He started as a breakdancer and appeared in the teen comedy film Bagets 2 (1984) and the variety show That's Entertainment (1987) while building his rap career.

His songs "Mga Kababayan", "Man from Manila", "Ito Ang Gusto Ko", "Kabataan Para sa Kinabukasan", "Watawat", "Luv 4 Lyf", and "Lando" (with Gloc-9) have each won the Awit Award for Best Rap Recording, while "Kaleidoscope World" is another notable single.

His music addressed social issues including politics, drug addiction, colonial mentality, and intellectual property rights.

included several popular singles such as "Mga Kababayan" (Fellow Countrymen), "Gotta Let 'Cha Know", "Cold Summer Nights", and a duet with Pia Arroyo "Loving You" which made her the first Filipina woman to rap on a record.

With tracks addressing the various cultural and social problems that plagued his country such as drug addiction in "Mga Praning" (Paranoids), political instability in "Halalan" (Elections) as well as the detrimental effects of a colonial mentality in "Tayo'y Mga Pinoy" (We Are Filipinos), the record's complexity and conscious message earned it its classic status.

[3] It also saw the birth of Hardware Syndrome—previously known as Cannabis—the band that would, with Magalona at its helm, introduce the merging of Pinoy rock and rap to the Filipino music audience.

Members over the years included musicians Carlo Sison, Francis Villanueva, Niño Mesina, Boyet Aquino, Elmer Blancaflor, Noel Mendez, Perf de Castro, Benjie "Bagets" Mendez, Albert Tamayo, DJ Kimozave, DJ Radikal MK, Otep Concepcion, Kenji Marquez, Jack Rufo, and Wendell Garcia.

In the latter part of his career, Magalona worked together with rappers Pikaso, Gloc 9 and the Pinoy rock band Parokya ni Edgar.

Tracks such as "Three Stars & A Sun", "Kabataan Para Sa Kinabukasan" (Children For The Future), "Suckin' on Helium/Kaleidoscope World" would become defining touchpoints in Magalona's body of work.

[15][16] The launch for the video-game themed album at the Hard Rock Cafe in Makati was noted by the press for its wide range of influences: aside from fans of Magalona's music, he had showbiz fans and coworkers from Eat Bulaga!, where he had already started hosting; and two sets of Sony PlayStations with giant screens set up so people could play video games while watching the gig.

The album was also notable for a number of significant collaborations: "Unstrung Heroes" with Ely Buendia; "Sapot" (Web) with project band Planet Garapata, which included Raimund Marasigan, Jeng Tan, and Mark Lakay, who would later form Sandwich; and "Make Your Move" with pioneer Filipino punk band Betrayed.

In 2002, with the assistance of then FUBU Philippines' management employees Carlo Maniquiz and Nick Tuason, Magalona launched a compilation album of the same name.

[23] Magalona and his fellow judges Ryan Cayabyab and Pilita Corrales were not retained when the franchise transferred to GMA Network in 2008 with a different title: Pinoy Idol.

News reports note that he was overjoyed when he was accepted as a member of the Camera Club of the Philippines, and eventually received critical acclaim for his photographs.

In 2001, Magalona was arrested for alleged possession and use of cannabis whilst inside his vehicle in Quezon City; he was later acquitted of all charges in 2004 when no sufficient evidence was found.

[25][26] Magalona was introduced by actor Richard Gomez to Pia Arroyo at a party in a disco owned by film director Ishmael Bernal,[27][failed verification] and the couple married in 1985.

[28] The couple had eight children, two of whom were Magalona's stepchildren:[29][30] Unna (1983), Nicolo (1984), and television personalities Maxene (1986), Frank (1987), Saab (1988), Elmo (1994), Arkin (1999), and Clara (2000) who entered showbiz to follow their father's footsteps.

[31] On an episode of the YouTube series Pinoy Pawnstars uploaded on October 17, 2023, Abegail Rait, a former flight attendant, claimed to have had a relationship with Magalona and that they have a 15-year-old daughter together.

What I'd rather talk about is how we can solicit blood donations to replace the supply that I have consumed in the hospital.After his first treatment and discharge, he made his return on Eat Bulaga!

[41] Guests at his wake held at Christ the King Memorial Chapel in Greenmeadows, Quezon City included former president Corazon Aquino (who also died five months after Magalona's passing), along with other politicians and artists who paid tribute to Magalona's contribution to Filipino music and to national pride – the dominant advocacy theme in FrancisM's music.

Numerous television programs, ranging from noontime variety shows to primetime newscasts and late night news documentaries, paid tribute to Magalona.

On March 17, 2009, a group of Filipino expatriates in Dubai, UAE and Saudi Arabia, announced plans to hold tribute concerts where performers will sing his songs, with the proceeds supposedly going to a foundation set up in his honor and to the Philippine Red Cross.

[46] Pia also asked the public not to patronize sellers of fake FMCC goods, which started to appear within days of Magalona's death.

On March 18, 2009, the Philippine Government – through the efforts of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts[49]—recognized Magalona with by awarding him a posthumous Presidential Medal of Merit.

The award's citation noted that it had been given "for his musical and artistic brilliance, his deep faith in the Filipino and his sense of national pride that continue to inspire us.

[53] In 2016, the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) featured Magalona's songs in the dystopian sci-fi jukebox musical 3 Stars and a Sun.

[54][55][56] Magalona was given a tribute during a segment at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games opening ceremony at the Philippine Arena, where three of his songs being rendered by his son Elmo Magalona, who sang "Man From Manila", Iñigo Pascual, who gave a rendition of "Mga Kababayan", and KZ Tandingan, who sang "Tayo'y Mga Pinoy".

[62] A number of Filipino rappers have acknowledged Magalona as an influence and inspiration including Abra,[63] Bassilyo,[63] Rye Armamento of the 90s hip-hop group Sun Valley Crew,[55] Loonie,[64] Gloc-9,[65] and Ruby Ibarra.