooning, electronic quirkiness, and a measured and deliberate beat. 10.4 Rog peppers Late with haunting and lingering prologues and epilogues to songs, like the one in "Bad about you." This makes for a more complete-sounding song.

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Sunday Cipher: Shakespeare swag?

2011-09-04T11:23:00.000-07:00


Philippine theatre group go hip hop

From BBC News (Sept. 1, 2011):

"A theatre group in Philippines takes a modern twist on Shakespeare, re-working the classics into a modern rap musical.

The aim is to help young people to understand the playwright.

"William" shows real life problems encountered by real students when it comes to learning Shakespearean masterpieces.

Marek Pruszewicz reports."

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DJ E-Man honored at 20th Anniversary of FPAC

2011-08-31T23:35:00.000-07:00

DJ E-Man of Power 106 talks about being honored at the 20th Anniversary of the Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture

Long Beach, CA native DJ E-Man will be honored with the FilAm ARTS Media Award at the 20th Anniversary of the Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture (FPAC) on Sunday, September 11. The weekend-long festival will begin on Saturday, September 10th. DJ E-Man, a veteran in the hip hop game who developed his skills in the Southern California party promotion scene and eventually rose-up as one of those Fil Am luminaries in the top-ranks of the media industry, will share the award stage with multi-award winning singer and actress Lea Solanga.

We are proud of E-Man as he receives this prestigious award and reflect on the impact he has made for many Fil Ams and beyond! Learn more about E-Man at BakitWhy.

In other FPAC news, Bambu and Kiwi reunite (again) this year as Native Guns on Sunday of the festival. Also, Joe Bataan will be returning to the festival on Saturday! Yes, its time to boogaloo to the King of Latin Soul in Point Fermin Park! Great programming work by the good folks at FilAm ARTS!

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Another dimension! Out of this world with Hopie

2011-08-24T12:56:00.000-07:00

Hopie's ephemeral dimensionality at Los Angeles' Blu Monkey

"Space Case" (featuring Del the Funky Homosapien) video premiered at Blu Monkey last week

For those who can't get enough of Ancient Aliens and Through the Wormhole, Hopie distorts your sense reality in "Space Case"!

Be sure to look out for Hopie Spitshard's new album, Raw Gems out soon! Scoop her EP, Dulce Vita, out now!

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Mega Manila styles! Revaluing Filipino popular culture

2011-08-19T18:25:00.001-07:00

Are you Cubao X hip?

Mega Manila

One of the most startling facts that became obvious during my recent trip to Metro Manila was the magnitude in size of the metropolis. Upon returning to the States, I looked up the population of the Metro compared to large West Coast cities in the United States. Here is the breakdown:

In 2008, Metro Manila was home to 11,553,427 registered residents. But in 2011, estimates reach up to 21,295,000 for the greater urban area of Manila. Not surprising, given the divergent ways of measuring population, including geographic limits and the underestimation of people "under the radar."

In comparison, in 2010, Los Angeles boasted 9,818,605 residents, nearly 2 million less than Metro Manila's lower estimate. The same year, the San Francisco Bay Area (including Oakland and San Jose) reached 7.5 million.

Spectrum Entertainment birthday party in Chula Vista, San Diego. From my film Legend.

Why does this matter?

Considering the notable amount of Filipino American popular culture emanating from LA and SF over the past 25+ years (almost a century if one considers the dance culture among Pinoy migrant workers during U.S. colonialism)--such as turntablism, R&B, freestyle, and dance--what about Pin@y popular culture originating from the Filipino "center"? Can Metro Manila and the Philippines be seen as a producer (not just a consumer) of global culture?

Crate diggers at the Vinyl Swap Meet in Cubao X. From SoulSonic TV.

Cubao X is just one example of the many pockets of popular culture dotting Metro Manila. Yes, hip hop is strong at Cubao X, but so is rock, punk, electronica, reggae, and gay culture, all of which merge together. Filled with bars, restaurants, hip shops, and performance space, it is a unique niche unknown to tourists, and it surely isn't a flashy shopping mall that describes much of public space in the Metro. Interestingly, similar descriptions can be said about other urban locales such as Baguio, Davao, and Cebu who flaunt their own creative communities.

Legitimizing Popular Music

For some reason Filipinos do not like to archive their own popular culture. Perhaps its a privileging of the ephemeral or the lack of material resources (I'm leaning towards the latter). Like Philippine cinema or Philippine basketball, popular music is at risk of evaporating into history.

In her essay "Pepot and the Archive: Cinephilia and the Archive Crisis of Philippine Cinema", Bliss Cua Lim writes about the bleak state of archiving early Philippine films. Sometimes found stacked and decaying in abandoned basketball courts, classic film reels have no home in the Philippines. Some films can only be bought elsewhere, such as France or Taiwan.

Similarly, in Pacific Rims, Rafe Bartholomew recounts digging up legendary pictures and newsclips of Philippine basketball heroes at a flea market. Basically, he was organizing a (sadly) not-yet existing archive of Philippine basketball as he wrote Pacific Rims in the mid 2000s. Philippine basketball's century-long history, like Philippine cinema, seemed to be rotting in the tropical sun.

But what of popular music? With only a single handful of writers dedicated to Philippine popular music (peep my pal Justin Breathes), is the genre doomed to deterioration within Filipinos' collective memory? Will it take an American Fulbright scholar like Bartholomew to archive its history a century in the future?

What if we revalue Filipino popular culture? Why do we need laws to compel Philippine radio stations to play original Filipino music?

What if we looked at the Philippines not as a nation of mimicry and/or devoid of culture, but as a source of clever style and originality? What if we saw the Philippines not as representing a dearth of culture, but as overflowing with it? How can we position Metro Manila as a global center of talent and not dismiss it as urban chaos en route to the beach resort?

More Than Meets the Eye

For many Filipino Americans, we see the Philippines only through the globally-syndicated The Filipino Channel (TFC), a satellite/cable channel aimed at the Filipino diaspora (and is ironically not available for Filipinos in the Philippines). The depictions of cover bands, imitative starlets, and robotic dance moves on Filipino variety shows remains a predominant imaginary of Philippine popular culture for many Filipino Americans.

Unless they have a bit of capital to travel to the Philippines and interact with people outside their family, Fil Ams will rarely be exposed to the country's pockets of popular music. For those who visit the Metro, its non-centeredness, traffic, pollution, and congestion may be a turn off to excavating the gems beneath the mess.

Today's Metro Manila is not your Lola's Manila. It is a sprawling cosmopolitan global city that once represented urbane Asia. It remains a megalopolis of the world, home to a diversity of classes--not just a uniform, monolithic mass of poverty topped with a minuscule class of the rich.

People from an array of classes are creating vibrant culture. Much to the surprise of Fil Ams who may imagine a simple two-tiered social structure, the gray area in between "sosyal" (bourgeois) and slum is actually A LOT of people given the immensity of the greater urban area of Manila (and beyond). This diversity of classes makes for an interesting mix of style and creativity.

How can Fil Ams who are not exposed to hidden layers of the Philippine society connect with pockets of creativity not shown on TFC? Instead of bypassing a seemingly hollow Metro Manila for the picturesqueness of the beach, how can they be overwhelmed by the city's cultural abundance?

Special thanks: Nex Benas, Justin Gabriel, Mike Gonzales, and Carlos Celdran
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Philippine Hip Hop’s Golden Age?

2011-08-10T11:03:00.000-07:00

JOLO, Jazze, and Mary rock the crowd at Battle of the Beats (Photo credit: Rica Phonics)

Philippine Hip Hop’s Golden Age?

Battle of the Beats seeks competition and cooperation to reignite hip hop

By Mark V.

Communion

“I’m a-I’m a Filipino til I die, til I die,” the “bad” voice repeats as Genius Ears of Paro Paro Beats steps away from the controls and stomps hard at the front of the stage. He dangles his arms and head at the lull of the beat and flexes his neck at the snare in a krump gesture. Children unclasp tiny grips on mothers to commence dance floor bouncing.

At this moment, Genius is the preacher and the audience the eager congregation. On the opposite side of the Battle of the Beats stage, B-Roc with baseball cap low grins and exchanges daps with Genius as the beat flourishes and annunciates like an inspiring sermon.

But tonight is not really a battle. Tonight is a jubilant communion of the faithful.

The Battle of the Beats showcase at Teatrino in Greenhills, Metro Manila on July 15th is intended to exhibit a certain standard of sound, but instead of listening like passive spectators, the crowd hollers out for Genius Ears in his moment of ecstasy.

B-Roc and Genius Ears catch the spirit

According to Battle of the Beats organizers Chill and Sam Rhansum of the event production group Red Alert Entertainment, the salvo—a showcase of twelve top-notch Philippine-based beat producers—represents a turning point for Philippine hip hop, which is often seen as dead to the ears of the Philippine public. Tonight, Filipino hip hop believers testify with hands raised.

The Renaissance

When he arrived in the Philippines, Sam Rhansum could not believe it. It is common to hear music echoing in public areas around the islands, but the hip hop music blaring from a corner store had special meaning for Rhansum because he produced the beat and spits the last verse. “From the Far East to the ATL” rings the chorus in the club banger “The Shining” by the Filipino megacrew The Renaissance. As he listened to the knock, Atlanta-based Rhansum—who has made music for BET and MTV—knew the Philippines had a unique place in the continuing story of hip hop.

“The Philippines has a very musical culture,” Rhansum reflects as we chat together with Chill at a café in one of Metro Manila’s ubiquitous shopping malls. His shaved head, tinted shades, white tee, and dangling chain marks a certain American Southern hip hop style, but his white skin marks his seemingly “outsider” status within the fabric of the Philippines’ social landscape. Nonetheless, he expresses his faith in a Philippine musical turn-around of which he wishes to contribute. He gleams excitedly: “The Philippines has the potential to blow up with hip hop.”

For Chill, the Philippines’ musical soundscape does not come as a surprise. As a pioneer in the hip hop movement in the Philippines in the 1990s, she already knows the impressive reach of a Filipino hip hop audience. As a teenager, she signed with Sony Music and demonstrated her dynamism by producing her own beats. Chill collaborated with popular Philippine artists such as the hip hop group Sun Valley Crew. At a time when hip hop and rock were seen as musical enemies in the Philippines, she performed alongside big rock acts such as Wolfgang, Razorback, Eraserheads, Greyhoundz, RiverMaya, and Sandwich to name a few. Filipino hip hoppers will know her feel-good anthems, such as “Party All Night.”

For Chill, hip hop has seen brighter days. After a hiatus of which included fashion school in the United States, she is back in Manila with a mission to reignite Philippine hip hop’s popularity. “We want to put the eye back on the ‘urban scene’ once again,” she describes the purpose of Red Alert.

Wiser with experience and willing to take risks, Chill understands the changes that have occurred since the 1990s. For one, hip hop never disappeared completely but actually blossomed into a serious, disciplined craft for many Filipino performers in the “underground.” Different regions of Metro Manila—from the South in Las Pinas to the North in Quezon City and all places in between and beyond—have developed their own hip hop musical “sounds.” Other regions of the Philippines outside of Metro Manila now boast their own crucibles of hip hop.

The biggest change, it seems, is that hip hop artists no longer monetize like they used to. Without industry support—especially from record companies and live show venues—hip hop has lost material capital. “If there is no place for hip hop, make one. You need to show and prove,” Chill states defiantly.

As a teenager, she proved how defiance can produce results. When skeptical industry heads would not sign her, she did what any smart businesswoman would do: she gathered the type of rappers that appealed to record labels, made their beats, and signed them to the same labels that rejected her. This arrangement proved lucrative as these acts soon blew up and garnered a steady audience. She produced their live shows, where she performed a quick set of her own. “The industry people saw I had my own following at these shows, so they signed me.” Sony Music released her first album Chill in 1997.

Hip Hop Cosmopolitan, Hip Hop Jologs

But 2011 isn’t 1997. The notorious “jologs” stigma that has always been attached to hip hop in the Philippines since the genre emerged in the country has morphed into different—often contradictory—forms. In the 1990s when hip hop monetized, “jologs”—which roughly translates as “ghetto,” uncultured, or kitsch—was complemented by hip hop’s newness and cosmopolitan flair.

In the early 1990s, MTV had arrived in the Philippines in the guise of MTV Asia and access to hip hop became easier than ever before. Franchesca Casauay, director of the Akei Popular Music Working Group at the University of the Philippines and radio personality at Sari-Sari Sounds Radio, remembers when hip hop popularized: “I used to stay up until 3:00 am everyday and tuned into MTV and watched videos and discovered new artists and music genres.”

Many Filipino American expatriates to the “motherland” benefited from hip hop’s cosmopolitan qualities. MastaPlann made it big in the Philippine music industry after signing with Universal Records. After migrating to the Philippines in 1992 from California, the crew soon became one of the most successful hip hop groups in the country, partly due to their English-speaking lyrics that remains associated with a more cosmopolitan crowd.

At the same time, record producers demanded a brand of hip hop “jologs” in Tagalog they believed would sell among the larger lower class in the country.

But this harmony would not last. When rock bands became the golden staple of the music industry and Philippine hip hop became strongly connoted with the much-maligned “jologs” stigma, the metaphoric “eye” turned away from Philippine hip hop artists. Industry stakeholders withdrew their faith in the capitalizing power of hip hop and invested in “safer” live band acts.

As capital’s fickle affection committed itself to rock bands, MastaPlann decided to leave the Philippine music scene only to return last year—thirteen years later—for a reunion concert where they were celebrated as living legends of Philippine hip hop.

If one counts the early influences of Francis M and other Filipino hip hop pioneers in the 1980s, the Philippines has more than two decades of hip hop culture pulsating through its veins. Given the Philippines’ tortuous relationship to the culture, is the country ready to put the “eye” on hip hop once again?

Iron Sharpens Iron

Red Alert Entertainment hopes to recapture the industry’s attention. Dotting the crowd at the July 15th event were representatives from Viva Records, MCA/Universal, Audio Clef, and Hit Productions, just to name a few. These special guests were treated to some of the Philippines’ finest acts. Accompanying the quality sound of Metro Manila’s premiere beat makers were rap and R&B performances by Q-York, Mike Kosa, and The Renaissance (JOLO, Mary, Jazze, Pikaso, Rhansum, Ron Thug and Gene Roca) to top off the “standard” of hip hop music Red Alert Entertainment seeks to set.

With the mostly English-speaking emcees and singers and a cohort of Fil Ams among the beat makers (Pikaso, who is originally from California, says he represents “Philafornia”), it appears Red Alert is formulating a “standard” that leans more towards a once successful cosmopolitan hip hop sound.

With the stage now set, Rhansum believes hungry producers will be urged to pump out more quality beats, which Red Alert considers to be the backbone of hip hop. To be clear, Battle of the Beats is not limited to just one night. The showcase “battlers” of July 15th will serve as judges for the bona fide battles that are programmed twice a month for the next six months. “Competition breeds quality,” recites Rhansum.

Chill and Sam Rhansum (Photo credit: Jon Morgan)

Sam Rhansum and Chill share a laugh during our interview

The winner of the entire tournament will receive a complete set of professional studio equipment and an official introduction to networks within the Philippine music industry. “Instead of fighting over crumbs, we can all work together to make cake,” Rhansum comments on the way Philippine hip hop artists have been scrounging for compensation for the past decade. Battle of the Beats aspires to be a powerful medium to bring the best together to become better together. “Iron sharpens iron.”

“Labels aren’t slighting artists because they are hip hop. It’s because they are not making money,” Chill remarks. “Red Alert seeks to conglomerize artists. We have a phrase in the Philippines, ‘kami-kami lang’ (only our small group). But, there is strength in numbers.” “Instead of having artists separated, we are trying to build recognition through numbers and have the industry come to us,” seconds Rhansum.

What Rhansum calls a “swapmeet for beats and emcees,” Battle of the Beats aims to be a forum to bring together music agents from record labels, TV, radio, and cinema together with hip hop artists. Chill states, “We want the same kind of mentality for hip hop artists as for rock bands. We want people to pay for a hip hop show like they do for rock bands. We want people to pay hip hop artists.”

But Red Alert is about more than simply monetizing artists, according to Rhansum. Artist education and professionalization is key, with compensation as the bi-product. “We want to provide a community to teach artists how to perform at lives shows and to know about licensing their work.”

To demonstrate the group’s commitment to the “masa” (everyday people), Red Alert is programming Battle of the Beats amateurs’ edition at SM Mall, where an aspiring producer who may not have the resources can create a beat using software and equipment supplied by the mall. The “diamond in the rough” winner will then have a chance to compete in the bigger Battle of the Beats series. “In hip hop, it’s the hustle mentality I admire,” Chill reflects.

Mass Celebration

MastaPlann’s reunion concert last year convinced Sam Rhansum to settle in the Philippines. He performed a set at the concert and received so much love from the Filipino audience. With an obvious mass of “underground” hip hop enthusiasts hungry for more music from its Philippine-based artists, Battle of the Beats became more and more realistic. In the early 1990s, MastaPlann opened a space for a captive hip hop audience; the group now inspires dreams of reigniting hip hop’s glory days. “I think hip hop’s golden age is now,” Rhansum declares passionately.

