Cutting-edge and multitalented groupLos 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...
A few posts ago I commented on rap in Tagalog in lieu of the passing of the late, great Francis M. And boy, am I mistaken about the extent of rap in Tagalog today. Even though its not new (i.e. Francis M. has been doing it for decades), it seems as though rap in Tagalog is gaining more and more steam, and now even more among Fil Ams. Where is this movement heading? What will it look like in the coming years?
I copped those two CDs above from the Bayan Cultural Solidarity Night near downtown LA a few weeks back (Photo from Bayan Cultural Solidarity Night: Courtesy of Apollo Victoria). I've been a fan of Nomi of Power Struggle for a few years now, so listening to his album "Hearts and Minds" is a true pleasure. Nomi has a command of words and flow that many emcees lack. Sometimes he doesn't have to rhyme a word, but delivers a line with sharp certainty. Top that with progressive, radical, and inspiring lyrics about people's struggle and movement, then that's some hard-hitting shit.
As for the Kasamas CD, it's very well-done: the production is clear and soulful, the young emcees (youth from the Filipino Cultural Center in San Francisco) are slick, honest, and passionate. They give a good glimpse of their struggles and daily happenings in the city. But what's really interesting is the Tagalog rap in the album. Like Bambu says in one interview, people were asking how he raps so fast. He says that's just how his momma yells at him. Well, these young emcees demonstrate the quickness, alliteration, and rhythm that Tagalog enables. Saico (who cameos in "Hearts and Minds") murders ya with that machine gun-style Tagalog flow.
Saico of Kasamas shooting you with rapid fire Tagalog (Photo courtesy of Apollo Victoria)
Emcees at the Filipino Cultural Center in the 'Sco
I wonder what the trajectory of emceeing in Tagalog will look like? Will it become more and more popular among both Tagalog-speakers and English-speakers? Can we officially designate the category "Filipino hip hop" since the hip hop is spoken in Filipino language (re: Latin rap which, incidentally morphed into what is now called reggaeton)?
I just discovered SOULFIESTA with the dude B-Roc. You gotta peep their shit, they doin some good hip hop in the Philippines (via Turbulence Productions). Rap in Tagalog! Here it is!! Ain't it so fresh?
Nimbusnine feat. B-Roc - Champions Written by G. Feraren & R. Andres Jr. Produced by B-Roc for Turbulence Productions. Recorded at Soulfiesta Studios
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.
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