The Filipino Flash X Deep Foundation knock out!

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

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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Deep Foundation responds to Adam Carolla's ignorance

The dudes Deep Foundation in NY/NJ respond to Adam Carolla's comments on Pacquiao and the Philippines. I think that Carolla's remarks are not anything new in the shock jock steez, but when you couple ignorance with the wholesale erasure/obscuring of Philippine history in the context of U.S. imperialism, jokes like Carolla's do a particular kind of damage that extends the already protracted imperial project in the Philippines. To make savage/slut a U.S. colony, I think, does more to make invisible that very moment of colonialism rather than reveal it. The veil becomes darker...

Anyways, DF provides a space for cultural resistance to such ignorance. What would be interesting is a more critical look at the Philippine state, rather than a blanketed heroization of the homeland. For the Philippine state is also repressive, especially when it comes to the Moro south, peasants, and indigenous people.

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Hip Hop at 18th Annual FPAC + Francis M. Tribute

Geologic of the Blue Scholars headlining on the Main Stage @ 2pm on Saturday

It's that time of year again! The 18th Annual Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture (FPAC) is happening this weekend, September 12-13, in San Pedro, CA. And yes, amigos, there will be lotsa hip hop.

Below, check out details on the Francis M. Tribute, crews in street dance showcase, a list of hip hop performers, and a description of the FPAC Tinikling Battle:

Francis M. Tribute
18th Annual Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture
Sunday, Sept. 13, 1:00pm on Main Stage
Featuring performances by: MastaPlann and The Kasamas

Earlier this year we lost an icon in Philippine popular culture. Francis Magalona, also known as Francis M. “The Master Rapper” or the “King of Philippine Rap” left this world as the most prolific hip hop artist in the Philippines. Although iconic, Francis Magalona was still very human. On March 6, 2009, he passed away at age 44 after a seven-month bout with leukemia. At the 18th Annual Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture, MastaPlann (photo at left) and The Kasamas will honor “The Master Rapper” by performing a few of his songs and by paying tribute to a true Philippine hero. MastaPlann is a legendary hip hop group that excelled in the ranks of Philippine hip hop in 1991 and continue to perform today. They were not only friends with Francis M., but also collaborated with him musically. The Kasamas are a hip hop group from San Francisco who carry on Francis M.’s tradition of Tagalog rap and honor the late rapper with his music.

Francis M. will be remembered for his lasting impact on hip hop in the Philippines. His first album Yo! (1990) proved hip hop’s promising potential in the Philippines. Throughout his career, his lyrics embraced Philippine nationalism and addressed urgent issues relevant to Filipino people, such as government corruption, drug abuse, and Filipino colonial mentality.

Francis M. stood at the pinnacle of a handful of Philippine hip hop artists who have come to the forefront of Philippine popular consciousness. He was an exceptional talent, making Tagalog rap acceptable when many rappers struggled due rap’s negative stigma.

Francis M. has been a role model for Philippine hip hop artists. He legitimized Pinoy rap for many rising artists in the hip hop game. In addition to his Philippine-based inspiration, he was influential among Filipino American hip hop performers who turned to Magalona for artistic guidance.

Not only was Francis M. a luminous rapper, his creativity also stretched to Pinoy rock (blending rap and rock with his group Hardware Syndrome), photography, and film. Also, many will remember him as a co-host for the popular variety show Eat Bulaga! In addition, many young Filipinos know Francis M. as a fashion designer for his stylish clothing brand 3 Stars & a Sun.

Come join us at FPAC on Sunday as we honor Francis M. and celebrate his legacy through his music!

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Street dance showcase
Saturday, Sept. 12 @ 3:00pm
Main Stage

Featuring:

PAC Modern + Sheroes + Kaba Modern + Supreme Soul

Yes, this is a perfect space to celebrate the success Filipinos have been having in street dance fame. It's like an ABDC reunion! Tell ya gramama to wipe her drool...panis laway.