B-Roc raises it up (Photo credit: Rica Phonics)

The Philippines in the 1990s had a hip hop scene few Filipino Americans know about. While Fil Ams in the Bay Area were big on Freestyle and R&B music (think Kai, Jocelyn Enriquez, or Buffy), their kindred in the Philippines were making major moves in the hip hop industry. Fil Am emcees may have risen in popularity in the mid-2000s (think Blue Scholars, Native Guns, Deep Foundation, or Rocky Rivera), but Filipinos in the Philippines a decade prior have proven that Filipino emcees could magnetize a paying audience.

Today, despite a lack of monetary compensation, hip hop is alive in the Philippines, with patches of hip hop scenes dotting the archipelago caught up in the hustle over scarce resources. The culture survives despite the hunger, but the future of its artists remains uncertain.

Battle of the Beats was a congregation of some of Philippine hip hop’s most devoted. But filling the choir seats is not enough to celebrate mass. “Kami-kami lang” has no place in Red Alert’s vision for hip hop in the Philippines. Perhaps Battle of the Beats is a beginning for bigger things to come, where hip hop unbelievers and apostles, the lay and the anointed can worship at the alter of quality music, and celebrate hip hop together.

Special thanks to Chill, Sam Rhansum, Megan Villanueva, Franchesca Casauay, and Justin Gabriel.
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Cipher of Styles presentation at Univ. of the Philippines!

2011-07-19T01:20:00.000-07:00

MusiKolokya- Informal Talk

Cipher of Styles: Exploring the Filipino Hip-Hop Diaspora

Friday, July 22, 2011 @ 5:30pm

University of the Philippines-Diliman

Instramantaryo Asyano- Abelardo Hall, College of Music

Thanks to Nex and Chex for organizing this event. I hope to meet some interesting scholars, music lovers, and artists and also re-unite with some old friends! Tara na!

Guest Article: Battle of the Beats is a battle for hearts

2011-07-12T01:58:00.000-07:00

Chill aka the Queen of Hip Hop in the Philippines

and Red Alert Entertainment brings you the first ever

Battle of the Beats- Philippines

Battle of the Beats

Friday, July 15, 2011 @ 8:00pm

Teatrino in Green Hills

Battle of the Beats is a battle for hearts

by Megan Villanueva

“Hip hop is dead in the Philippines” is a common saying among hip hop heads here.

To Fil Ams like myself who have had the privilege of experiencing the hip hop scene in the Metro Manila, that statement proves to be false. With films like Lyrical Empire and Youtube hits like FlipTop, the world has witnessed the flourishing of hip hop in the

Philippines

. The nation, mostly known for their ballads and masa sound, has a lot of little-known quality music hiding in the "urban" scene. Upon arriving in the Philippines, when U.S.-based producer/artist Sam Rhansum heard the common saying above, he vowed to be a part of the ongoing struggle to change that perception.

Chill, the Queen of Hip Hop in the Philippines and Sam Rhansum (together with Atlanta-based producer Billy Hume) comprise Red Alert Entertainment. Red Alert has organized the Philippines' first ever Battle of the Beats, which parallels (and in many way exceeds) beat battles in Atlanta, New York and L.A. Premiering Friday, this event will bring a level of competition and long-awaited exposure to a multitude of talented producers of the Philippines. Representing the whole spectrum of urban music, the Battle of the Beats will bring you electronic mixes from Funk Avy to Chrizo’s boom bap hip hop beats to show the diversity among the nation's producers.

Battle of the Beats isn’t just a showcase, it is also an attempt to bridge the unfortunate gaps that prevent unity among artists. As an ongoing program that doesn't stop at Friday's premiere at Teatrino, the event will connect talented producers with aspiring artists and emcees with fellow DJ’s to collaborate and create great music. As an ongoing series, Battle of the Beats will become the platform for media and labels to seek quality beats and talented artists. Furthermore, the much anticipated educational component of the series sets it apart from any other beat battle program as it strives to educate amateur producers--who may lack resources and experience--in enhancing the quality of their production.

To say the least, Battle of the Beats has burdened itself with a lot of responsibility to follow through with these goals. Although, because of the demonstrated support so far its success looks promising.

You are invited to witness the country’s top producers showcase their talents and become a part of this milestone for the industry this Friday, July 15^th at Teatrino in Green Hills at 8pm. For tickets call 6334034 or 09174090509.

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Live and Direct from Metro Manila, 2011 Edition!

2011-07-06T04:56:00.000-07:00

Cutting-edge and multitalented group Los Indios Bravos wreck shop for a punk audience this past Sunday in Timog!

Fil Am emcees perform a freshly-written jam at the Festival of People's Struggles at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. L to R: Eric Tandoc (not pictured), Rogue Pinay, Nomi, and Pele. Get em dawg!

FlipTop exhibition performances on Saturday in Timog. The crowd can't get enough!

Come see the first ever Philippine Battle of the Beats, featuring FilAm Funk friends B-Roc, Chrizo, Flavamatiks, BoJam, and many more! More of this story to come...

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Uh Puerto Rico...Woh!! Obama 'erupts' the colony

2011-06-15T15:19:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday, the island had a visitor from the continent, and it ain't Frankie Cutlass.

Like the Puerto Rican dancers on America's Best Dance Crew, the islands erupted on the American mainstage once again with an official presidential visit from Barack Obama. In past articles, I've talked about the curious cultural position inhabited by members of U.S. island colonies: the Filipino/Puerto Rican brutha Bruno Mars, Puerto Ricans in Florida, Pacquiao vs. Cotto, Puerto Rican and Filipino representation on America's Best Dance Crew (here and here), and the newly confirmed Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Still, questions remain about how Puerto Rico continues to configure in the national imagination of the U.S. Instead of dancing, singing, or boxing, the President's visit makes the island visible for a "mainstream" audience through political pomp and election skrilla snatching (he raised $1 million at a fundraiser).

Mr. Obama's home state of Hawai'i stands as an example of another island colony, which is at once "different" because of its exotic appeal yet "domestic" because it's the 50th state (hey a nice round number means national completeness, right?). Hence the twisted irony of Obama's visit: he used to rep a Pacific island colony (turned state) and now reps hard for the "mainland" on a visit to the Caribbean island colony.

The 50 state nation is purportedly "complete" in God's eyes, at least according to the kind folks at American Family Association who are sponsoring a "prayer event" in August with Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry. According to rhetoric of this group, the shape of the nation is set by God.

But what exactly is the shape of the nation? And how do we determine its borders? The U.S.-dominated islands (the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico, Hawai'i, and others) prove the complexity of these questions. The islands trouble the nations legal, geographic, and cultural contiguity.

Enter Obama on a visit to the literal margins of America. How can the emergence of Puerto Rico in the U.S. imagination bring to light the sin of U.S. imperialism? Where does Puerto Rico, as a non-voting colony of the U.S., configure within the "ideal" of Americana?

As a territory under federal authority (especially military) but limited "voice" in federal governance, Puerto Rico's incongruity to an American ideal is a problem. And the people of Puerto Rico have much to be concerned about. Like the Philippines, Puerto Rico is experiencing a "brain drain" of skilled Puerto Ricans migrating to the continent. The island has more boricuas living on the continent (who interestingly can vote for president) than on the island itself. Much like the rest of the nation (only magnified), the island has been experiencing unprecedented unemployment and poverty. And like the rest of the nation, higher education is one of the first priorities on the fiscal chopping block, resulting in an uprising by students who are subsequently denied "voice". Freedom of speech in some instances has been banned in Puerto Rico, where student protesters who are increasingly unable to attend school because of rising fees are punished for exercising a fundamental American right. Liberty and justice...for some?

From the New York Times. Student protests meet roadblocks in Puerto Rican universities.

During his visit to the island, President Obama declared his support for the decision the colony makes regarding statehood (51st?) or independence: “When the people of Puerto Rico make a clear decision, my administration will stand by you…. We want Puerto Rico to have a shot at the dream that we all have.”

As an afterthought to the "main" U.S. agenda, Puerto Rico's future is becoming increasingly dismal. As members of a supposed critical "Hispanic" (continental) voting bloc, the President finds Puerto Ricans a valuable demographic. But how valuable is the President to Puerto Ricans?

As the author of the article "Obama's Puerto Rico Pit Stop" in The Nation writes, "The perception is that Puerto Rico is not a part of the 'national conversation,' but rather a colonial outpost in which identity politics, language and nationalism have residents mired in a perennial identity crisis."

Puerto Rico plays an important role in bringing knowledge to American imperial history (and future?). Where Obama's Hawai'i became "domesticated" and the Philippines became "independent", Puerto Rico--home to 4 million American subjects and whose migrated people constitute a coveted voting bloc on the continent--remains a major player in the quest for U.S. border-defining. Can residents of the "colonial outpost" challenge the notion of American imperial innocence? Or will America's island subjects remain the way they always have been? That is, invisible.

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Another Allstars Victory!

2011-06-14T12:43:00.000-07:00

On to the next one!

The Philippine Allstars are back and keep on winning! On Saturday, June 11, 2011, the group took 1st place at the Dance2Dance "World Street Dance Showcase Competition" in Zurich, Switzerland. After a few years hiatus, these national dance heroes are making a strong comeback. With a killer combination of hip hop foundation, theatrical spectacularity, power moves, and freaky "spear" freezes, the Allstars' hunger still proves stuff of champions.

Still, the Allstars faced tough competition, especially from USA's Mos Wanted (who seem to have Filipino American members of their own!). These America's Best Dance Crew competitors, who won 2nd place at the Dance2Dance event, showed perfect on-beat (and on-lyric!) execution with impressive repertoire of dance styles (house set is awesome!).

We welcome back the Allstars to the world stage. As winners of back-to-back Gold in 2006 at the International Hip-Hop Open d'Italia in Italy and the World Hip-Hop Dance Championships (WHHDC) in Los Angeles, Gold in 2008 at the WHHDC in Las Vegas, and another Gold in 2009 at the Malta Guiness Streetdance Africa competition, the Allstars have given a funky vision of Filipinos to dazzle the world!

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Lyrical Empire Movie

2011-05-29T01:16:00.000-07:00

"The movie serves as an eye-opener as to the struggle of Filipinos involved in Hip Hop in the Philippines. A must see movie..." -Jerome B. Smooth (Manila radio voice)

Lyrical Empire: Hip Hop in Metro Manila
(2010, 23 mins., Philippines/USA)

Take a glimpse into the lives of hip hop artists from a country where hip hop culture is under constant scrutiny from a skeptical public. What will it take for these artists to prove their skills? Will hip hop become big in the Philippines, or will it be forever discarded as "jologs," underclass, and uncultured? These hardworking hip hop heads show you the passion and style they bring to the game where lyrical boundaries blur and innovation is prized.

I'm honored to have worked with such amazing artists and visionaries for this film. Please visit the Lyrical Empire label for more information about this project, including past screenings. Screenings and discussions are continuing in classrooms all over the country!

Check out my Evil Monito Magazine article on Philippine hip hop here.

View more FilAm Funk Productions projects and become a fan on Facebook.

Keep rising!
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Thursday Throwback: Stuff Fil Am People Like

2011-05-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

This is a real old throwback (here for original) when the website Stuff White People Like was really popular. I'm glad yall took it real light-hearted.

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In the great tradition of the popular blog "Stuff White People Like" and its spawn "Stuff Educated Black People Like," and inspired by "Ask A Filipino", here is a critical, serious, and scientific list of stuff Fil Am people like (not in any particular order).

#1 Sushi
This satisfies the Asian part for Fil Ams. The rice and soy sauce are natural ingredients they are used to. Just add pork, grease, and vinegar and it'd be a barrio fiesta for them.

#2 Picture taking
Fil Ams love taking pictures of each other, even redundantly in the dance club. This custom dates back to when white people took pictures of them a century ago.

#3 Free sandwiches. Not this.
Fil Ams will gather around free food in general, so be cautious if your multicultural org's resources are limited.

#4 Latino Culture
This usually comes in the form of salsa dancing. Move out the way when "Esa Morena" is played at one of their debuts.

#5 Hawai'i (Yes, that is Jasmine Trias)
This satisfies Fil Ams claim to be Pacific Islander (minus the whole genocide thing, of course).

#6 Afro-American culture
Fil Ams' fascination with Afro-American culture goes way back when David Fagen and African American Buffalo Soldiers helped Filipinos fight against American colonizers. They honor him through corn rows and sporadic copula absence.

#7 Sportin dark colors

#8 Rockin big shades (sorry Krish)

#9 Sportin bright colors

#10 Choreographed Dancing
These Fil Am dance troupes usually consist of an absurd amount of dancers, moving uniformly. Uncle Sam says: "You're easy to control. Yet, oh so funky."

#11 Pageants
Through consent or coercion, Fil Ams are socialized to participate in extravagant pageants. This relates to #2 and #14.

#12 New York
When you ask a Fil Am where they are going to vacation, they will usually tell you "I really want to go to New York" if Hawaii is not an option. This relates to #6 because of New York's connotation with hip hop culture. Coming largely from the suburbs, Fil Ams will grab any opportunity to be urban.

#13 Basketball (5'10" and under bringin the thunder)

#14 All-you-can eat buffets
Fil Ams tend to gravitate to all-you-can-eat buffets. This phenomenon relates to American consumer influence in the Philippines, like indulging in choice, variety, and extravagance (and endless cheddar-bay biscuits).

#15 Extended college life
But likely not this.

#16 Being late
Fil Ams are always late, even for job interviews. At some Filipino masses, you will notice church starts at fifteen after the hour. Too bad it doesn't end fifteen minutes early, when Fil Ams tend to leave after bread time.

#17 Head wraps and Kufi caps
This is a gesture to their Muslim and African affinities. This kind of relates to #6.

#18 The idea of revolution
Fil Ams love proclaiming the need for revolution (while wearing dark or bright colors and a head wrap). Actual revolution, however, is kind of scary.

#19 The sound of vinyl scratching
Wicky wicky wicky. Got your attention (like a dog whistle)?

#20 Loitering in large groups
This is especially true after a Fil Am youth group or club meetin and usually takes place in parking lots. This phenomenon is related to #10, with less body movements.

#21 A Tribe Called Quest
When "Scenario" comes on in the club, you betta duck cuz Fil Ams will bug out. Why do Fil Ams like ATCQ? It might be Ali Shaheed Muhammad's fresh beats or the resonating, non-threatening Afrohumanist rhymes. Or maybe its because they are a "tribe."

Any more?

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Sunday Cipher: Immature acts

2011-05-15T14:40:00.000-07:00

Don "Half-Pint" Santos was an original member of the wildly popular 90s R&B group Immature. During the early 1990s, before Filipino Americans would have a (modest) presence in mainstream music, Don Santos paved the way, making appearances on The Arsenio Hall Show and House Party 2 and ultimately leaving an impression on a whole generation of Filipino Americans and beyond. What happened to Mr. Santos? Why did he leave the group? Where is he now?

Messages to Half-Pint from CAESARSALAD on Vimeo.

Searching for Don "Half-Pint" Santos (featured in the 27th Annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival) is a short documentary that explores the whereabouts of the child phenom. Here is an excerpt from the film's website:

"Searching for Don ‘Half-Pint’ Santos is a short documentary that takes the audience on a journey to find Don Santos, a former member of 1990’s R&B group, Immature. The documentary will focus not only what happened to Don Santos, but the actual journey to find Santos.

I grew up in the 80‘s-90’s listening to Hip-Hop and R&B. Anything from gangsta rap to east coast hip-hop to slow jams were bumping on my walkman. Don’t get me wrong, I’d get in some grunge and alternative in there as well. But, R&B and Hip-Hop just called out to me.

A couple years later, I would reminisce with friends and talk about how music wasn’t like it used to be... And then someone popped the question, “Did you know there was a Filipino in Immature?” Wait, what? There is? I thought they were all African-American? Some people could recall that there was. We’d then ask more questions about him and the group." CONTINUE READING...

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Visions of the Creole Bastard: Film and the postcolonial body

2011-05-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

Davis, played by Jose Saenz, is determined to dunk in The Flip Side (2001).

On Saturday the 27th Annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival presented the 10-year anniversary screening of the pioneering narrative film The Flip Side. An official selection of the Sundance Film Festival in 2001, the LAAPFF screening marked a historic moment in Filipino American film and raised questions about the future of the genre. At ten years old, is The Flip Side a film that a younger generation can relate to? What cultural changes have occurred between the Fil Am generation of the late 90s and early 2000s, and the generation coming-to-age around 2010?

In 2001, a troupe of California-based Filipino American artists and advocates stormed the Sundance venue in Utah with the intent to make clamor for The Flip Side and DJ Qbert's Wave Twisters that premiered at the same time. These Fil Am pilgrims were surprised to be greeted by a small community of Utah Fil Am residents who showed a tremendous amount of love for the artists.

At the time, the Fil Ams' experience in Utah reflected a bigger phenomenon of Filipino (mis/under)representation in the larger public imaginary. Many times during Sundance meetings and press events, according to The Flip Side director Rod Pulido, he and other Filipinos were the only people of color around. Also to note, the film was interestingly programmed into the Native Forum portion of the festival, which is perhaps reflective of Utah's demographic imaginary and Filipinos' strange ethnic placement in the United States. "The Native Forum director felt that Filipinos' issues were similar to those of Native Americans, such as dealing with assimilation," Pulido mentioned during the Q&A portion of the LAAPFF event.

