After becoming a family man and concerned with his negative influence on children, Makino decided to move away from his sexually explicit lyrics in his debut album Hype One's (2022), a more personal record which explores themes of self-realization, love and friendship.
[2][3][4] Growing up in Abad Santos, Tondo, Makino started rapping in 2011 as a 16-year-old and spends time in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
[5] Makino rose to popularity with the singles "Neneng B", a collaboration with Raf Davis, and "Lexi",[1][4] which garnered a combined 95 million views.
12 on the now-defunct Philippine Music Charts in February 2020,[7] but both songs proved controversial because of their sexually explicit lyrics and Makino attracted many critics.
[2][3] Lino Brocka's organization, The Concerned Artists of the Philippines, criticized "Neneng B" for "[reinforcing] the idea that women exist to be fetishized for male pleasure", like many other artists who "tread this well-worn path of toxic and fragile masculinity.”[5] In November 2019, European producer Roko Tensei threatened to sue Makino and Davis, alleging that "Neneng B" had stolen his beat "Relax".
[4][6] He also wanted to change personally, having become a family man:[2] he had settled down with his now-wife Krystal Kate "Siobe Lim" Mana, the model from the "Neneng B" music video, and began raising his newborn daughter, born in 2020 or 2021.
[1][3] According to the Manila Standard, Makino now wanted make songs about "self-realization and [celebrating] family, friendship, and some clean, laid-back fun"—music that had a "lasting impact".
[10] Makino and Flow G later performed "Moon" at the 8th Wish Music Awards ceremony in Quezon City's Araneta Coliseum.
[13][14] In November 2023, Makino and Mayo Marte, a long-time collaborator and fellow Believe signee, hosted a listening party for their unreleased songs at Quezon City's Sine Pop.