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Clockwise: Power Struggle, The Counterparts, All In Motion, and FlowEthics

List of FPAC Hip Hop Performers throughout weekend

(may be incomplete, please let me know if I left you off)

Saturday
Rhythm Natives (2:00 Main Stage)
Geologic (2:00 Main)
The Counterparts (1:00 Gen Stage)
Power Struggle (1:00 Gen)
FlowEthics (2:00 Gen)
Street dance showcase (3:00 Main)
Kasamas (3:00 Gen)
Ethnic Descent (3:00 Gen)

Sunday
Francis M. Tribute feat. MastaPlann and The Kasamas (1:00 Main)
Deep Foundation (1:00 Main)
Kiwi (2:00 Main)
Heart Beat Dance Crew (12:00 Gen)
All In Motion Dance Crew (12:00 Gen)
N2RK8 (1:00 Gen)
Hydroponikz (1:00 Gen)
Carson Street Dance (4:00 Gen)

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FPAC 2nd Annual Tinikling Battle

Sunday, Sept. 13 @ 12:00pm

Main Stage

Tinikling dancers at Jacksonville's Filipino Pride Day. Photo credits: Jeff Enriquez

The FPAC Tinikling Battle is back for a second year! Last year, to the grumbling of some unhappy audience members, only one college tinikling troupe (UC Riverside Katipunan) was able to perform. This year, we have more! This is gonna be carazay!

Come cheer on Cal State University Northridge FASA, Cal State University Fullerton PASA Kaibigan, Cal Poly Pomona Barkada, and the defending champions UC Riverside Katipunan as they battle it out and see who will rock the sticks for 2009!

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ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: What CeeJay say about East Coast hip hop

School's in: CeeJay teaches you lessons (Photo Credit: Skilled Concepts)

Back in March, I wrote about the group Deep Foundation and their music video "Children of the Son: Remix." As many of you know, the New York/New Jersey crew is making noise, and with their new album, "The First Draft," they are looking to build a national following. Go support and order the album! It is Hip Hop Lives approved! Like CeeJay says below, it delivers dope rhymes, quality beats... it's official.

For now, come kick it with CeeJay from DF as he gives us a glimpse of the East Coast hip hop world, raps about "The First Draft," and reminds us why pinakbet is delicious.

Yo CJ! Where you from?
I lived in New York (Yonkers and the Bronx) until I was about 8, but I've lived in New Jersey since then. My hometown is a suburban town in Central New Jersey called Old Bridge. It's a 45 minute bus ride from Manhattan. Like I hope most people do, I love my hometown. In the late 80s and early 90s, I kind of felt out of place. It was nowhere nearly as diverse as the places I lived in NY. Around the early to mid 90s, I started seeing more people of color. It's probably like a lot of other suburban towns around America. Houses, lawns, some with backyards, some without, a couple strip malls. We played a lot of basketball growing up. A lot of my friends were into hip-hop. We had a few heads into DJing and breakdancing.

What are the origins of Deep Foundation? How did you get involved?
Deep Foundation started as a group of friends who shared the common love for hip hop. In the late 90s, we were spread throughout the New York metropolitan area, but all immersed in hip-hop culture individually. In New Jersey, Proseed and Verbaltek attended the same high school and both experimented with writing rhymes. They eventually started writing and recording songs together. They met WordsArize who lived in a neighboring town through mutual friends, discovered he was writing as well, and later added him to the mix. Around the same time, Proseed met ILL Poetik from Queens who shared the same interest in rhyming, especially freestyling, and his brother Sawnd G during a family trip. Their mothers actually went to the same college in the Philippines.

I was also a huge fan of the music and the culture, had been DJing for a few years, and recently discovered freestyling. I knew Verbaltek, Proseed and WordsArize through friends and we would all talk about hip-hop whenever we saw each other at parties. In the fall of 2000, someone brought up the idea to me about performing at an upcoming show at my school, so I invited the guys to take the stage with me. It was at the rehearsals and meetings preparing for the performance where we all got closer (pause) and started to look forward to doing more shows together. Soon after, we invited ILL Poetik to join us for the next performance.