Filipinos similar to Native Americans? Hold up. This is getting confusing. I think this cross-racial resonance speaks to the indeterminacy that best describes Filipino people whose culture is mixed, creolized, and transformed by what Filipina art critic Sarita See calls a "wild heterogeneity."

But the film speaks for itself when it comes to Filipino American anxiety (from outside and from within) over their complex membership in the U.S.'s (and the world's) racial and cultural landscape. Likely to resonate with Fil Ams of all ages, as a satirical drama, The Flip Side engages questions about racial and cultural authenticity. Characters in the movie perform a series of "Fil Am caricatures" (some more painfully disturbing than others): the bahag-wearing Darius who awkwardly preaches facile Philippine nationalism, the brother Davis who speaks as if he were African American, the sister Marievic who hopelessly wishes she looked more white, the bagoong craving father, the gossiping mother, and the lotto addicted lolo.

The film opens with Darius returning home in suburban California (the film was shot in Cerritos) after his first year at college where he joined the Filipino student group Kababayan. Emboldened by his knew knowledge of Filipinoness, Darius deals with his dysfunctional family members while preaching the gospel of (his version of) Filipino culture. Darius's curmudgeon lolo stays cramped in an upstairs room, where Darius visits bearing food in hopes of connecting with the old man who for Darius becomes a proxy for an "authentic" Filipinoness. Giving away his hip hop records to Davis, Darius exchanges his default hip hop identity--an identity that Rod Pulido said he most identified with--for minstrel-like Filipino indigeneity.

Darius, played by Verwin Gatpandan, drags in indigeneity with his bahag.

A testament to the identity-formation process many college-educated Fil Ams go through, The Flip Side is both a hyperbolic critique of Filipino American culture and also a comedic meditation on the otherwise complicated circulation of racial and cultural referents dealt to Filipino Americans. For the Fil Am males in the movie, the ethnic journey is a journey to recuperate a Filipino masculinity, with Darius's bahag representing a phallic symbol of his Filipinoness and Davis's desire for the supposed African "extra bone" in his foot together with an obsession with gaining height representing his own longing for a black manhood. In addition, the heroicizing of lolo with his Battle of Bataan medals stand in for an aspirant Filipino (militant) masculinity gone flaccid, of which the two generations--Darius and lolo--resolve by tricking their quirky family members and starting a journey of their own.

Marievic is proud to be "Hawaiian."

The seeking for a more stable sense of self for Darius's siblings ultimately meet tragic disfigurement: Davis breaks a bone in his foot after trying to dunk on his modified basketball rim and Marievic's nose becomes infected after a botched cosmetic operation to "fix" her Filipina nose. But the sad idea of "fixing" a Filipino identity is perhaps the most heartbreaking lesson offered by The Flip Side, performed poignantly by Ronalee Par who as Marievic trashes her vanity mirror arrangement after her boyfriend dumps her. Her boyfriend, who is drawn to Marievic when they first meet, tries to guess her ethnic background of which Marievic agrees is "Hawaiian". "In Hawai'i I was born, that's why I'm Hawaiian," she tells him. Hawaiian, therefore, according to Marievic, is a more legible and intelligible (and exotic) ethnicity compared to the disarticulated and ambiguous Filipino. Ultimately, Marievic's desire to "fix" her "flawed" identity meets with failure and loss.

The message, then, that The Flip Side promotes is that a Filipino and Filipino American culture does not need "fixing" like that exemplified by Davis and Marievic's penchant for bodily modification. Maybe the film is telling us we should embrace our ambiguity and "wild heterogeity" and find agency in being able to play with borders. Or maybe the film is suggesting that young Filipino Americans should seek knowledge about their history, especially our history of resistance as shown by Darius's teaching Davis about Philippine "heroes."

Whatever the case, I think the tortuous racial negotiations visualized in The Flip Side work as a critique of the way Filipinos are seen as weak. I think the film performs a subtle commentary on the conceit of "purer civilizations" positioned "above" the creolized* Filipina/o and her/his aborted/injured Philippine national identity molded by Spanish (three centuries), U.S. (all of the 20th century as a colony/neocolony), and even Japanese (for three years during WWII) colonization. Filipino American engagement with whiteness, blackness, and (according to Sundance programming) Native Americanness provides a window to this mixed history. This in-betweenness references a complex Filipino racial position in the world that differs from the classical U.S. immigrant narrative that only identifies racialization originating upon arrival in the U.S. In other words, unlike many other immigrant nations, a creolized Philippines offers a grammar of racialization prior to migration. Yes, The Flip Side is a commentary on immigrant assimilation, but its also more by virtue of its envisioned "wild heterogeneity"--its characters' creolized identities.

Ryan Greer as Ralsto in One Kine Day (2010).

Another movie that speaks to the creolization featured at this year's LAAPFF is the beautifully-shot One Kind Day, a film about the trials of young skater Ralsto who encounters a series of money problems--including tense encounters with a haole drug trafficker named Vegas Mike--after he finds out his teenage girlfriend is pregnant. Director Chuck Mistui described during the Q&A that his movie addresses the problem of teen pregnancy in Hawai'i, visualizing what he called the the grittier, non-touristy side of Hawai'i.

Under the auspices of Haolewood Productions (a gesture to white people, or haoles as they are called by locals), One Kine Day foregrounds the multiracial landscape of Hawai'i with its cast of whites, hapa haoles (part white Hawaiians), Asians, and Islanders. The film, however, is surprisingly absent of Filipino presence especially given the large concentration of Ilocanos in Hawai'i. Nonetheless, the process of creolization--the colonial transforming of racial order, culture, language, and so on--parallels that of the Philippines. Both were colonies of the United States, but Hawai'i attained U.S. statehood in 1959 whereas the Philippines (for multiple reasons) remained a U.S. neocolony (which means the U.S. arbitrated uneven economic control and military authority in the archipelago). One Kine Day, with its subtle references to Hawai'i's peripheral yet incorporated status such as the recurring imagery of the U.S. Post Office, bears witness to the cultural and racial "othering" that describes Hawai'i's exotic status compared to the other 49 states. Perhaps Hawai'i's "other" yet somehow "familiar" status is why Marievic privileges Hawaiian over Filipino.

Even though during the Q&A Mitsui did not really mention the racial critique offered by his film, the multiracial cast and the tensions that emerge among its members suggest an embedded racial discord. For example, race and class tensions emerges when racially-mixed (Japanese and white) Ralsto hitches a ride with his two "brown," pidgin-speaking neighbors who recycle bottles and cans as part of their work. Ralsto blurts out he would rather have a baby than collect trash with the two men, prompting one of the men to retort: "You think you better than us?!" This scene unpacks bigger racial issues in the Pacific state, where the racial order can be described as whites above Japanese, Japanese above other Asians, Filipinos as the lowest Asians, and Native Hawaiians and African Americans at the bottom of the caste.

One Kine Day illustrates this racial hierarchy. When the story revolves around pregnancy and the anxieties of reproduction, the racial narrative becomes even more compelling. Given that discourses around race and native genocide in Hawai'i often follow a complex logic of bloodlines that mark native membership, reproduction becomes a site of the future of Hawai'i. One Kine Day, with Ralsto and his pregnant white girlfriend Alea, therefore, depicts a mixture of anxieties and hopes about the reproduction of a white future in Hawai'i. The "browner" residents embody sexual excess, risky behavior, and "improper" language (pidgin as Hawaiian creole) while whiteness (through Alea) signifies life and hope. The movie, I think, if read unconventionally offers a tragic criticism of these representations rather than their blind replication (you have to see the ending).

In many ways I agree with Mitsui. His film depicts a Hawai'i not seen by tourists. His vision of Hawai'i (whether intentional or not) reminds us of the "impurity" of the state's history, language, and residents. Like The Flip Side, One Kine Day reverses the colonial gaze by allowing the colonized people to speak back--in the "wild heterogeneity" of their creole language. The "dysfunctions" of the characters are not one-to-one representations of a bastard people. Rather, we can envision the characters as resilient survivors of postcolonial violence--"flaws" and all--who through their performance (satiric and/or tragic) will travel forward and reproduce (in life and knowledge). Yet, their flourishing--the pleasure and beauty of their creole culture--will always embody a memory of colonial transgressions.

The Flip Side and One Kine Day provide creative evidence of the racial position of creolized people in the world. Perhaps this archive can give knowledge to possible cultural alliances with other creolized people around the world, such as those flourishing in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the continental United States. Maybe such collaborations can create more creative productions that help disrupt the myths of a "weak" postcolonial people who need "fixing." Maybe one day a congregation of this alliance can gather (together with the local community) and celebrate their achievements like the hopeful group of Filipino Americans did at Sundance just ten years ago.

*I realize I'm taking great liberties in my use of the word "creole." For now, it is the most proximate word I have to describe colonial cultural and racial mixture.
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References:
Asian American Invisibility: You don't see us, but we see you!
Questioning Kapuso: Re-Thinking Fil Am Culture
You don't see us, but we see you: Filipinos under the veil

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Party Among B-Boys on May 4th!

2011-04-25T17:40:00.000-07:00

It's almost time for the big screen premiere of Global Pinay Style and Among B-Boys! Chris Woon (director of Among B-Boys) and FilAm Funk Productions are gearing up for an explosive evening that we hope will be a memorable experience for all. The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival begins Thursday, and we are honored to be featured during prime time on Wednesday, May 4th.

Breaking news! We invite you to enjoy delicious food, refreshing spirits, and impressive dance performances at our pre-screening reception (located at the same venue-CGV Cinemas) beginning at 7:30pm! Get down with some of the world's most talented b-boys and b-girls, including stars of the documentary Among B-Boys, members of Culture Shock-LA, and other world-renown dancers who have declared their attendance.

Be sure to check out the premiere Facebook Event page to RSVP!

Global Pinay Style + Among B-Boys
Wednesday, May 4th 2011 @ 9:15pm (reception @ 7:30pm)
CGV Cinemas 1: 621 S Western Ave. (Between 6th Street and Wilshire Blvd) Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA 90010

In AMONG B-BOYS, director Christopher Woon explores a movement of Hmong youth with a starting point in the California Central Valley. Just like the rest of the B-Boy/B-Girl world, many of them are on a quest for respect and even fame through their skills. In this search for success in the Breaking world, these youth must also navigate their way and strike a balance between their identities as Hmong and B-Boys.

GLOBAL PINAY STYLE documents the rich hip hop dance scene that Filipinas are creating in the Philippines and their creative influences around the world. Focusing on members of the Philippine All Stars and Stellar, the film shows how Pinays are central in carving out spaces for a vibrant dance subculture, proving their skills for a global audience.

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Sunday Cipher: Champion!

2011-04-17T00:56:00.000-07:00

Mabuhay, Mosley! You next!

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Artist Spotlight: Build foundation with Dennis Infante

2011-04-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

We have yet another elucidating interview this week! Dance guru Dennis Infante (DSPlayers/Groovemekanex/MuthaFunkers) graced Rock the School Bells with his Freestyle and Party Dance workshop. Yours truly had a chance to sweat it out to Dennis's boot camp class and get a solid cardio workout to the trooper, party machine, etc.! I'm glad to say I survived (and maybe even outlasted some of the young kids in) the class.

In seriousness, it was an honor to witness the sharing of dance knowledge from a dance veteran to a new generation. RTSB and the recent Culture Shock Hip Hop Has History conference in LA (where I got a chance to learn some popping techs from the legendary Flat Top) hosted some very young (and very talented) people-- who were born after we lost Tupac and Biggie! And some were embryos when hyphy was at its prime! Events like these prove that certain styles are still alive and thriving.

Dennis brings knowledge to eager dancers of all ages. His helpful instruction and breadth of wisdom makes him an effective and meaningful teacher. In this interview he talks about the importance of knowledge in dance--not to dance just to move, but to engage with history. In other words, to learn foundation. Let's start building:

Why do you feel it is important for you to teach street dance styles?

I feel it's important to teach the street dance styles to help preserve them, especially with today's generation. Foundation of any dance style is key in growing as a dancer. Oftentimes people just want to learn moves and don't really care about the dance. I feel that knowing how a certain move was created is just as important as the technique. When today's generation learns the foundation and how to apply it to dance, then they are able to advance the style to the next level once they gain that understanding. At the end of the day, this is still a DANCE, not just moves.

So it is more than just moves. As an instructor for Rock the School Bells, what can young people (some born in the late 1990s) learn specifically aside from the dance itself?

Young people can learn the social impact the dances had on society. These dances were created during rough times in rough cities, when people didn't really have anything else. That creative outlet that dance gave them brought something new to the table, and now you can find dance in everything from movies, to commercials, to ads, etc. I was originally thinking about doing a Locking workshop at RTSB, but I felt that there aren't enough Hip-Hop classes in the Bay Area that teach Hip-Hop. A lot of the classes will teach a short routine, but not really show the students how to dance using certain fundamental moves of the Hip-Hop dance style. So I decided to do a Hip-Hop party dance class instead. Especially since the vocabulary of that era is somewhat being lost in some areas.

What I like to show students however is the relation of the different moves within other styles from other genres and eras. I'm discovering more that a lot of the moves are the same, but the feel of it is just different when done in other dance styles. One documentary that really opened me up to this is called Everything Remains Raw, by Moncell Durden. I saw it a few years ago in SF and it is amazing! It really shows the lineage of a lot of the moves and just social dance itself. I highly recommend anyone who loves dance to check it out. After seeing this documentary, it really motivated me to research more on a lot of older footage from Jazz, Tap, and African dance and really try to trace the lineage of the moves that we do in Hip-Hop. Even with a lot of the names of the moves, I'm finding out more and more how different areas may have different name for the same move. The history of these dances aren't usually the focus on a lot of these dance driven tv shows, so I feel it's important for us dance teachers in the community to share with the students it's history and background or else it would just get lost somewhere down the line. This way, it can help the students learn as much as possible and keep an open mind about all styles of dance, not just the one that they're into.

RTSB had a noticeable amount of Filipino American representation in terms of the participants, facilitators, and the concert line-up. Do you feel that growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, that the Fil Am representation at RTSB reflected the dance community in the Bay in general?

Although I feel that there are many Fil Ams that represented at RTSB, I still think the Bay Area dance community is very diverse. There are many Fil Ams in dance, but it also just depends on which city is being focused on, and also which styles of dance. From what I see here in the Bay, I see more Fil Ams in the larger dance teams that specialize in choreography. But say for example in the street/club dance scene, it is a bit more diverse with African Americans, Latinos, etc. The Fil Am community in the Bay has always been around representing in dance for quite awhile though.

In what ways do you think that the music popular today matches bodily movement? Is it similar or different from the way you group up with hip hop and dance?

I think the body reacts to sounds naturally the way it should. The way the music is now is way different that the type of Hip-Hop we listened to growing up, and I think that's why people in this generation move differently, because of the music. I see that it is a little harder for the younger generation to pick up the feel of an old school hip-hop move, and vice versa where it is a little harder for an older person to do a move from today (like the dougie for example haha).

You have a picture of "Boogie Down Manila" in your Facebook photos. How did you link up with the hip hop folks from Manila?

The Boogie Down Manila shirt is a brand design from a bboy crew in PI called Funk Roots. The particular shirt that I have is a collaboration Funk Roots did with the Know Your Rank Brand here in the Bay. I don't really have any role with any dancers in the PI. I have however participated in an outreach program teaching free workshops the youth at various schools out there and met a lot of amazing local dancers during my stay. In terms of Fil Ams in the PI, what I heard through friends is that P-Kid (who is a dancer from the US) was one of the first Fil Ams to bring the raw Hip-Hop dance culture over to the PI. Also, one of the locals who has really been holding it down out there is a bboy named Jay Masta. I was in the Philippines in 2009 at an event called All The Way Live. Jay Masta received an award from the event for all his contributions to the dance community out there. I'm sure there are a lot more folks in the PI who have been instrumental in the game. I am still very interested in learning more about the growth Hip-Hop in the Philippines, so anyone who can share with me what they know, please feel free to hit me up!

Ok Philippine hip hop heads, you heard the man, hit him up! Thanks Mr. Infante for an illuminating interview! Dance is knowledge and knowledge is power!
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Activist Spotlight: Learn your lessons from Nate Nevado

2011-04-11T19:51:00.001-07:00

Visionary educator and organizer Nate Nevado chimes in on hip hop pedagogy

Hip hop over homework? How about both? Reflecting on the success of another great Rock the School Bells conference, visionary RTSB organizer Nate Nevado breaks down how hip hop can work as an educational resource. In Mr. Nevado's world, the choice between hip hop and academics is not one of contradiction as naysayers in the hip hop over homework debate would have it. RTSB provides evidence of Filipino Americans are merging their passions of hip hop, social justice, and education, thus transforming a "hip hop as pathology" to one of "hip hop as pedagogy."

After all, why deny Fil Am youth the language that they speak? Why not talk with them instead of down to them? We talk with Nate to figure it out.

