Filipino hip-hop: Living a life of lyrical words

MAKATI City — When the moon decides to show its face and signals the awakening of night clubs, the streets are filled with anything but economical vehicles parked in single file, all shiny and newly polished.

The car door is opened by their haggard sleepless bodyguards, the loud pumping beats then exposed to everyone within the vicinity. All eyes now magnetized to the pairs of legs that extend to hit the curb, topped with either overpriced limited edition sneakers or spotless five-inch dangerously sharp stilettos as footwear. Low-waist baggy jeans sweeping across the floor, skintight skirts, loose shirts, cleavage-bearing tops, baseball caps, not to mention the overtly lavish bling-blings — these are common signs of the classier hip-hop culture in the Philippines.

But there is also the so-called “ghetto” group of hip-hoppers, or the gangsters. The ones we tend to look away from when we’re walking down a dark alley in fear of our lives. They are the ones with large holes in their ears and hidden scars that tell a story of pride and skewed courage.

Classy or ghetto, rich or poor, the hip-hop culture remains to be a huge part of the Filipino culture.

In the video below, hip-hop artists Gino Ferraren a.k.a Nimbus9ine, Matt Panginiban a.k.a Godswill, and Mark Navarro a.k.a Marquiss, respectively explain hip-hop culture in the Philippines and how it changed their lives.

There are many elements to the birth of hip-hop in the Philippines but perhaps the most influential factor would be the heavy influx of American musical styles brought to the country by the Americans during the late 1970s when cassette tapes, videos, books and magazines were passed around in the towns and barrios surrounding the American military bases, such as Clark Air Base in Angeles City and Subic naval base in Olongapo, City.

According to hip-hop artists Gino Ferraren, also known as “Nimbus9ine,” the 1990s proved to be the golden age for Filipino hip-hop, as local artists Francis Magalona and Andrew E. (E for Espiritu) pioneered this music genre in the country. Since then, rap artists emerged and even dominated music hit charts. The demand for the hip-hop fashion increased, forcing the establishment of FUBU Philippines in 2002.

In 2005, the first Philippine Hip-Hop Music Awards were held.

Hip-hop culture in the Philippines has its sub-brackets. There are production labels on the constant lookout for promising rap artists, event production companies that promise a thumping time in the biggest clubs, dance groups, clothing lines, club DJs and radio disc jockeys.

Whatever aspect you wish to incorporate hip-hop into your life, rap artists Nimbus9ine, Matt “Godswill” Panginiban, and Mark “Marquiss” Navarro choose to tell their stories through verse.

In the video below, I asked them to freestyle to a random repetitive beat (from L-R: Nimbus9ine, Godswill, and Marquiss).

Hip-hop listener or not, they say something that may be of relevance.

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