In the summer of 2001, the New York and New Jersey contingents ended up attending the Philippine Independence Day Celebration in New York City. To no surprise, we all decided to freestyle. A few guys taking turns freestyling turned into a full-fledged cipher with the Deep Foundation emcees, ILL Poetik and his friend Mugshot who was also from Queens. One by one, a crowd formed to watch us exchange verses until, eventually, NYPD felt it was necessary to disperse the crowd (WACK!). Mutual respect was gained and ILL Poetik and Mugshot officially joined the group soon after. In the fall, we had our first performance together with all the current members at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

How did you first get involved with DJing and emceeing?

I got into DJing during my freshman year of high school. In middle school, I had gone to parties where I could actually see a DJ mixing records. I thought blending two records was really cool. I actually saw a few DJs scratch and was like "this is how they do the scratching I hear on the radio?" Shout out to Chris Tamayo who was one of the first DJs I saw spin live as a kid. A good amount of people were into DJing in my hometown. I would see them spin at parties and it just looked like a lot of fun. Shout out to John Vito, Kid Fury and DJ Ollie. After seeing them, I appreciated the art of DJing more. I would listen to Funkmaster Flex on the radio and be amazed. Freshman year, it was like everyone was into DJing. I guess it's similar to how it is with hip-hop dance and dance crews now. Back then, everyone wanted to be a DJ. We used to watch those DMC battle videos. My two best friends and I decided one day that we wanted to take DJing up as a hobby, so we all saved our money for months and bought equipment. We would just chill for hours practicing.

As for emceeing, one day, we were chilling for my boy Jaydee's birthday at his house and we had the equipment on, taking turns spinning. Our boy Mike Intellect, who is now Deep Foundation's official DJ, was there and he suggested that we freestyle. We didn't know what he meant. He told us, you just had to rap, but you had to make up the words on the spot. I had never tried to rap before that. So he went first, Jay gave it a try. Then, I tried. It was cool. I actually came up with a decent line. It was kind of fun. The guys thought I was decent and encouraged me to keep at it. In the months that followed, we'd try it more when we were hanging out. I got a little better at it and ended up freestyling a lot with a few friends. I was pretty much addicted and it became my main hobby while DJing kind of faded away for me. I eventually started trying to write. My first experience with recording was actually my voicemail greeting haha. Remember those free voicemails around 2000?

What are some of the differences you see with hip hop (with Filipinos and in general) on the East Coast with that of the West Coast?
In terms of hip-hop, I would say both coasts are pretty comparable because they're so diverse within themselves. On both sides, you have battle emcees, mainstream... political... underground... street... religious? Each region has its own flavor, but you can even have people doing different styles or subgenres within one city. But if I had to point out specific differences, the obvious ones would have to be accents and lingo. Just thinking of examples, the Bay has hyphy which we don't have over here. On the other hand, we have groups like CNN and MOP over here whose style I'm not sure you can find out west. Oh, and another thing. When you're in NYC, you see cats in the street trying to sell you their CDs, a lot of them basically harassing you. During my short visits to the west (The Bay, LA, SD), I didn't see that. Thank God! I mean, hustling to get your music out there is one thing, but straight up harassing people is another.

As far as East Coast versus West Coast Filipinos, it's tough to speak on a whole coast. The first thing is numbers. On a daily basis pretty much anywhere in NJ or NY, you're bound to see a few Filipinos every day. In the areas with higher concentrations of Filipinos like Jersey City and Woodside, of course you'll see more. But out west, it just seems like they're everywhere...or WE're everywhere I should say. Speaking on the actual people, in the NY/NJ area, people are kinda more reserved about showing love at a show for example, especially to acts that are new to them. The first time DF went out to Cali to perform, I remember getting mad love (or should I say hella?) from folks we've never met and who probably have never heard our music. Shout out to Maganda @ UC Berkeley!