Why do you feel the need for an event such as RTSB at this moment in time?

We feel that RTSB is crucial in today's education for several reasons:

1) Because of the many misconceptions that are associated with hip-hop, we felt the need to educate and empower our youth and communities what hip-hop is all about. Hip-hop has grown into a global phenomenon where it is recognized universally around the world. We felt it was important to teach the youth and community about the history and origins of hip-hop. In any culture, misconceptions and stereotypes exists through the passage of experiences, opinions, and biases of other people. In order to alleviate these misconceptions, one must learn about the culture - language, customs, etc. We treat hip-hop the same way. It is a culture so instead of having to defend hip-hop, we challenge others to learn about the culture of hip-hop; to be educated and empowered by those who practice and experienced hip-hop firsthand.

Nate Nevado being interviewed by Pacific Rim Video in anticipation of RTSB 4.

2) To illustrate that hip-hop can be used as a tool to teach life skills, such as reading and writing, to think critically about issues that impact their communities, and to be health conscious. Hip-hop should be a part of the educational curriculum across all campuses from middle schools to universities. We've got today's youth attention locked into hip-hop. Since we've got them listening, why not use hip-hop to empower and educate?

3) Having this event allows us to continue to preserve the culture and history of hip-hop. Hip-hop was created for communities who were experiencing poor social and economic conditions in their communities. It gave them a voice. Because we live in a society where we receive information at such a rapid rate due to the usage of digital technology, we sometimes forget to educate ourselves about the history and culture of hip-hop. For example, we have seen significant increase of dance crews within the last 5-7 years even though dance crews have been existing longer than that. With Youtube and other websites, the youth want to be the next JabbaWockeez or the next Super Cr3w, that they focus primarily focus on dance moves rather than why the dance moves even exist in the first place. Because of the advent of digital technology, sometimes the history gets lost. RTSB provides the linkage between the youth and hip-hop practitioners to maintain and preserve the integrity of the hip-hop culture.

How do you make hip hop a medium for education and social justice?

As mentioned before, hip-hop is a global phenomenon, a recognizable universal language that many people around the world can relate to. In the same way we have poetry classes or literature classes or sociology classes, students engage in discussions that provoke critical thought in the books that they read and the lectures/presentations that they have listened to. Hip-hop, being that it is universally recognized, can be used to analyze the current issues in education and social justice.

One of the workshops that we have constantly is the Hip-Hop and Social Justice workshop. Our first year, DJ Sake-One was our facilitator followed by Kiwi/Nomi/Pele of FCC/ALAY for RTSB2. Gabe Delrokz Delacruz has been our facilitator for the past two events. The workshop is designed to discuss many issues that occur in our communities such as immigrant rights, human right violations, teen pregnancy, drugs, etc. Students, then, will write verses on any topic that they feel connected to. After which, they perform in a bigger group. The exchange of thoughts and experiences between youth and students is always amazing to watch. They are able to walk out of that workshop educated and empowered to become solution-seekers.

What makes Skyline College, host to RTSB, such a unique campus?

Skyline College is recognized as the most diverse community college in California in that Filipinos represents ~25% of the total student population, followed by Caucasians at ~20%, Asians at ~20%, and Latino/as at ~20%. The rest of the campus is divided among many other ethnicities. As a result, we have several learning communities which include the Kababayan Program, Puente Program, ASTEP (African-American Success through Empowerment and Persistence), Hermanos and Hermanas Program, TRIO, and many others. Each learning community is designed to provide students with a specific cultural theme that is integrated in their core courses such as English, Math, Sociology, etc. In these communities, students learn about different cultures, leadership skills, mentoring opportunities, and career exploration.

In conceiving of the event, how did you connect with people in order to plan and prepare RTSB?

We've been connected to many hip-hop circles as well as educational circles and where both circles converge, we were able to identify those who would be down to present and/or plan for RTSB. It's no coincidence that we are seeing more and more of these types of events being produced because when many educators alike were growing in our generation, hip-hop was considered at its purest. Because of this shared love and passion for hip-hop, to maintain the history and richness of the culture of hip-hop, we have many people interested in being a part of RTSB. Through RTSB, we have been able to meet fellow educators who would then recommend other educators and hip-hop practitioners to present and/or plan RTSB.

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Global Pinay Style big screen premiere at 27th Annual LAAPFF!

2011-04-04T23:24:00.000-07:00

Global Pinay Style is coming to the big screen! Photo courtesy of Sheena Vera Cruz.

FilAm Funk's very own Global Pinay Style is coming to the big screen! Along with the homey Chris Woon's world premiere of the documentary full-length film Among B-Boys, which offers an amazing account of the little-known world of Hmong b-boys in California, GPS will be gracing the silver screen one month from now (Wednesday, May 4th) at the 27th Annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival!

Global Pinay Style
(2011, 5 mins, Philippines/USA)
Wednesday, May 4th 2011 @ 9:15pm
CGV Cinemas 1: 621 S Western Ave. (Between 6th Street and Wilshire Blvd) Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA 90010

"Global Pinay Style documents the rich hip hop dance scene that Filipinas are creating in the Philippines and these dancers' creative influences around the world. Focusing on members of the Philippine All Stars and Stellar, the film shows how Pinays are carving out spaces for a vibrant dance subculture and proving their skills for a global audience."

Screen shot of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival film schedule. Browse the full schedule here: Film Listing

The Pinay hip hop dance crew Stellar spotlighted in GPS. Photo courtesy of Bea Lesaca.

Dancer and studio-owner Madelle Enriquez Paltu-ob points out what the Capital G Shop in San Juan City has to offer in a scene from GPS.

GPS front-woman Chelo enjoys a laugh. She is telling a story of how the janitor won the emcee battle hosted by the Philippine All Stars Dance School.

If you're in LA at this time, make sure you support your independent filmmakers! Come see GPS and the long-awaited debut of Among B-Boys.

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Sunday Cipher: The Filipino bboy x Philippine unrecognition

2011-04-03T11:50:00.000-07:00

Why isn't hip hop big in the Philippines while it is "common sense" for Filipino Americans? This wonderful mini-documentary created by the folks at Strife TV offers a brief glimpse of the challenges among bboys in the Philippines (what city is this?!) and their global unrecognition.

Director MisLee raises some interesting questions about this circumstance of Filipino bboy invisibility and advocates for the raising of awareness of the rich scene in the Philippines. In her blog post about her documentary, she describes Project: P-Noise, the organization which she is involved, and identifies the interesting phenomenon of Filipino Americans who have gained international fame and "come back" to the Philippines (referred to as "balikbayans", such as Bboy Dyzee) in order to help build the bboy scene:

"The Project P-noise is a charity mission initiative to develop the bboy community in the Philippines by reaching out to the already existing bboys, especially the impoverished. The goal is to inspire the bboys of the Philippines to become world-wide contenders, by teaching them multiple free workshops, developing relationships with them and sharing with them the knowledge of how to make a living from this world renown dance. At the end of the workshops, a bboy battle is held for the bboys of the Philippines to put their skills and knowledge to the test, and giving them opportunities that they have only dreamed of...

It is a wonder why Bboying and Hip Hop has not flourished throughout the Philippines, which has almost the same type of situation, as the state of New York City, in the times of the birth of Hip Hop. Especially with Bboying which is the least expensive art form of Hip Hop. All you need is good music, and the floor to begin your release. It is also a wonder how Balik bayan Bboys all over the world have become legends in bboying: granting inspiration in the evolution of the international Bboying scene across the entire world, except for within the Philippines. Although Pinoy bboys are aware and inspired by these international Balik bayan legends, there seems to be a gap in national growth and creativity, because of limited opportunities and/or support."

This documentary makes a direct connection between the Fil Am bboys whose international fame is unquestioned and the Filipino bboys whose incredible talent does not match with international recognition. But that mismatch may soon be minimized. In a prophetic gesture, Bboy Hogan from the documentary states:

"We will practice more effectively so we can achieve what we want. So wait for us, Filipinos there [Fil Ams]. We're going to be facing each other soon."

Can't wait!

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Rocking with the new generation: Notes on Rock the School Bells

2011-03-29T17:44:00.001-07:00

Credit: Russel Albert Daniels for the South San Francisco Patch

The 4th edition of Rock the School Bells, a conference geared towards middle/high schoolers that incorporates hip hop appreciation and social awareness, happened this weekend in San Bruno (near South San Francisco). Students were introduced to DJ, graff, and dance skills while also learning about hip hop fundamentals and the politics of the hip hop music business.

The conference was topped off with an amazing concert line-up, including some incredible talent from young (I mean YOUNG) Fil Am performers like the youngbloods in The Art of Teknique (ages 8 to 9, see video below) and Aftermath Youth (one kid had to be 5 years old!). This younger generation of dancers are mentored by their parents, who grew up on hip hop and still perform to this day. Nonetheless, the grown ups still repped to the fullest. The multitalented group Dirty Boots featuring Denizen Kane provided grown folk, professionally-polished virtuosity, engaging with minimal instruments (drum kit, bass, guitar) yet adding a deluge of flavor through rapping, singing, scatting, and genre versatility.

Multitalented Rachel Lastimosa of Dirty Boots

San Francisco stands as one of those unique geographies that can generate a critical concentration of Fil Am cultural production. Skyline College, which hosts the conference and employs a team of visionary Fil Am educators who organize the event, has a population in which 1/4 of the students are Filipino.

The right people, the right place, and the right time.

RTSB provides the venue for the new generation of Fil Am performers to showcase their craft, just as the car shows, PCNs, clubs, and Friendship Games did for their parents. The unbelievable skills that today's Fil Am youth display is a testament to the ingrained and intimate relationship that Fil Ams in general have with hip hop performance.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend from the South San Francisco Patch.

Credit: Russel Albert Daniels for the South San Francisco Patch

Hip hop entrepreneurship panel with cityscape built by Skyline students. Photo taken by me.

These children will rock you and school you!

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The Funk X "Rock the School Bells" Saturday

2011-03-21T22:54:00.001-07:00

FilAm Funk, along with Paper Son, will be presenting "It Ain't Hard to Tell: Documenting Hip Hop" at the 4th Annual Rock the School Bells conference in San Francisco this weekend. We'll be sharing some documentaries and video clips with middle/high schoolers and discussing the importance of recording stories in hip hop with the hope of motivating them to create films of their own.

The conference will feature a killer line up of presenters and performers, including some artists who have been featured on this website. We're linking the old school with the new school with the new new new school!! So blessed to be a part of this amazing congregation of talent, genius, and passion.

You can purchase tickets to the event here .

Rock The School Bells conference is an event aimed to educate and empower the youth, students, and the communities at-large about the importance of education and personal development through the various mediums of hip-hop.

The event goes down on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at Skyline College in San Bruno, CA, from 9:00-4:00PM.

This conference provides an array of hip-hop educational workshops, all-styles dance battle, Lunch Special Emcee Battle Invitational presented Vitamin Water, and networking and vending opportunities.

Workshops include:
Hip-Hop 360: The Birth and Evolution of Hip-Hop
DJ Fundamentals: History, Culture, and Technique
Hip-Hop and Social Justice
Weapons of Mass Promotion
It Is Written: Graffiti Workshop
Hip-Hop Entrpreneurship/Hip-Hop Economics
Street Dance Fundamentals and other multiple dance workshops
+ Many more...

RTSB4 Concert Lineup from 7:00-10:00PM include:
La Femme Deadly Venoms
MuthaFunkers
The Art of Teknique
Jupiter 7
Aftermath Dance Company
Dirty Boots with Denizen Kane
Strag
xL
+ Many others...

All proceeds go to educational scholarships for high school and college students.
For more information, hit up info@rocktheschoolbells.com.
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Sunday Cipher: Blue Scholars powered by the people

2011-03-06T23:41:00.001-08:00

Blue Scholars "Cinemetropolis" Kickstarter Campaign from Blue Scholars on Vimeo.

Continuing with the scoop on Seattle, we see the Blue Scholars doing it again: finding new and innovative ways to represent themselves and their audience. Since their "new deal" partnering with Caffe Vita and the reverse-signing with Duck Down Records, Geo and Sabzi are now formulating an investment-strategy powered by YOU, the fan. Interesting... Show love.

Artist Spotlight: Seattle Sound with 10.4 Rog

2011-03-02T08:39:00.000-08:00

I recently had the privilege to catch up with some down folks in beautiful Seattle. This historically-important city--especially for its labor culture, Filipino migration, and music scene-- represents a critical space for Filipino American community-building through art. Isangmahal Arts Kollective and the Blue Scholars are just two Fil Am-related groups from Seattle that have made a national impression.

10.4 Rog (Roger Habon) steps onto the stage as a young beat producer who is without question steeped in the Seattle music scene. His music has been gaining ample attention, a wonderful feat given his youth. His production on the free EP "Late" with The Good Sin provides you with unorthodox, haunting, but soulful composition. Here is a review of the EP in Seattle's weekly magazine The Stranger. I got a chance to sit down with this incredibly talented brotha and get educated on the Seattle sound. Dude is a bottomless well of information!

(Photo credit: DJ 100 Proof)

Whats up with the name 10.4 Rog?

starting around 2008 i was djing around the city of seattle with four others. as a unit, we called ourselves 'paperboy' for promotional purposes, so that we could have a name on fliers. additionally we realized we needed to bill ourselves for the residency we had, so we took up names. for some reason, i picked '10.4 roger.' when i recorded an edit, or did a blend and put a popular acapella over some industry beat, i would tag my name at the end of the mp3 and share it with the other paperboy djs. over time i shortened the tag to '10.4 rog' and then started making fully produced remixes around 2009. by 2010 i was making more music than i was going out djing gigs. i guess that's how the name stuck.

How long have you been doing music and how did you get in to beat production?

as far as doing music, i can probably date that back to when my parents bought an upright piano. i was eight. i took lessons for two years and quit. i took up the snare drum in the fifth grade, and by the time i was about 12 i was sequencing drums and sampling on a computer. at the end of middle school i was djing on my brother's setup and buying records with my friend at the golden oldies in renton. i started taking piano lessons again in high school, however briefly, but that period of time set the foundation for most of my understanding of music theory. by the end of my junior year i was playing drums on a full set all the way through college, all while messing around on the turntables and with production on and off. making beats to me wasn't a discipline or something that i considered as anything more than a hobby till about two years ago.

What are your impressions of hip hop music in Seattle?

i think seattle hiphop has a unique type of influence on the national scene as a whole. producers vitamin d and jake one have, between themselves, made a name producing for gift of gab, redman, black sheep, de la soul, 50 cent, and freeway and hella more heads. on top of that, those two help put on the highest-profile beat battle in the country: the red bull big tune. out of the big tune competition, producers from everywhere have been able to build a larger following: 14kt, frank dukes, tallblackguy, dibiase, as well as seattle's own brainstorm and kuddie fresh. also, shabazz palaces has garnered huge acclaim in the past year from the likes of rolling stone and pitchfork. they work with theesatisfaction (here and here), two girls who i've had the fortune to know, and have since found audiences in all places. both the two aforementioned acts are signed to seattle label subpop, an indie powerhouse.

j pinder is coming up with the hall of justus camp. noclue, a guinness world-record holder, is doing work with the multi-instrumentalist/producer/mc terrace martin in CA. geo and the blue scholars have a huge rep pretty much everywhere. sabzi dj's for the acclaimed duo das racist. tha bizness are seattle transplants, and have done major work producing for drake/lil wayne, ice cube, mistah fab, and chris brown.

on top of that there's the bgirl/bboy scene and the djs which one might consider a whole other category. and on top of that, there is a huge spectrum of seattle area-based artists and peers that are doing incredible, incredible things musically, and not necessarily in the realm of hip hop, though they identify with members of the scene. there are literally too many good names to drop.

(Photo credit: Aaron Verzosa)

What is your weapon of choice? How do you use it differently than other producers?

just a couple midi controllers (a roland fp-7, an akai mpd32, and at one point a microkorg) and some softwares. i can't say exactly how i use it differently than other producers. i might be utilizing it much in the same way as the rest, to be honest.

Describe your sound.

my sound and approach changes per project. it's hard for me to say exactly what it is or how it comes off, but i will say that i like to play with harmony and time in a weird little way, i like to keep things simple, for the most part, and i like for my music to feel a bit loose.

What is Makipag and how did that fit into your story as a musician?

makipag was a group the homey joseph organized in college to gather artists together who were into making films, writing, performing, or making music. its most visible result was a monthly open mic (we liked to call it open stage to welcome artists that did not necessarily perform with vocals). as far as me being a musician, it didn't play too much of a part, but i did get to exercise different duties as a house band drummer, playing a kit and the cajon on a few occasions.

(Illustration credit: Darvin Vida)

Who are some of the artists you've been working with? How did you make those connections?

lately i've been working with sax g, jarv dee and the cloud nice family, multo, and the good sin, who i just put out an ep-sized project with called "late" where he raps and i produce the music. i plan on working in this format with sax and jarv. i met sax thru the good sin, and jarv dee thru the cloud nice folk, who i connected with after remixing one of their songs. multo is a person i met thru makipag. he's a guitarist and singer/songwriter. i'm very fortunate to know all of them, and listening to their music makes me want to improve on the work i do and the way i work.

