Pinoy hip-hop

[6] In 1982, local breakdancing crews like the Angeles City-based Whooze Co. International, with members consisting primarily from Clark Air Base, The Eclipse (whose former members included Francis Magalona, Dance 10 1983 champion Darwin Tuason and current Federation Sounds' Glenn "Kico" Lelay), Info-Clash Breakers and Ground Control (whose members included Rap Master Fordy, later to be known as Andrew E.), and Jay "Smooth" MC of Bass Rhyme Posse became popular in local parks and malls in and around the Metro Manila area such as the Glorietta mall, which was an early hotspot for breakers.

[10] Following the path set forth by their Bass Rhyme predecessors, the tri-lingual rap group Rapasia released their self-titled debut record in 1991, garnering the hit "Hoy!

One of the earliest Filipino hip hop groups to embrace such an abstract format, the album's lyrical content often contained a mixture of various Philippine languages (including Tagalog and Chavacano) along with English.

Ushering in a socially awoken wave not seen in the Philippine music industry since the heyday of Juan De La Cruz, Sampaguita and 1970s Pinoy rock, Magalona's tracks dissected the various cultural, social and political problems that plagued his country such as drug addiction in "Mga Praning" ("The Addicts"), political corruption and instability in "Halalan" ("Election") as well as the detrimental effects of a colonial mentality to Filipino culture in "Tayo'y Mga Pinoy" ("We Are Filipinos").

In 1994, going against the wave of radio-friendly rap tracks that dominated at the time, the group Death Threat, founded by rappers Beware and Genezide, released the first Filipino gangsta rap album which told tales of the daily lives and struggles impoverished Filipino youth faced growing up in the slums of Metro Manila titled Gusto Kong Bumaet (I Want to Be Good).

A coalition of sorts, Pamilia Dimagiba composed itself of several underground Pinoy rappers and crews such as 8th Messenger, Shadowblyde, Spoon, Murder-1 of Khan's Assassins, and Young Galaxy of Iron Triangle, among others.

The raw seven-track, politically minded album was a breath of fresh air at the time, as Pinoy rap during the era had taken a more hardcore, gangster persona.

Known for their coarse lyrics, serious subject matter complemented by heavy beats fused within traditional Filipino folk music, the camp's records "Duelo", "Manila's Finest", "Reality Hurtz" and "Brainstorming" among others were largely in essence a throwback to the early, nationalistic Francis M inspired days of the genre.

Despite Metro Manila's powerful position over the music industry, rap groups in the south have started to gain their own share of popularity, like Dice & K9 a.k.a.

The Stick Figgas relied on clever punchlines, creative lyricism and intricate rhyme schemes, re-introducing a technical poignancy that has been absent in Tagalog rap since B.B.

This rap style has arguably inspired the current generation of Tagalog rappers to place much more emphasis on multi-syllable rhyme schemes, punchlines and metaphors than before.

This local rap battle competition typically involves both parties (either 2 rappers or 2 duos) hailing mudslinging words and rhymes at each other, who are then judged at the end based on a number of factors including flow and use of insults/punchlines and audience impact.

FlipTop gained millions of views online, as it reminded viewers of the Balagtasan format, a type of debate done through verse named after the father of Filipino poetry Francisco Balagtas.

[22] In 2021, 8 Ballin', a hip hop collective group from Rizal, took the Pinoy hip hop spotlight after the music video of their controversial hit single "Know Me" became viral on YouTube and has been became the talk of the town on social media because of memes and their mumble rapping, and caught the attention of Def Jam Philippines which led the collective group to join the label.

He gained fame in 2021 after his performance of his song "Panalo (Trap Cariñosa)" on the Wish Bus USA went viral, amassing millions of views in just a few days after premiering on YouTube on January 29.

Similar to the Filipino-American zoot suiters, be-boppers and ballroom dancers of previous generations, the dynamics within these respective communities reincarnated itself once again in the form of hip hop.

[34] In 1983, a real-estate agent by the name of Mark Bradford established Imagine, which began primarily as a showcase for Filipino DJ talent in and around the Bay Area and came to serve as the premier event for DJs until the founders' murder in 1991.

[37] In the 1980s, several legendary Filipino b-boy groups such as the Renegade Rockers, Knuckleneck Tribe, Rock Force Crew, Daly City Breakers, Jughead Tribe and Concrete Rockers also emerged from the Bay Area rivaling even the New York City-based Rock Steady Crew, whose official West Coast contingent is known to consist of several Filipino American members.

[38] Kalifornia Noize Terrorists' Paul Sirate, better known as P-Kid[39] emerged from the Bay Area becoming one of the early premier breakdancers and later went on to MCing and producing, lacing tracks for the likes of the Bronx's Terror Squad and L.A.'s Pharcyde.

Elsewhere in the Bay Area, pioneering Filipina rapper Lani Luv (born Melanie Cagonot) became one of the early West Coast female MCs.

Francisco utilized his pieces to celebrate, express and educate from his own Filipino American background in order to promote tolerance while simultaneously strengthening bonds with others from differing cultures, eventually achieving international recognition.

[40] Now deceased (Dream was murdered in 2000),[41] he is considered by many to have been one of the greatest and most influential graf writers whose work had been expressive of his urban environment while focusing on social issues concerning not only Filipino Americans, but also other people of color in America such as police brutality, racism, nationwide liberation and rebellion.

[42] Even further north of the American border in Canada, Filipino hip hop has established an active scene, with the likes of Montreal's New Elementz, Vancouver's conscious rap-tandem The On Point Collective,[43] the veteran emcee Jae Spillz,[44] Filipino rapper One3D,[45] and the hip hop power label Cashtown Records;[46] home to a variety of artists including the underground Tagalog emcees Franchizze One and Lyrikal Abstrakt, or Dos Armados, who went on to form their own label subsidiary, Southeast Cartel.

DJ Babu (born Chris Oroc) has gained notoriety for his work with the turtablism group Beat Junkies and the alternative hip hop act Dilated Peoples.

Pineda has also founded his own record label, the Los Angeles-based Jeepney Music, to help discover and promote Filipino hip-hop talent from both the United States and the Philippines.

[58] In the English verses of the song, Pineda describes aspects of Filipino life back home which is seen in the lyrics, "How would you feel if you had to catch your meal, Build a hut to live and to eat and chill in, Having to pump the water outta the ground?".

[69] Filipino hip hop artists who have given notable performances on the Wish Bus include Smugglaz, Curse One, Dello, Flict-G, Shanti Dope, Ex Battalion, Gloc-9, Al James, Loonie, Ron Henley, Abra, Allmo$t, Pricetagg, CLR, Michael Pacquiao, Ez Mil, and many more.