Describe the process of making your new album, "The First Draft."
It started with the search for beats. We were talking to almost everyone we knew who produced, and for a while, we struggled to find tracks that fit our style. It's not that the tracks weren't good, (well, some of them actually weren't haha.) It's that a lot of the beats just didn't go with our sound. To be honest, it got pretty frustrating. Luckily, our boy Hydroponikz put us onto a friend of his, Jay Chen aka Smooth Criminal. We checked out his beats and copped our first batch from him. We continued looking for beats and didn't get too far. Again, Hydro came through for us and linked us up with another friend of his, Incise from Toronto. Incise ended up making most of the beats for "The First Draft". At the time, Hydroponikz was really getting into the zone in terms of his production, so we were fortunate enough to have beats from him on the album too. We have two tracks produced by Illmind as well. We met him back around 2001 and have been cool ever since. We hadn't worked together until this project, so it was awesome that we could finally collaborate. He's really one of the top producers in the game right now, so it's an honor to have him on our album.

Back to the process... As we got beats, we took time to listen to them individually. Then, when we saw each other or through email would trade ideas about how we would approach the song. Guys would also just start writing and present what they came up with to the group for feedback. If we agreed one of the guys came up with a cool concept, we'd run with it and write with that theme in mind. We'd send out our verses to the group for feedback or try them out live. We'd give each other constructive criticism on the verses or suggestions for changing or improving the verse. Once we were done writing, we'd record at ILL Poetik's home studio. We sent everything to DJ Phillee Blunt for mixing, we'd review the mixes and go back and forth with Phil until they had the sound we were looking for. Shout out to DJ Phillee Blunt, not only an ill DJ, but a dope engineer. Our album wouldn't be what it is without the quality mixing and mastering he did. I could go into detail about how each song was born, but that's pretty much what the process was for "The First Draft".

What do you want people to take away after listening to "The First Draft"?
I want people to take away that it's a dope hip-hop album. Quality beats. Dope rhymes. Here's a crew that took their time to craft the best album they could. Not just throw something together, rushing to get it done. We took the time to carefully choose the best beats, pick songs that would mesh well when put together as an album, come up with a concept, and produce creative album art that reflects the theme of the CD and represents the work we put into it. Shout out to Choz Belen for doing the album art. We put a lot into this whole process. I hope people take the time to check it out. If you like it, please cop it! Every sale counts and enables us to keep doing what we do. You can order the physical CD at our MySpace, deepfoundation.net, or on CD Baby. You can also purchase the mp3s on iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody and CD Baby.

What's the best Filipino meal you've ever had?
I love Filipino food. I have a long list of favorites. I love pinakbet. Might it be cuz I'm Ilocano? I can't think of the best Filipino meal I've ever had, but if I could describe one, it might go something like this. I'll start with some Lumpiang Shanghai dipped in the ill vinegar with the hot peppers in it. Then, I'd have some really crunchy lechon kawali with Mang Tomas sauce of course. I just got into Bicol Express recently, so definitely some of that. I'll take some pinakbet for the veggies. And I would be in Boracay, so I could get a cold fresh mango shake right after. There are so many awesome Filipino dishes out there that this scenario could play out another way, but I'd be the happiest man on earth with this meal.

Epic from East to West: Deep Foundation lays it down

This is an epic and visionary video for our Filipino brothas in hip hop. The homey CJ the DJ from Deep Foundation got me hip to the original "Children of the Sun" song during the summer. Shit was coo. But this remix video below is pure fire. Has a classic Wu Tang, tag-team emcee feel (and is a strong 7.5 half minutes long!). Finally, the East Coast (Deep Foundation hails from NY) and the West (Kiwi, Nomi, etc.) connect. And they even take it to the Philippines... Yankees fitted, Mike Dream murals, puffy jackets, Beatrock tees, fighting cocks, tricycles...the beautiful regional images abound. From coast to coast, shore to shore, can't wait to see what else these folks got in store.

With our powers combined...




Read more about it:
The Deconstruction of Kiwi Illafonte: "Video: Children of the Sun Remix" (with Kiwi's lyrics)

Bambu's Rants: "...all good.." (with shocking news!)