I hear you were mentioned in the Seattle Times. What is that story?

i got a placement in seattle times around october of 2009 for remixing helladope's "just so you know". helladope is one of the groups that comprises the cloud nice collective, and the seattle times music writer andrew matson has sort of been writing about my work ever since. i'm fortunate to have that sort of interest from somebody at the times, of all places, but it's nothing at all to be satisfied about. there's always the need for me to try and get better at what i do.

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The world watched, then forgot: Reflections on People Power

2011-02-25T09:04:00.000-08:00

This week marked the anniversary of the 1986 People Power Revolution in the Philippines. The mass demonstrations, which included people from all strata of society (the middle class was central) and the Catholic institution, flooded EDSA Blvd. in Metro Manila and eventually forced out the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Marcos, who declared Martial Law (which meant suspension of the democratic process) in 1973 was supported by the United States militarily and financially.

People Power provided a model of peaceful protest for other nations (especially in Eastern Europe) to follow. Today, in North Africa and the Middle East, it seems that People Power has not translated as the appropriate analog. Why?

The question as to why People Power has not popped up on the lips of CNN, MSNBC, Huffpost, etc. pundits is a mystery considering that its parallels to current unrest are obvious: dictator (U.S.-supported in the case of Egypt, Western-supported in the casse of Libya), cross-class peaceful urban protest, and demands for a democratic process.

Enter Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera seems to be the only news network that has taken time to analyze the People Power model's relevancy to the mass uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East.

Instead of dwelling on the shaky comparisons of today's revolts to the Tiananmen Square massacre (this was a loss for the protestors) and the Iranian Revolution (this was largely religious-based) so favored by the major U.S. news outlets, the clip above directly engages the Philippines to the what is occurring today.

As you've seen in the video, one interviewee gets the urgency spot on:

"What these people in Tunisia and Egypt have to watch out for, the same thing that happened to us. If they don't write it into their textbooks and educate the next generation of children that what happened was a bleak and black people in their history then they will see Mubarak's descendants and Ben Ali's descendants come back in ten or twenty years."

Clearly, the revolution in the Philippines was a limited one. It was actually more a reform than a complete overthrow of the system (i.e. it had a middle-class dominated agenda). Many things still need to be done, as you know. After the celebrations (Tunisia and Egypt especially, we have yet to see what will happen in Libya, Bahrain, etc.), the sobering reality of neoliberal trappings in the post-revolution era will have to be examined by the opposition.

(Valerie Francisco provides a rich narrative of the People Power moment, the lack of people's governance, and the infrastructural/developmental urban facade in post-Marcos Philippines).

Kiwi has it right in "Imagine." Let us imagine how a peaceful and just world can be. Then, let us act:

"Imagine if we got people to start thinkin.
Got people to stop talkin
And start doin
And come together to start
This next movement.
Imagine.

What if we stood up and fought for peace?
Took the cities and blocked the streets?
With a voice that would rock the beast?
Imagine what this world would be like."

The Philippines teaches us that the revolution is never complete: the "revolution" is an ongoing process. In Tunisia and Egypt, the people imagined what their world could be like. Then they took the cities and blocked the streets. Now, it is up to them to make sure the revolution does not end.

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The Filipino Flash X Deep Foundation knock out!

2011-02-24T12:25:00.000-08:00

Manny Pacquiao is not the only Filipino boxer taking over the world. Nonito Donaire, the 3rd ranked pound-for-pound best boxer in the world, walked out to Deep Foundation's "Children of the Sun" in his bout with Fernando Montiel (from Mexico) on Saturday. The 28-year old from General Santos (he went to the same school as Pacman) knocked out his opponent in the second round with a powerful left hook.

Perhaps the three weight division champion will soon get the global attention of Pacman caliber. Until then, we love how the "Filipino Flash" reps hard for hip hop and for Fil Ams with his DF tribute!

That's not Photoshopped people! That knockout punch is real- live in HD. Montiel's face looked warped like a scene from The Ring, then he commenced to what seemed like a seizure on the mat.

The "Filipino Flash" celebrates, showing love for the lovely and fashionable Pin@ys in the crowd.

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Sunday Cipher: Big Game Peas flashback

2011-02-06T17:41:00.001-08:00

Fallin up with old school Black Eyed Peas

When the East is in the house, oh my god. The Peas journey West.

The Grammy-award winning pop group The Black Eyed Peas delivered an epic Tron-inspired Super Bowl halftime show. This group--having humble roots in the early 1990's Los Angeles Filipino American clubbing scene where they were known as the Atblan Klan--has blasted off into unimaginable global celebrity.

In this song below from their first album as The Black Eyed Peas (1998), "Fallin Up" fittingly depicts the groups "westward expansion" in this pioneer-themed video. Indeed, they have expanded into the mainstream exponentially, especially after adding Fergie.

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Throwback Thursday: Celebrating Black History Month: Filipino American X blackness

2011-02-04T00:54:00.000-08:00

Fictional depiction of Filipino "insurrectos" fighting U.S. colonizers. This screen shot is from found footage featured in the film Bontoc Eulogy. The Filipinos are played by African American actors.

In this edition of Throwback Thursday we celebrate Black History Month, which was founded by Carter G. Woodson whose connection to the Philippines as supervisor of schools during the early days of U.S. colonization makes the linkages of this blog to Black history so significant.

In my entry from April 2008, I discuss Filipino American participation in hip hop and the community's relationship to Black people and blackness. I've since refined my approach (for example, I've abandoned the term "mestizaje"), but my attempt to center Black history and positionality within a Filipino racial discourse is stronger than ever. Anyways, thanks for all the support and enjoy:

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I just got done presenting a very short synopsis of some of my research questions at this year's Association of Asian American Studies Conference in Chicago.

I showed "Hip Hop Mestizaje" and did an 8 minute discussion on what the hell its supposed to be about. Thanks to everyone who liked the film and appreciated my research on the intersections of Filipinoness and Blackness. For those folks exploring similar topics, keep on keepin on, it's an emerging topic (I hope!). Can't wait for the Filipino Soul conference that is in discussion.

Here is the paper I shared at the conference:

"Right now I want to thank god for being me
My soul won't rest until the colony is free
1896 Revolution incomplete
Silence is defeat, my solution is to speak
Resurrect the legacy of martyrs I beseech
Time to choose a side: It's the mighty verse the meek
My big brother Free brought the word from the East
We're the bullet in the middle of the belly of the beast."

These are the lyrics of Geologic, the Pinoy emcee of the Seattle hip hop duo Blue Scholars. When decoding the meaning behind the lyrics, such as “I want to thank god for being me,” we can see that his references of Filipino nationalism are curiously reinforced by Five Percenter Nation of Islam rhetoric, which is a pedagogical and spiritual discipline rooted in sects of African American Muslim tradition. In this verse, “god” refers to Geologic himself. For those who are not familiar, in the Five Percenter tradition, “god” refers the original Black man, or the god on Earth. So the question we ask is, “why is a Filipino emcee uttering a clearly Afro-centric phrase?” In my thesis, I interrogate the uses of Blackness by Filipino American hip hop practitioners. I contend that for many Filipino Americans, Blackness is both a resource and referent in their process of racial identification, and complements an existing racialized and hybridized Filipino subjectivity. Hip hop serves as an appropriate case study to demonstrate the emergence of Blackness among Filipino Americans’ racialized expressions. The recent JabbaWockeez triumph are a prime example of Filipinos’ dedication and loyalty to hip hop cultural production.

By evoking the often-neglected role of the Afro-Americanization of Filipinos, it is my intention to bring into focus the formation of race-consciousness among young Pinoys and Pinays—an effort that is built from the interventions made by scholars who have documented the process of deracialization among Fil Ams involved in hip hop. While we may be well-aware of young Pinoy and Pinays’ efforts to deracialize themselves (i.e. becoming the real “invisible” in the Invisbl Skratch Piklz), what is happening when they attempt to bring race consciousness unabashed? What does a post-1980s, hip hop generation, race-conscious Filipino American identification look like?

As seen from the video, Filipino Americans have been immersed in certain realms of hip hop forms since the late 1970s, but their participation in the broader forms of Black performance traditions dates back to contact made by Black Buffalo Soldiers who arrived in the islands during the Philippine-American War. The Americanization of the islands through music, education, and culture certainly contributed to Filipino familiarity with their White colonizers, but with the Americanization of Filipinos was the simultaneous Afro-Americanization of Filipinos. Therefore, the identification with Blackness among Filipinos has precedence, a precedence that is essentially rooted in U.S. Empire and the concomitant resistance partnered by Black Buffalo Soldier and Filipino insurgents during the war. At the turn of the 20th century when the Jim Crow South was solidified and U.S. Empire reached the Philippines, Blacks and Filipinos were rapping to a different beat, one underpinned by colonial domination and racist ideology.

Filipino Americans’ hybridity (or the “mestizaje” that I use) mediates their identification with Blackness in both its aesthetics and cultural origins. Elizabeth Pisares writes of Filipino American artists’ “invisibility” and lack of racial discourse, which allows for a flexible identity formation, moving in-between Asian-ness, Latinidad, Whiteness and Blackness. Many young Pinoy/Pinay brothers and sisters have been making visible a constructed notion of their Filipinoness through hip hop. The Pilipino Culture Nights, whose organizers were once skeptical of the “modern” hip hop sections of the theatrical shows (as Filipino hip hoppers were accused of “acting Black”), are now almost incomplete without them; hip hop has become staple for many PCN troupes. In another example, at a recent “Filipino Hip Hop Renaissance” showcase organized by the Kababayan Pilipino and “The Dark Boys” Pinoy brotherhood at University of California, Irvine, a graffiti-style artwork displayed on one panel the Philippine star rising above the Manila skyline and the word “Lost,” and on the opposite panel were displayed blaring boombox speakers along with the word “Found” (artwork by Pia Banez and Rommel Dimacali). As if evoking the Five Percenter “Lost-Found” lesson, young Filipinos continue to process racial and ethnic identification in the context of Filipino cultural recuperation. Here, hip hop is the recuperator.

Hip hop’s rise in popularity in the 80s among a generation of youth of all colors gave its resonance mass appeal, and for young Pinoys and Pinays, this resonance interwove with their existing racialized story here in the States and a broader story informed by Spanish and U.S. Empire. Commenting on hip hop’s appearance in the lives of young Filipinos in the early 80s, Geologic said in an interview “we had to respond to [hip hop] in some way. We had to either be a part of it or resist it. And why would we resist it? It’s something that we can kind of relate to.”

Even though Latinidad and Asian-ness can be powerful sources of racial affiliation among Filipinos (with Whiteness as the neocolonial racial default), my interest is the Blackness that is left unregistered, unrecognized, and even denigrated. As Geologic puts it, “I think a lot of ways when people down talk hip hop in the Filipino community, I think they do it with a tinge of racism to it. Because like a Filipino hip hop artist isn’t as legitimate as Filipino musical playwright. You know. Or a Filipino novelist. When in fact those three—first of all if they are all writing in English, then they’re writing in a language that’s not theirs. You know, so then who’s to say what is Filipino and what’s not?”

Filipino hybridity not only provides rich analysis for comparative race studies, even more, it presents the intersectionality of racialized groups and deconstructs the built borders surrounding ethnic studies disciplines. While addressing the fictiveness of essentialized Filipino identity, investigations of Filipino American performance of Blackness demonstrates the possibilities and promises of unpacking interracial subjectivities—indeed putting Blackness at the center of analysis—while never abandoning the critique of Whiteness as forming the broader structure of power relationships.

So it is worth asking, “what does a post-1980s, hip hop generation, race-conscious Filipino American identification look like?” It can look like many things, and rocking the dance floor to funk breaks and dominating the DJ scene illustrates an un-ignorable cultural dimension, like a bright colored graff piece written on a painted and repainted road sign.

In closing, it is important to acknowledge that Filipino American performance of Blackness is not free of deserved criticism. As Joel Tan writes in “Homothugdragsterism,” “it didn’t bother me that Filipino Americans we re affecting and talking Black. What vexed me was the ways this adopted Blackness went unquestioned…” Uncritical Blackness as drag should be scrutinized, especially when affiliation with Blackness does not necessarily mean a respect for Black people. In addition, Blackness in its constructed hypermasculine dimensions and its gendered role imbedded in racial significance should be taken into consideration. So in an attempt to re-imagine greater dimensions of Filipino racial discourse, a gesture towards the Afro-Americanization of Filipinoness is worth generous attention, especially for a people whose prism of difference is molded from every direction. Geologic best summarizes this re-envisioning:

“Rewriting what it is to what it ought to be.
I be the emcee in the place not to be.
Under constant revision is the poem that I be.”

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Sunday Cipher: In these streets that we done took

2011-01-30T17:09:00.000-08:00

Egypt 2011 fights the power

Philippines 1986 power to the people

Will Egypt be able to fulfill the promise of democracy and equality that the Philippines has yet to realize? God-willing. But for now, the streets is ours...

Space and defiance. Here are different b-boys in egypt doing their thing...

"I never sleep.
Cuz sleep is the cousin of death."
-"New York State of Mind," Nas

"I got one rhyme for each reason
Two for each mother
Down on her knees weepin.
Fuck this government the
Guns mean it.
This is for the children
Who lay bleedin.
The fathers, the mothers,
The children who ain't eatin...
If you a gangta then you organized already.
Just turn that plan away from your brotha
And find your enemy..."

-"Slave Thinking", Native Guns

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Thursday Throwback: ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: B-Roc talk

2011-01-27T11:19:00.000-08:00

Yet another Thursday Throwback! We catch up with B-Roc of Turbulence Productions, who has since this 2009 interview been doing bigger and more magical things. The events and music he contributes to detailed in his SOULFIESTA blog is a testament to the passion he puts into the culture, even when times are rough for hip hop or life in general.

Thanks to all my ARTIST SPOTLIGHT interviewees, especially to those who reached out to me personally.

B-Roc formulating science in his lab

B-Roc, "Booked Me a Flight"

We're grateful and fortunate to build with B-Roc of Metro Manila's Turbulence Productions. Although he is humble about his leadership role in the Metro Manila independent hip hop scene, B-Roc is a major figure and a key player in the rise of hip hop in the Philippines and Asia. He's not only a monster beatmaker who is proud to exploit a bass-heavy thump, nor is he merely a gifted and passionate rapper... as a visionary for Turbulence and organizer for major hip hop events (like the infamous The Community gathering), B-Roc is shot-caller in this game.

The Community flyer for '08

During my trip to Metro Manila a few weeks back, I did not have a chance to meet with B-Roc, but met and interviewed many of his crew. What I have learned from these kasamas is that hip hop artists in the Philippines have a deep, almost obsessive hunger to perfect and progress their craft. This is not your corny OPM (Original Pinoy Music) cover songs we may be familiar with made for commercial pleasure--safe, candy-sweet, and friendly for the Wowowee-consuming crowd. This is that boom-bap hip hop shit. It took a few weeks to find them, but as I met these brothas and sistas, I understood that the love for hip hop in the Philippines is strong, and B-Roc is one figure putting in mad work to progress the culture and sound.

You can catch an earlier (and a whole lot meatier) interview with B-Roc on the SoulSonic blog here.
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And now, words from B-Roc hisself:

I am a producer, and the founder of Turbulence Productions. I was born and raised in the Philippines with my roots in Ilocos Norte. I basically handle the affairs of the label. I manage the direction of the label with the help of my team. I've been around man, traveled around for the music, toured Taiwan with international acts and welcomed international acts into the Philippines as well. I am an entrepreneur, a visionary, a pillar of the To The Billboard movement and Philippine hiphop.

To The Billboard is more than literally making it to a billboard. You know how in the Phils people equate being successful to being on a billboard, and its a symbolism of courage amidst all the detractors you have. Like at any point, all your haters will pass by EDSA (a major highway in Metro Manila) and if you do have a billboard there, it would seem they looking up to you and you looking at them. It’s a symbol of hope for anyone and everyone. It’s a movie, a book, and a movement. It’s amazing how people from around the world submit songs about To The Billboard and shout it out for themselves as well.

The independent hiphop scene in the Philippines is really fun, although at this point after doing it for quite sometime and having the success that we've had with it achievement-wise, we feel as though we need a bigger playground. The scene is very hot in talent -- hiphop as a music genre in the Philippines has been oppressed so much the past few years, which of course results to sheer creativeness on our end. I am a firm believer that oppression makes us all the more creative and substance-oriented. Like Rizal's best books was written at a time when his freedom was suppressed.

The independent scene’s major challenge now is relevance. With the technology now, making it easy for us to make music, record songs, the challenge now is keeping yourself relevant to actually make those songs mean anything to your listeners. Technology makes us not have an excuse for wack music. Technology helps us promote ourselves. Internet networking sites -- these are all pluses if we know how to secure our relevance first. Technology makes people think what we do is easy, people buy they little machines and post pictures of them and their equipment and say they are independent. I've said this more than a couple of times, independent for me, means being cutting edge in everything you do -- you're album design, the music, the marketing approach, the execution, the videos and STILL BE RELEVANT.

