None of this would have happened without your essays, Jae-ha! Although... I was barely scratching the surface on the PH pop thing. Maybe if I had more time! And energy!
One of my best nights out this year was an evening spent hanging out at a grilled pig intestines stand off the tourist drag in Boracay, drinking beer with a lovely group of bartenders and listening to them battle rap in Tagalog. The language is so well suited, the words all have rhythm... Not a clue what they were saying but it sounded impressive as hell.
A Fliptop battle? Oh man, rap is my blind spot, but watching those videos on YouTube is always fascinating. And yes, our best hip-hop acts tend to merge that swagger with the storytelling more akin to our ballads—Gloc-9 comes to mind, "Sirena" in particular.
Also, I now regret that there is no isaw guy within walking distance of my flat...
Great piece! Also, I learned so much about the pop world in the Philippines from your article. Thank you for writing this!
None of this would have happened without your essays, Jae-ha! Although... I was barely scratching the surface on the PH pop thing. Maybe if I had more time! And energy!
Part 2 in the future! There's no hurry!
In any case, I’m planning more journalist-y, critic-y stuff in the coming year... fingers crossed for that one!
One of my best nights out this year was an evening spent hanging out at a grilled pig intestines stand off the tourist drag in Boracay, drinking beer with a lovely group of bartenders and listening to them battle rap in Tagalog. The language is so well suited, the words all have rhythm... Not a clue what they were saying but it sounded impressive as hell.
A Fliptop battle? Oh man, rap is my blind spot, but watching those videos on YouTube is always fascinating. And yes, our best hip-hop acts tend to merge that swagger with the storytelling more akin to our ballads—Gloc-9 comes to mind, "Sirena" in particular.
Also, I now regret that there is no isaw guy within walking distance of my flat...