Sunday Cipher: Immature acts

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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Sunday Cipher: Blue Scholars powered by the people

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.

Sunday Cipher: Big Game Peas flashback

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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Sunday Cipher: In these streets that we done took

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

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."

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

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

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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Sunday Cipher: Lyrical Empire premieres in Manila

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

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

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

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.

Sunday Cipher: Hip Hop in the Philippines freestyle

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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Sunday Cipher: Fil Am renaissance?

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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Sunday Cipher:GRAE matter

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!

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

Sunday Cipher: FlipTop sa Freedom Bar QC

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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Sunday Cipher reps the Empire!

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.

Sunday Cipher is Supa Dynamite!

Can you guess the song they sampled and the new hip hop song that made that sample famous? The AB's (formerly Asamov) did it first. J-Ville represent.

Sunday Cipher: Pint-Size Terror

Ya'll needa step up yo game! Lil Demon (Angelo Baligad) be killin it.

Sunday Cipher: All we need is love!

Quest makes Original Pinoy Music (OPM) a very lovely affair. "Back To Love" is a chart-topping hit in the Philippines and stands as a shining example of the promise of success for Philippine artists who don't rely on cover music. And Quest utilizes Philippine hip hop artists, which is a brilliant way to expose listeners to talented Philippine emcees while they listen to R&B sounds.

"Back To Love" has been making waves recently. Check out Soulfiesta's entry on the topic. Continue to show OPM love (especially you Fil Ams!!)!

On another note, Jacksonville's 2nd Annual Filipino Pride Day was a huge success! Will post pictures and thoughts a bit later...

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