B-Roc rockin a concert in Taiwan

The people are what makes the music worth it. We are out here to out-do each other, and this is the form of celebration me and my team want. Lets compete to “up” the quality of this scene, lets be about our best songs and albums. This is how we want to preserve the culture, hiphop as means of excelling through anything (record label drought, financial downturns, not enough funding to fuel projects) -- we want to preserve the culture of “beating the odds” too. The scene is very much alive to the point that even rock heads show respect to our own musicality.
So the independent scene really is an exciting scene right now, we see more than artists rise to the occasion. We see entrepreneurs and promoters come to mold the club scene -- some older people just have a hard time embracing the newness of hiphop.

I got involved with the scene after working my ass off. I was meddling with beats the year when recording was jumping from analog to digital. I had a clear grasp of doing things independently and didn’t want to be an artist waiting to get his shot on a list or trying to be put on by a major act. I was learning the ropes from Madd World production, hyping for Dcoy for a couple of shows and just learning and absorbing as much as I can. All this, while still messing with rhymes with my former group, Crecon (Creative Consciousness) -- then we built Turbulence and embarked on the journey, to carry the tradition that Bomb Azz and Ill Def left me—being independent.

As a kid of the future then, I did link up with some artist online -- there was a forum for lyricists called Urban Pinoy, which is a highly creative bunch of emcees who would critique everyone’s work, including point of corrections and question/show the science behind the rhymes. This site allowed me to meet Nimbusnine, Pornstar, PHD, Haven, Trip tha Light and more Pinoy emcees that will remain unheard of but will live through my music. Some of them, I met as sheer raw talented hiphop heads and through the years developed to be some of the best the Philippines has seen. I am a firm believer of artist development. It’s a lost art, some people think all they need is good rhymes. I believe they need to be developed as a person as well. Some artists like Traumatik I hunted down, all the rest really is family.

There have been several conversations happening between artists in the Philippines and Filipino artists in the States. On my end alone I was able to capitalize this internet thing early on -- I sent so many beats to people who are on the same wave length as me. Reaching out, either way, whether its me or Fil Am artists is always a good thing. I'm surprised that some cats from the States even think I'm big back home, when really I struggle just like them. I enjoy conversations with our brothers abroad cuz we all speak of the same struggle, we just act on it differently -- we always extend a helping hand to anyone who needs it. I think with the emergence of Nimbus9 three years back, it kinda showed some cats that hey we are legit with our English and yeah we can flip it back to Filipino too without having a sour taste on your tongue.

B-Roc and Chrizo feature in July issue of Gadgets Magazine

A lot of people juggle between English and Tagalog. Language is a medium of this craft. As I told you, I am a fan of artist development so Tagalog, as much as it comes naturally, we all need to study it too. Not via textbook but by continually using it and respecting its roots. Every one got they own twang and enunciation styles but really "if it comes from your heart then it can never be wack," word to Mike Swift. Luzon uses Ilocano in his songs -- the Philippines is a multi dialect country, and hiphop is about a message -- so whatever language you are comfortable with, use it -- and don't sacrifice the message just so you can spit in English. Be about the substance not just about the aesthetic.

The obvious influence in my beat production style are Just Blaze, Kanye, Primo, Large Professor, Pete Rock, Buckwild. I go for the drums. Whether it be an 808 bass heavy kick or something else. Andre Harris of Dre & Vidal once sat me and Chrizo down and told us that for him, the drums gotta be banging as it is the backbone of the groove. Locally Protege moves me, Juss Rye, Jedli, Mic and Skarm of AMPON -- they are a mean batch of producers.

I hope the independent scene could finally become a haven for business and art -- I could only play my role and hope that everyone else gets just as lucky. But as I told you, everyone here who think they can rap are suddenly artists, we are losing fans and this is what makes it suck. And when somebody breaks through there will be more kids who think they can do just that without putting in work and paying they dues. I hope to see the hard workers get a fair share of what the indie scene can offer and I want to see corporations investing in the scene and take the middle man (the labels) out and deal with us directly.

Back 2 the New School was a project we did for 2 weeks just to test our clock work whether we were getting rusty or not. We had cats even from Singapore rocking a Chrizo beat. What we try to do on every release is discover a new act that could potentially break through within the next few years. In this project we came across Kimmie, who has the makings of what could be the resurgence of Pinay homegrown talent in hiphop. The team just wrapped up Marquiss' GRAE (Greatest Rap Album Ever) which is a masterpiece. We are wrapping up recording AMP's GOLD BARZ. We will be working on Nimbus9's debut CD this year, and SILVERBACKS, which will be out as well.
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You can catch B-Roc on his blog, SoulFiesta. And be sure to peep Turbulence's new spoken word poetry video, "Beyond Beyond".

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Sunday Cipher (360 edition): "Got us in check!" Vintage Mike Dream doc

2011-01-23T11:51:00.000-08:00

Some words to ponder on NFL Championship Sunday! 360 edition brings you past Sunday Ciphers, like this one on Mike Dream.

After a month in the motherland and questionable internet connectivity, the Sunday Cipher is back! I just want to thank everyone in Metro Manila who took me around and extended the opportunity to build, especially Jerome. Shouts to Chelo and Knowa and everyone else from the Philippine Allstars and Capital G Shop. B-Rocc, good to finally meet up! Next time, more sober atmosphere hopefully.

Back to the Cipher, below is a vintage Mike Dream documentary. Good (often profound!) material here. Just thinking about dude after returning to the sterility of the first world from the funk of the motherland.

Peep game:

(5:08) "Writing wouldn't be writing if it weren't illegal. It gotta be illegal. It gotta stay illegal... When you don't see writing on the wall then damn, it's something wrong! To me that just shows muthafuckas really got us in check!"

(4:10) "Truth is, a brotha with five cans of paint and the majority of it being silver could serve somebody using a whole buncha colors just because he know how to freak the style. Style to me man- you can have a laced out, nice, just freaked out wild style piece with you just saying the words that could cut up a whole ten man production, to me. That's just cuz that style just outsize that production."

Thursday Throwback: On race and the Filipino boxing body

2011-01-20T11:12:00.000-08:00

Throwback post in light of the upcoming Pacquiao-Mosley fight. Will race talk appear in the bout between the two boxers?

Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey prepare for their March 2010 bout

This Saturday is the big (not really) bout between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey at Texas Stadium. A big disappointment because I'm sure we were all hoping for a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight. Perhaps some of you witnessed occasions of racially-tinged smack-talk when the Pacquiao-Mayweather match was in negotiations. And even though you may be the most critical person when it comes to assumptions of racial categorization, the Asian body of Pacquiao and the Black body of Mayweather still lingered in your mind as to the impact of physicality in this historic match. If you are in denial, you probably heard it from others.

In the Times Magazine yesterday, the question was posed whether the Pacquiao-Clottey and Mayweather-Mosley fights were simply precursors to a bigger Pacquiao-Mayweather bout. "Pacquiao and Mayweather: One More Until the Big One?" the author asks. The author writes:

"Pacquiao's camp says the boxer refused the blood testing because he is superstitious and doesn't want to give blood so close to fight time. He was blood-tested a couple of days before his fight with Erik Morales, and lost. "It made me weak," says Pacquiao, who is suing Mayweather for sullying his reputation. There is speculation in some boxing gyms that Mayweather knew about Pacquiao's aversion to pre-fight blood testing and used it as a tactic to duck him."

What's with all the slander and courtroom drama? Enough of the soap opera. But then again, the more drama, the more dollas. I say this "bad" publicity makes for great boxing, at least within the marketplace of entertainment.

So for now, we send good vibes to Manny this Saturday. Clottey, who is from Ghana, may help dampen the racially-tinged flames that inform the skepticism of the physical capacities of either Manny or Mayweather. If Manny wins against Clottey, perhaps Clottey will be seen as a "buffer" to the racial skepticism and prepare the way for a bigger and more measured Pacquiao-Mayweather match. It sucks that we have to always see boxers in terms of race, but that's the way it has always been in boxing (and all of sports) history...especially when boxing focuses so much on the fighter's height, weight, arm-length, muscular build...in boxing, the male body is a spectacle. Even Clottey's was described as having a "muscled body of a boa constrictor" by the Times writer. (On second thought, that metaphor doesn't make sense because snakes don't have defined muscle-groups like mammals, do they? Or does Clottey have a tube-like, snake-like physique?)

I was interviewed by Inquirer reporter Benjamin Pimentel about the race-talk happening when the Pacquiao-Mayweather negotiations were under way a few months ago, especially when Manny's mom utterance of a variation of the "N-word," which is layered with translation problems. Here is a snippet below. I think the article demonstrates the precariousness of Filipino and Black concord, but also mentions the possibilities of community-building between the two groups.

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Pacquiao versus Mayweather in black & brown

11/22/09
by Benjamin Pimentel

CALIFORNIA, United States—It’s unclear if the showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. will ever happen. But there are signs that what could be boxing’s biggest bout in recent history could highlight tensions around an important issue: race. A preview came in the form of controversy over Dionisia Pacquiao’s remarks after Manny’s victory over Miguel Cotto.

Mommy Dionisia clearly did not mean any harm when, in thanking her son’s fans, she referred to “mga Amerikano at mga Negro,” which according to columnist Recah Trinidad and other reports, somehow got translated as “Americans and niggers.”

The translator got it wrong, obviously, although it’s not clear if it was intentional, or was an honest error.

Clearly, the stakes would be high in a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout. It would pit a well-known, undefeated African American fighter against arguably the greatest Asian boxer in history, who is also now being ranked among the best in the world...

Mark Villegas, a Filipino American academic and filmmaker based in southern California, who is working on a documentary on the Filipino and Filipino American hip-hop scene, sees the potential for trouble...
CONTINUE READING...

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Sunday Cipher (360 edition): Tondo rappers keep it street

2011-01-16T09:44:00.000-08:00

Hip hop in the Philippines has a diverse set of environments. You won't only find it in the plush nightclubs in Makati or on the Ortigas-based radio airwaves. You'll be surprised (or not) to find it thriving in the grimiest and disavowed settings. The magic of hip hop culture globally is that it has given voice to the most marginalized as well as those with a little bit more capital.

Isn't that why we are drawn to it? Hip hop gives "texture" to the street, so that the hoods, slums, and ghettos "talk back" against the encroaching of privilege and power? Isn't this the "texture" we prioritize in hip hop?

As the video above shows, Tondo, an area with one of the most notorious slums in Metro Manila, is home to a rich rap culture.

It's not exactly the same, but it does recall a 1960s Bronx vibe.

(Thanks to Sharon for kickin this)

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Sunday Cipher: Especialty soul

2011-01-09T10:07:00.000-08:00

Bringing you back with this classic Pacifics jam, "Especialty" from five years ago in 2006. Based in the lovely city of Chicago, The Pacifics are a hip hop group that demonstrate the interesting geographic dispersion of Fil Ams doing hip hop. For their new music, be sure to check out here. Big ups to Xylophone Films for concocting this dope video.

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Hip hop over homework: Filipino Americans "failing"?

2010-12-29T17:19:00.000-08:00

Filipino children recite "Jingle Bells" in the classic

Philippine film Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos (1976).

Getting “Stuck”

In a November issue of the Asian Journal, an article entitled “Why Are Fil-Ams Doing Poorly in School?” compares the “poor” academic performance of Filipino American students with the stellar achievements of other Asian American groups. Among other startling statistics, the data gathered by the National Federation of Filipino-American Associations (NaFFAA) reports that “Filipino-American public high school students in the city of San Francisco had the highest dropout rate among other Asians. Those who stayed in school barely passed.” It continues,

“In San Francisco public schools, the report revealed, the California Standardized Test scores of Filipino-Americans in 6th to 8th grades were “Below Basic” in both English-language arts and mathematics. In the 9th to 11th grades, 42 percent of Filipino students were in the “Basic” and “Below Basic” levels in the Star Math test. California schools have five performance levels: Advanced, Proficient, Basic, Below Basic and Far Below Basic.

In Los Angeles, the dropout numbers for Filipino-American students represented 56 percent of all dropouts in the county.”

The last statement, Fil Ams representing 56 percent of all dropouts in LA county, is probably an error. The article’s author, Dennis Clemente, likely (hopefully!) meant Fil Ams represented 56 percent of dropouts among Asian Americans in the county, or he likely meant Fil Ams dropped out at a 56 percent rate within the ethnic group. Whatever the case, the data is troubling.

Furthermore, when it comes to science and math, Clemente notes,

“A 2006 Seattle School District study also found that in the 10th grade WASL test, 73 percent of Filipino-American students failed the science component and 55 percent failed the math component. Both are subjects required for graduation.”

In a December article, the Asian Journal continued the theme of Filipino American student academic underperformance, but this time it addressed their low-rate of enrollment in higher education (four-year or higher academic institutions). Melany De La Cruz-Viesca, a friend of FilAm Funk as well as a former member of the legendary L.A. poetry troupe Balagtasan Collective and current assistant director of the Asian American Studies Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, iterates the crisis young Fil Ams are in when it comes to higher education:

"'We’re not going on to graduate programs or doctorate programs. I think in a way Filipinos are getting stuck and I’m curious to try and find out why that is. Are more Filipino students going to community colleges first before transferring, or are they being tracked into these high school programs that do allow them to go to a four-year university? More and more, I think we’re getting stuck at community colleges or they just finish with an AA degree before getting a job.'

'It’s really telling because if you see Koreans and Taiwanese, they are going on and receiving their graduate and doctorate degrees,' added De La Cruz-Viesca."

Why Are We Running the “Race“?

One question I would like to raise is the comparative value of the (phantom) category of race (here, we are talking about “Asian American”) and its uncritical usage in the two articles. The articles essentially ask, “Why are Fil Ams underperforming in academics when other Asian Americans are doing better (or overachieving)?” I would like to ask, “Why compare Fil Ams to other Asian Americans in the first place?” In the same vein, why compare Koreans and Taiwanese together? Essentially, what “glue” holds these groups together—what characteristics give them comparative value? Is this a biological issue? If so, how is this different from the practices of biological racial taxonomy used to justify racial segregation and differential treatment at the turn of the 19th century? Or maybe this is an immigration issue? If so, for the sake of analysis, why can’t Fil Ams be compared to Mexicans, Haitians, or Brazilians? Why are we concerned with how more “successful” Asian Americans are doing? Why does it matter? The second article's criticism of the state's lumping of all Asians together is a step into the right direction, as the state's determining of racial membership holds a certain aura of authority. We must be self-critical when we redeploy the state's same logic.

A second set of questions I have concerns the meaning of “success”. What does it mean to be “stuck” with an AA or community college degree? Why is receiving a graduate degree at a high rate (especially when compared to Asian American groups) a marker of ethnic achievement? When and why has “success” become a foot race?

Yes, a foot race can be the appropriate analogy if academic “underachievement” of Filipino Americans can be attributed to social ills impacting the Fil Am community. Certainly, there are social ills. But also, there might be (and this is where further research is needed) a hyperbolic sense of crisis imbedded in these articles. Just how detrimental is it to the Fil Am community to receive an AA degree at a higher rate than other groups (as the second article demonstrates), rather than a PhD degree? And, what kind of job market are Fil Ams saturating? Is it lower-paid or middle-class? Is a working-class income (or near working-class income… I understand the arbitrariness of these class designations) such a disavowed concept? Or are Fil Ams really at risk of slipping into the abyss of poverty as the articles strongly suggest? Simply put, is there a sense that Fil Ams somehow deserve to align with the upper strata?

What is interesting about Clemente’s article is that in his inquiry about Fil Am’s “underachievement," he does not interrogate so much the impacts of this phenomenon as much as he offers reasons why young Fil Ams are doing poorly in school. He even questions the role of Filipino genetics, a gesture to the practices of turn of the 19th century biological racial classification mentioned above. Clemente asks, is it genetics or environment? His section, “Hiphop over homework” spells out the environmental threat hip hop plays in poor academics.

Hip Hop Pathology and Alternative Knowledge

Perhaps not as dangerous as the genetics card, the environmental argument of “hip hop pathology” poses a sinister blame game nonetheless.

Not being very specific on what he means by hip hop, Clemente paints a (and I say this crudely) “ghetto fabulous” Fil Am way of life, and apparently it has something to do with “Hiphop over homework.” He states,

“The [NaFFAA] study reported that Filipino students focused their energies more on working so as to be able to buy expensive clothes and cars. Also, they were much more into dancing and singing than studying and earning academic awards.”

Clemente goes on to tell a “success story” of Miguel Cutiongco who attends Harvard as a model of a Fil Am who “made it.” Troubling Clemente’s own genetics proposition, the author points out that Cutiangco’s parents are highly educated, having graduated from the University of the Philippines and Northwestern University. Not many young Fil Ams will relate to Cutiongco, even the most academically-talented students who dot the many community colleges, state colleges, and universities around the nation. Cutiongco’s story is just simply not relevant to most Fil Ams.

What many young Fil Ams will relate to is the hip hop story, which many of us know is not antagonistic to academic “achievement.” Especially on college campuses with Filipino student organizations, hip hop has been extremely central in day-to-day life, with dancing in particular forming a well-known social life among Fil Ams in college. At times this social life gets in the way of academics (this we know for sure), but just the same, this social life also helps us survive and thrive. This social life, as many of us can attest to, has given us a sense of meaning, passion, and wisdom. In some of us, it has even sparked a sense of social justice. For example, in a recent interview, Kimmy Maniquis, a choreographer of Kaba Modern in the mid-1990s, notes that Kaba Modern has been a positive space for community development and organizing. Today, Kimmy is a successful community organizer in Long Beach. Kimmy’s is just one of many stories of Fil Am organizers, educators, artists, performers, and even politicians who gained experience and wisdom within hip hop spaces.

Hip hop has been so central to young Fil Am life—to pathologize it would be to disown the rich texture of our community. This disowning would be a fruitless attempt to exorcise the collective soul of Fil Am youth (and for older Fil Ams who have been immersed in hip hop for some time now). Geologic speaks of our community's rich texture in “Commencement Day”,

“Up in assemblies nobody would listen

Instead rock the mixtape and Walkman

Discrete with the headphones

Threaded through the pockets and the sleeve.

You received education through the music you heard.

Cafeteria tables enable beats to occur.”

As the song goes, sometimes school sucks. The blatant historical lies and the irrelevant lessons just don’t interest young people. Geo continues,

“History repeated you repeat it to regurgitate

Slave-owning dead white men.

Folks, you know they make curriculum

Designed to make obedient drones.”

It is important to be clear that Geo is not criticizing the abstract concept of education itself, but rather the politrickin educational institution that fails students, an institution that is directly linked to the “Benevolent Assimilation” (a code for cultural extermination and colonial social engineering) of Filipinos by white Americans during U.S. colonization. The images of Filipino students reciting "Jingle Bells" included in this entry visualizes the absurdity of U.S. education, where white teachers taught songs about snow, Christmas trees, and white American heroes.

Given this history of U.S. educational duplicity, the notion of “knowledge” is already a fraught concept: “knowledge” for whom and for what ends?

And if hip hop is the story we can relate to, can hip hop offer mental "intelligence"? Can our hip hop performances express our corporeal “genius”? Can our “achievements” be gauged by our knowledge as artists, archivists, dancers, emcees, and poets? Rather than “Hiphop over homework” can hip hop be our homework?

In “Commencement Day,” a song that issues a reality-check to new graduates, Geo educates his listeners about material history, a history deliberately obscured for Filipinos, a history that many young Fil Ams seek and usually fail to find in the classroom. Referencing the Colt 45 pistol used to kill Filipinos during the Philippine-American War in the early 1900s, Geo’s lessons address “us” as Fil Ams rooted in history: we are the here today because some of us survived the Colt 45—our bodies are the proof of our survival. And today, alive in the U.S., we are negotiating the idea of “success.”

“Ay yo we made it

45 caliber proof

And your teachers ain’t believe

That you can handle the truth…

As you recognize

The thresholds of negative stress

The crossroads between

Complete failure and success…”

A Filipino student recites "Jingle Bells" as documentary

footage of WWII atrocities overlap her image.

Hip Hop as Culture to Work With, Not Against

Unlike Clemente, I want to be transparent when I use the term “hip hop.” As demonstrated by the Fil Am student organizations, hip hop is not simply a dance style or musical genre but it is also (more importantly) a cultural and social space which is historically-rooted (rather than a pastiche of aesthetic expressions). Hip hop as a space mobilizes community. This vision of hip hop, rather than pathologizing it, offers a productive opportunity to work with Fil Am youth rather than talk down to them.

Instead of demonizing hip hop and disavowing this central form of expression so dear to young Filipino Americans, perhaps we can view it as a legitimate and valuable resource for alternative knowledge. How can the already-existing elements within our culture enhance our “success” and “achievement”, both in academic life and in the “real” world?

It is important to do well in school, and it is my hope that the dismal data in the NaFFAA study improve. There is no doubt about that. But at the same time, I believe that “success“ is not only limited to classroom learning and higher education statistics. Other sources of knowledge, forms of intelligence, and “success” texture the lives of Fil Ams.

"Success" can also be re-visioned as the gaining of knowledge relevant to our own bodies and history--in other words we can successfully "win" back knowledge that has been buried. Unfortunately, "knowledge of self," which is so central to the theme of this blog, usually does not come from the classroom. For some time now, for Fil Ams, “knowledge of self” has come from hip hop.

In the classic track “Blue School,” Geo spits about the rich “wisdom” outside the traditional classroom and in the hip hop space. Hip hop has figuratively become a part of Geo, and his questions are answered on the dance floor:

“In the Blue School, class is in session,

Ask a question, cuz class is in session…

…And now my arteries connect to the amplifier wire

The music make the flames in my inner fire higher

I reinvent the language in the image of a dancer

Contorting where the floor becomes an answer.

“Primitive” Bodies, “Primitive” Knowledge, and the “Blackening” of Fil Ams

Recent journalism touching on Filipino American embodied (as opposed to cerebral) intelligence is not limited to the Asian Journal article. In the controversial 2007 L.A. Weekly article “The Fil-Am Invasion”, which portrays Fil Ams as somehow “taking over” the Hollywood hip hop club scene, paints a picture of Fil Am corporeal excessiveness, an image not too far from Clemente’s “singing and dancing” depiction of Fil Ams. In the piece, Sam Slovick writes,

“These Fil-Am kids are serious about having a good time, and that’s about it. It’s cultural. It came from the islands. The celebratory communal music and dance go way back to tribal roots. The DJ is spinning hip-hop, of course.”

As I tackled in a prior entry, Slovick’s fixation with Fil Am “tribal” bodies is connected to white historical fascination with Filipino primitive “otherness.” The Philippine Reservation at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair stands as the paradigmatic example of white “gazing” upon “tribal” Filipino bodies. The Philippine Reservation was about biological racial taxonomy: the marking of Filipinos as “less than” whites and certain Asians (see Robert Rydell's All the World's a Fair: Visions of Empire at American International Expositions, 1876-1916). Slovick’s depiction of Fil Am kids’ “tribal” “dancing around” astonishingly resonates with the historical consumption of Filipino bodies. The only difference is that instead of communing with tribal drums, we are now communing with hip hop.

Slovick and Clemente have effectively replaced a Filipino primitivism with a black primitivism, although the two primitivisms have traveled with each other since the turn of the 19th century‘s practice of racial taxonomy (see Cedric Robinson's Forgeries of Memory and Meaning). For Slovick and Clemente, hip hop has become code for a blackened racial position. It’s something that young Fil Ams “naturally” gravitate towards, distracting them from the important things in life, like school (over)achieving.

A friend to FilAm Funk, sociology scholar Valerie Francisco spells out the “blackening” of Filipinos that Clemente deploys. Her citation of Eduardo Bonilla-Silva’s acknowledgment of this “blackening” is useful here:

“Eduardo Bonilla-Silva wrote a book called Racism Without Racists where he effectively argues that Filipinos belong to the “collective black” in the US racial order and, I would argue, the US social imagination…

We can’t ignore that Filipinos as well as other Asian Americans who are, in a sense, “blackened” (either by US foreign intervention in their countries–Vietnam, Burma, Laos, hella other Southeast Asian countries) aren’t also doing as well as the poster-child (East) Asian groups…”

The True, the Good, and the Beautiful

Fil Ams’ supposed “deviance” from Asian American academic overachievement illuminates how racial categories position Filipinos in curious ways within the landscape of U.S. racial membership.

The task, therefore, may not be about pinning down Fil Am racial membership, either to lament their shortcomings to a model minority Asian Americanism or to demonize their “primitive” black cultural participation. Perhaps it would behoove us to see what is happening “at the bottom”, to understand the intelligence and genius of what is already there. The alternative classroom of hip hop has at many times been the pathway to Fil Am “success”, even if that “success” may not look like a PhD or MD degree.

During martial law, Imelda Marcos funneled billions of pesos to beautification projects to superficially “cover-up” the slums and construct prestigious cultural centers to impress foreign visitors in the Philippines. Imelda’s beautification initiatives ultimately failed, making no long term impact on Philippine society. To this day, she retorts that she only wants to promote the true, the good, and the beautiful. But in reality, Imelda has not been able to face the truth.

Contrasting Imelda’s maxim, hip hop often tells the startling, the bad, and the ugly. In other words, it tells the real truth—raw and naked.

The startling, the bad, and the ugly can be a transformative thing, alarming us to the work that needs to be done. It does not conceal or pretend. It awakens and demands. Hip hop’s alternative knowledge has been a staple of Fil Am life for decades now. How much value is a college degree if one graduates without “knowledge of self”? How many of us are still singing "Jingle Bells"? Geo‘s “Commencement Day” suggests the ongoing education of “knowledge of self”, one that continues even after you toss your graduation cap into the air:

“Now you stand at the summit

Future facing the wind.

Now it’s time to let your true education begin.”

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Sunday Cipher: Lyrical Empire premieres in Manila

2010-12-26T00:59:00.000-08:00

Lyrical Empire: Hip Hop in Metro Manila trailer from Mark V on Vimeo.

Lyrical Empire: Hip Hop in Metro Manila premieres in the Philippines! Thanks to all the good folks like Jerome and Knowa (and everyone!) for making this finally happen. I wish I could be there. This project is for the artists and fans in the Philippines, and beyond! Keep on keepin on! Pataas!

Thursday, December 30
10:00pm
CLUB TECH GENIUS MANILA (located inside Manila Ocean Park)

Kalaw Ave. & Roxas Blvd., Behind the Quirino Grandstand

Luneta, Manila

as part of the bigger program:

2010 RAP-UP PARTY: The Capital G Shop & AllStars DanceSchool Holiday Bash

THURSDAY, DEC. 30, 2010

MaddyMatikz and Stratosphere Productions

Hosts: Jerome B Smooth & Sheera Vera Cruz
...Sponsors: Q-York, Capital G, Allstars Danceschool, Club Tech Genius Manila, Gold's Gym, Naughty Needles, Amazing Playground

8PM -DOORS OPEN
Please bring ID if you want to drink
P150 entrance fee on Guestlist
**For kids, only age 14+ can enter. Pls bring school ID**
Text 0927.565.6540 or email maddymadz@rocketmail.com for GL & Table RSVP on or before 5pm, Dec.30.

9PM -KRIS KRINGLE (Bring a gift worth P300 for gift exchange) NO GIFT BROUGHT, NO GIFT GAINED.

10PM -WORLD PREMIERE of "LYRICAL EMPIRE:HIP HOP IN MANILA"
Directed by Mark Villegas and features artists such as CHRiZo, Marquiss, MC Dash, iLL J, LDP, MastaPlann, Philippine Allstars, & many more!

11PM -LIVE PERFORMANCES by Jonan Aguilar & DJ Bboy, Q-York, Chelo Aestrid, KrumPinoy, Allstars Danceschool Scholars, & many more!

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Sunday Cipher: Global Pinay Style

2010-12-19T11:55:00.000-08:00

Global Pinay Style from Mark V on Vimeo.

Brand new short film brought to you by FilAm Funk. Pinays making an impact worldwide, shaping the image of Filipinas globally, and creating a rich hip hop scene in the Philippines.

Thanks to the sistas from the Philippine All Stars and Stellar! Chelo, Bea, and Madelle, yall rock!

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Weekly Beat Sessions connex worldwide! Funkin that OPM

2010-12-14T11:46:00.000-08:00

Bojam aka Jumbo of Quezon City, Philippines connex
through Generation ILL's Weekly Beats Sessions

Generation ILL presents the Weekly Beat Sessions: "1ne Sample. Multiple Producers. Multiple Beats." This round they take it to the islands and funk with the Original Pinoy Music song "Isang Gabi" by Victor Wood (bel0w). A virtual assembly of 16 Producers from the Sunshine State to the sunny Philippines and all the way to the tundra of Toronto to foggy Londontown--these beat crafters twist, crack, chop, and flying jumpkick the somber Filipino ballad.

Big ups to ILLa for creating a community like this. Read below for details on his inspiration, a plug for my documentary, and the ways he is connecting creative minds around the world. And be sure to see how these producers really funked up this sample. Which one is your favorite? (No biases, but shout outs to Bojam and Chrizo cuz they dun set it off this time!! EeEw ang nasty sila nga!)

From MNL to FLA, show love!

BeatSession12|13|10

"The first records I ever sampled were from my dad’s old record collection. About half of them were Filipino records or Original Pinoy Music (OPM) from the early 1970s. I remember sampling an old 45 by a group called Soul Jugglers (which I cannot find anymore) and Balikbayan by Dale Adriatico.

What I came to realize was there was so much talent over there and there were so many amazing records that were put out. The instrumentalists, arrangements, and vocals were amazing. Fast forward to 2007 or so — I first connect with Chrizo on myspace. After checking out his music and the other artists he was collaborating with, I come to realize that the Philippines also has a dope ass hip hop scene that is on the come up.

The hip hop scene in metro-manila was the topic of the documentary, “Lyrical Empire”, made by our boy Mark Villegas of FilAmFunk. Check out the trailer to this documentary which features Chrizo and also music by B-ROC (who made his debut submission this week). I had an opportunity to watch the full-length documentary yesterday and ended up watching it several more times. The list of screenings can be found here.

In keeping with the theme, this week we sampled an OPM song by Victor Wood. I speak very little tagalog, but i got some help from someone who summarized the song in three sentences: the girl he loves is dating his best friend, he becomes the best man at their wedding, best friend ends up leaving her. Depressing song, but amazing sample.

Anyways, check out the featured producers, several of which are making their debut to the Weekly Beat Sessions. Thanks for listening and for spreading the word about the site. Also stay tuned for the upcoming Christmas/Holiday edition of the Weekly Beat Sessions by @generationill. peace, illa (@illa0804)"

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Sunday Cipher: Who's That? Brown up and down the West Coast

2010-12-12T02:42:00.000-08:00

Beatrock Music artists and merch: Alfie Numeric's critique of the Filipina self-martyrdom, Manila Ryce's "Our Lady of Perpetual Dissent", and the Beatrock Music cap

This past Friday and Saturday, Beatrock Music celebrated its first year anniversary in Long Beach and San Francisco. An impressive collection of Fil Am (and the homey Otayo Dubb and the CounterParts Crew) rocked the stage. I copped some merch at the Long Beach show (see above), including the fabled Beatrock Music baseball cap.

Beatrock Music artist Bambu performed "Who's That?!", a song that uses the beat originally produced by Das Racist and uses a Tribe Called Quest "Scenario" sample: "Inside, outside, come around. Who's that? Brown!!!" Bambu, always baggin on DJ Phatrick (his "Chinese DJ"), joked, "It says brown. So it's hard for Phatrick to play this." Along with back and forth jabs, Phatrick and Bambu performed a great improvised showcase.

Brown music up and down the coast! Congrats to Beatrock Music for a memorable year!

Sunday Cipher: You wanna battle? Estria does it again

2010-11-28T02:46:00.000-08:00

Vogue 1 (TDK crew) "healing" through the spray can at the 4th Annual Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle (2010). The theme for the competition was "heal." Check out who came out on top.

Artist Spotlight: Infected by Generation ILL and Deep Foundation/Hydroponikz EP

2010-11-26T16:47:00.000-08:00

It's time you DLed the new EP Deep Foundation & Hydroponiks present Generation ILL. The EP is an East Coast+South collaboration between the NY/NJ emcees of Deep Foundation/Hydroponikz and the Florida beat production crew Generation ILL. And what a sweet collaboration it is. The album also features cameos with Bambu, Rocky Rivera, and Ashley Robles.

The tracks touch on various themes, from the mellow dance hit "To The Beat" to the multi-meaning diaspora-inflected "World's Apart". The latter is one of my favorite tracks: it cleverly manages to portray the pain, angst, and contradictions involved in living as a Filipino in the U.S. as well as painting those same conditions as seen on the streets of the U.S. and the Philippines.

Peep an excerpt from Mugg Shot's verse in "World's Apart":

"Was mothered by a land
Where white stands for rich
And dark tans are brands
On backs that stand stiff.
When your status is defined
By similar outlines
Social classes divided
By aboriginal ties
Round-eye descendants of
European demise
Fetishizing a skin to avoid
Being deprived.
We lacking pride from
Where our people derived.
We came enslaved
The day they people arrived..."

Hip hop still speaking truth to power. Word. I was fortunate enough to catch up with illa and SoCo from Generation ILL to find out more about the geniuses behind the sound:

Who are the folks in Generation ILL? What's up with the name?

SoCo: Generation ILL is comprised of five members: myself, illa, PMBeatz, Eladbrit, and Sidewayz. I mean, it just kinda sounds cool, right? But really, there’s multiple meanings behind the name. Generation ILL is not only a music production crew, but we also represent a collective of like-minded individuals that recognize dope music and support the artists that make it.

illa: We wanted our listeners to realize that they are a part of that same generation that fell in love with the true spirit of Hip Hop. You are a part of Generation ILL if you listen to and support other artists that are making good music—especially in Hip Hop. We want good music, not just our own, to re-infect the masses and spread like an epidemic.

Describe the beginning stages of putting together this EP.

illa: In 2009, we heard Deep Foundation and Hydroponikz were working on a project so we sent one of our Gen ILL Beat CDs to their manager. As you can see, they ended up using most of our beats for the EP. As a matter of fact, "At Your Request" and "Worlds Apart" were specifically made with this project in mind.

SoCo: We use a lot soul samples in our production and the beats that DF and Dro chose for the EP elicit a lot of emotion and inward reflection—almost an escape to introversion, you know? As a result, it helped influence the amazing lyrical content they ended up writing about. Content that also reflected the reason behind the name for our company.

illa: At that point, they were like, okay, let’s present Generation ILL, the production crew, and at the same time describe what the state of affairs is for the everyman all over the world. After that, it was a wrap.

Artwork by Manila Ryce

How was the process with working with DF in NY? Was it difficult to work in together in the virtual world?

illa: It was definitely a new experience for us. It’s one thing to pass a beat to an artist who you may not be able to work with during the recording process but with this project, the music was just the beginning. As the EP evolved into a joint venture between us, DF and Hydro, we became fully involved in all aspects of putting the project out—everything from distribution to promotions, we were definitely grateful for the opportunity to work with those guys.

Soco: You know, thanks to smartphones and the internet, there wasn’t a lot of downsides to the process. Of course, if we were up in NYC, I’m sure it would’ve made things a lot easier. They shot a couple videos for the EP up there, too—we would’ve loved to be in front of the camera together with DF and Hydro. There’s still an opportunity for that, tho…we’ll keep everyone posted once they’re released. I mean, so long as there are planes, we’ll still be able to meet up in person.

How has your experiences being part of Filipino American community spaces influenced the energy and tone of the album (or your music in general)?

SoCo: Well, three of us actually met back at the University of Florida when we were part of the Filipino Student Association (FSA) there. We were actually pretty active in the organization until we started making music, funny enough. However, Filipino music had a big influence on our production—specifically old OPM soul.

illa: We’ve always been a huge fan of OPM music—the amazing vocals, instrumentalists, and arrangements. So whenever we hear some really good Filipino soul music, we’re like, "the world needs to hear this!” The thing is, outside of Filipino producers, most music heads (let alone those in Hip Hop) don’t realize the depth of emotion old, Filipino soul and folk singers delivered their lyrics with. It’s pretty awe-inspiring.

Soco: I guess we were fortunate enough to have joined the FSA in a year with older members that were big music heads. Some were DJs, others were really big into music in general and we learned a lot about other artists we normally woudn’t have had exposure to so soon. Like, one of the guys had just bought Blackalicious’s NIA and I had never heard anything like it. I remember, our friend Ray was part of Slum Village’s street team and that was the first time I had heard anything from Dilla. Our minds were blown away listening to Fantastic V2.

illa: And really, if it wasn’t for the UFFSA, we probably wouldn’t be here doing this interview. We started making beats and recording music while in college and later, when we were performing, it was that same organization—that same family—that came out to support us whenever we had a show. Now that we’ve evolved into Generation ILL, and since we’ve collaborated with Deep Foundation and Hydroponikz, we’ve seen that support from not only FSAs, but the FilAm community nationwide as a whole.

illa and SoCo prefer visual anonymity in order to impress your ears

Why do you think it is important for this collaboration album to be heard by Filipino Americans?

SoCo: Just as Deep Foundation and Hydroponikz draw from their own experiences of life growing up as Filipino Americans, we try to make sure our beats capture that same type of intensity drawing out those same emotions. Of course, as Filipino Americans, we have something to say. And as you hear in the EP, it’s not just about what we go thru here in the States, but what our families and friends go through in the Philippines as well. Most of our struggles, though they may be on different scales, parallel day to day. That’s what we hope to convey to Fil-Ams and Filipinos alike.

Who are some of your musical influences?

In terms of producers: J. Dilla, 9th Wonder, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, illMind, Just Blaze, Kanye West -- just to name a few. Many of our influences range from Jazz Artists like John Coltrane to soul artists like Curtis Mayfield or Gil Scott Heron.

In terms of beat and lyrics, what is the motivation behind "World's Apart"?

illa: One day we were listening to Pandora and the first song that came on was a track called, You by Marvin Gaye. When I heard the lyrics, "Worlds Apart...so close yet worlds apart". I immediately thought of Deep Foundation's track from earlier in their career, A Place Called Home. I immediately sat down, slowed down the sample, chopped it up, laid a Little Richard drum break over the sample and sent it to DF. I think the chorus obviously had a big influence over the concept of the song and that's actually one of my favorite tracks from the EP. Its another example of where we didn't even need to communicate our intention of making a particular beat, they already knew.

Why do you guys prefer to work in a crew?

illa: Well, the idea of Generation ILL as a production crew/company was a product of the jam sessions we used to have up in Gainesville. Every Thursday night, while the emcees would be freestyling, the producers would get together and chop up a single sample and present them once everyone was done. It was a chance for us to not only share production techniques, but also an opportunity to introduce each other to the different equipment and programs we used. The producers started to meet up more and it gave us a chance to build that camaraderie fueled by making beats.

Soco: One thing we all have in common, other than music, is that we all have separate lives in separate cities. Nine-to-five’s, school, family responsibilities—and as individuals, the fear is that you might get lost in reality. We all decided to come together as Generation ILL to represent that bond we share as artists and beatsmiths and to keep that passion alive—the passion to keep making dope music. It makes us better in our craft—iron sharpens iron, you know? Being part of a crew lets our individual styles shine from one point, which in turn allows artists to find a plethora of different sounds in one place.

Any future projects?

We're looking forward to some collaborations with several artists from the West Coast. Currently, we're working on a track with Bambu/Beat Rock Music on an upcoming project. We have a R&B/Soul- inspired beat cd in the works which will be available soon and we have plans to release a Generation ILL project with a series of featured emcees during the 2nd Qtr of 2011.

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Sunday Cipher: Hip Hop in the Philippines freestyle

2010-11-21T15:48:00.001-08:00

Chelo of the Philippine Allstars/O.N.E. and Knowa Lazarus of

Q-York/O.N.E. host the 2-on-2 Bboy/Bgirl battle at Sofitel Hotel in July.

Knowa Lazarus sums it up pretty well in this 3-minute freestyle session at the Capital G Shop in San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines.

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What makes a "People's Champion"?

2010-11-16T12:04:00.001-08:00

Check out this great article by veteran hip hop authority Davey D, who is featured in the opening part of my 2007 documentary, Hip Hop Mestizaje (embedded in the right panel of this blog).

Manny Pacquiao the People’s Champ: Is that too Much for Floyd to Handle?

from Davey D's Hip Hop Corner
November 15, 2010

"...While the world watched and cheered, we’re sure a certain boxer with a big mouth and lots of money sat at home also watching. There is no doubt that Floyd ‘Money Making’ Mayweather has come to realize two unshakeable truths. First, he can’t beat Mr Pacquiao. Yeah, yeah, we heard all the talk about how he’s a skilled precision fighter, a true student of the game blah, blah, blah…Save it. He knows it, I know and you know it. Mayweather watched and realized this past Saturday night this is man he can’t beat.

The other thing he realized is that he’ll never be seen as one of the greatest, even with an undefeated record. As a world champ, he misread history and what it means when you hold such a title especially as a Black man. The ring was always symbolic of power we did not have.. Even with boxing legends like Sugar Ray Robinson, part of what made him great was his accomplishments in the midst of hard oppressions. the accomplishments of boxing greats like Joe Louis and Jack Johnson became a symbolic victories for all those who felt marginalized and oppressed. Their victory was our victory.

Manny Pacquiao has captured that spirit globally. Sadly Floyd Mayweather has misread the signs of today’s times and missed the opportunity to be ‘the people’s champ‘. If Mayweather and Pacman were to fight and he somehow won, Manny would still be seen as champ all over the world. A Mayweather victory would be a hollow victory. Mayweather does not have the admiration of the people especially globally, and no matter how much he brags or ‘adroitly ‘plays the role of villan’ aka the ‘man you love to hate’, he’ll never be seen as a man for the people. What a wasted opportunity...."
CONTINUE READING...

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Sunday Cipher: Fil Am renaissance?

2010-11-14T20:40:00.000-08:00

Premiere is a testament to the 90s Filipino American R&B musical "renaissance", a moment when Fil Ams were at the brink of mainstream status, nudging at the edge of the niche ethnic market, and certainly spreading out of the Bay Area cultural core to Fil Ams all over.

If the mid to late 90s was an era for Fil Am R&B acts, then the 2000s is for Fil Am emcees (and the scenes, audiences, markets, and artists do overlap). Is this decade a new "renaissance" for Fil Am artists (hip hop, R&B, or otherwise), or was the 90s just a special, special moment (well, certainly there were more women and group-oriented acts)?

Reference:

Asian American Invisibility: You don't see us, but we see you!

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Filipino-Mexican showdown x kultura (x champorado)

2010-11-11T10:11:00.000-08:00

Ready for the Pacquiao vs. Margarito fight this Saturday? Will the congressman defeat the Master Plaster? Patis or Tapatio?

The match this weekend is a good opportunity to explore the Filipino-Mexican connection, a growing scholarly topic, and a visual and cultural "common sense" among many Filipinos and Chicanos in Southern California. One scholar is doing interesting work on looking at Filipino and Chicano emcees and their political messages relating to homeland and diaspora.

The upcoming boxing performance echos the influence of "real" performance traditions between Mexico and the Philippines, with the latter as "New Spain" working as a colonial mediator to the far-off Spanish island colony. Here is an excerpt from Palabas: Essays on Philipine Theater History (1997) by Doreen Fernandez, a book that outlines various Philippine "performance" traditions, ranging from precolonial rituals to Philippine theater in the 1980s. (I suppose it is up to one of you to write a book on hip hop traditions in the Philippines.)

"During much of the colonial period, Spanish culture was introduced through Nueva España (Mexico), from where the Philippines was ruled by Spain through the Ministro de Ultramar. Soldiers of Adelantado Miguel López de Legazpi in the late sixteenth century are believed to have been the ones who brought over from Mexico the metrical romances of chivalry and of the lives of saints and martyrs, which were popular in their day and which, in indigenized form, became the native awit and corrido" (5).

Oh! This explains the whole champurrado/champorado thing! We all just one big chocolate mix. Well, of course Mexicans use the corn/masa, and the Filipinos, rice. And according to some recipes, the Mexican champurrado is served with alcohol.

Champurrado...

meet champorado.

Lambanog champorado for cold nights!

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Sunday Cipher:GRAE matter

2010-11-07T12:53:00.000-08:00

Philippine emcee Marquiss is dropping his G.R.A.E. album November 25th. More from B-Rocc at SoulFiesta.

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Sunday Cipher: Rocky Horror!

2010-10-31T14:18:00.000-07:00

Rocky horror!! Happy Halloween! Beware the Aswang, White Lady, Duwende, Manananggal, and all that...

Special Feature: Boogie Brown in Paris Town

2010-10-28T10:41:00.000-07:00

Boogie Brown has a new blog on urban youth culture in Paris. Follow Brown down "on the street" in Dans La Rue to discover b-boy, graffiti, fashion, parkour, and street dance culture in the city of love.

Here is a recent entry:

Rep Wear You From

Fashion is undoubtedly one of the core elements of Hip Hop. After all, 1990's hip hoppers practically made the Tommy Hilfiger brand. And where would New Era fitteds be without Jay-Z?

Hip Hop, in every one of its art forms, is all about stylistic expression. It's no surprise then that fashion, as an outward expression of style, is so embraced by the Hip Hop generation to connote culture and identity. It's about reppin' who you are and where you're from.

The glocalized Hip Hop community here in Paris and France puts its own twist on that concept and the outfit trends from the US. Sure, the fitted caps, baggy pants, and fly sneakers remain a staple, but here young people spice up their wardrobes with a smattering of ethnic and religious roots.

World b-boy champ Lilou

At every event I attend, I always feel like I'm at a convening at the UN. In the middle of a cypher, there will be a gleaming turquoise jacket with "ALGERIE" embroidered across the chest. To the left, I'll spot the outline of the African continent colored in bright red, green and yellow, on the front of a sweatshirt. I'll pick out the word "SENEGAL" discreetly wrapped around a friend's wristband. And then of course, my favorite Tee yells out to me, with huge block letters, "I'm Muslim, Don't Panik!" As I observe, I notice that I too am rockin' my favorite Philippines revolution crew-neck...
CONTINUE READING...

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Sunday Cipher: FlipTop sa Freedom Bar QC

2010-10-23T01:43:00.000-07:00

I was able to attend this FlipTop session in Quezon City in July.

Far. Sweaty. Crowded. Bad acoustics. But still passionate about the culture. Philippine hip hop is the real deal, and they are hungry for more.

Check out my entry:
Guerilla Style: FlipTop gives you raw Philippine rap

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Artist Spotlight: Leo roars for the 8X10 Collective

2010-10-19T15:41:00.000-07:00

Leo Angelo Bio displays his Erykah Badu rendition

I've been representing Jacksonville, Florida pretty hard for the past few weeks. Here is yet another spotlight on a Jacksonville Pinoy/Pinay artist: the talented Leo Angelo Bio of the 8X10 Collective. We profiled Grace Bio last week, so check that out if you haven't already. I encourage all Filipino Americans to explore the hidden pockets of Filipino talent across the country.

Here we go!

When and why did you get into painting?

I got into painting when I was 8 years old reading X-men and Kung Fu comics. My favorite illustrators are Bill Sienkiewicz, Kent Williams, who made beautiful water color paintings of Marvel characters, and Tony Wong of Jademan comics. They were all major influences. During my teens, graffiti had a major impact on my style.

Why do you believe painting is the best way for you to express yourself?

Painting is a force which is drawn from your soul, your Devine self. Painting and drawing is a spiritual act, as any Art is. Color, shape and form interpreted by imagination: the illusion provokes thought into the viewer.

What inspires your work?

The Creator’s creation creates my creativity. I’m drawn to truth, beauty, and God. I wish the viewer to understand an artist's mind.

Describe the graphic art scene in Jacksonville. How does it compare to other scenes you are familiar with?

The art scene in Jacksonville is a growing, long over-due young scene. I am just now getting into the emergence of the scene. I have been performing live art in various venues around town with my sister, Grace. The thing about Jacksonville is, it loves art but doesn’t like artists. There a lot dope artists in Duval that hardly get shine. A big city like Jacksonville should embrace art more, because we are the soul and future of the city. The Filipino community should embrace their youth and their creativity, because without it - they will fall into negative stereotypes, which destroys representation our people.

At the 2nd Annual Filipino Pride Day in Jacksonville, Florida

Describe your experience at Filipino Pride Day. How was your reception by the festival goers?

I had a good time, but expected more. As a Non-Filipino, I would have liked to learn more about the history and culture. I was looking to see more political activism and social awareness about my country - the two things Filipinos ignore here in the U.S. I have to say, I was saddened that people were wearing Pinoy pride shirts but didn't know who I was painting (Ninoy Aquino). But, it was good time to reveal The 8X10 Collective to Jacksonville and the world!

93 Til... Souls of Mischief

Who shot ya!

What is your favorite hip hop album, and why?

I have been into hip hop since 1986 so it’s hard to have one favorite album. De La Soul’s “Buhloon Mindstate” and Digable Planet’s “Blowout Comb” would have to be my top two. Both albums got dope samples, hard-hitting beats with a jazzy feelin'. Both albums exemplify the highest creative potential in Hip Hop. Both albums you can rock all day, every day!

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Sunday Cipher reps the Empire!

2010-10-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, gotta delay diggin for youtube gems so I can plug another screening opportunity for my documentary Lyrical Empire: Hip Hop in Metro Manila at the 11th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival.

Lyrical Empire is featured in the He(art) of the Matter SDAFF festival program this coming Sunday, October 24 at 4:45pm.

This documentary is slowly making its film festival rounds. I hope to bring it to Manila soon. Since we're in San Diego, I will not refuse any offers of carne asada fries.

Marquiss and Chrizo for the radio heads (Photo: Bong Andres)

Lyrical Empire: Hip Hop in Metro Manila trailer from Mark V on Vimeo.

You can read more about my experience with a few of the Metro Manila hip hop heads in my article for Evil Monito magazine.*

Lyrical Empire: Metro Manila Emcees Overcome Challenges in a Multilingual Nation

by Mark Villegas

Ridin’ out in Metro Manila

On a drizzly, humid July afternoon I squeeze into an overflowing train headed for Las Piñas, a city in southern Metro Manila. I hop from the train onto the Philippines’ most ubiquitous forms of transportation, the jeepney, a functioning relic of the United States military ostentatiously stylized with distinct Filipino flavor—bright paint, shiny chrome, and customized body kits. Like the other commuters, I cover my mouth and nose with a handkerchief as we battle the Metro’s pollution and traffic.

I am on my way to interview the Turbulence Productions crew, a small, independent group of emcees, beat producers, and entrepreneurs who rank as one of the most respected hip hop crews in the Philippines.

As someone who has been immersed in hip hop and who documents Filipino American involvement in the cultural cipher, I, like many other Filipino Americans, carried my own biases about hip hop in the Philippines. I believed because the Philippines is a poor country whose people are obsessed with mimicking catchy American pop songs, the quality of hip hop in the country must be sub-par.

I had it all twisted. CONTINUE READING...

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*I meant Philippine presidential-candidate Ninoy Aquino. Thanks Eric Tandoc for the heads up.