Inner Lyricism + Filipino Rap (I KNOW).

I think small talk with an Ate Senior from high school somehow woke up a part of me that I had let sleep so long ago—my inner lyricist. I don’t write songs anymore, the last one was either the math love song that I wrote just to pull my grade up in high school senior year, or the section saint theme that I had to write QUICKLY after the music teacher realized that our group composition sounded too much like “Hey There, Delilah”.

When I was younger I used to LOVE looking up lyrics-- Who am I kidding though? I still do it, just towards a different direction. At the time, I was still looking for my genre, and those in circulation were usually pop, pop-rock, punk rock emo, and a bit of theater. I’d like to think that my musical taste evolved also, in such a way that I stopped listening to this (theater), and started listening to that (rap). I don’t know.. Can I really call myself a music lover if my musical interests are both diverse and narrow at the same time?

I want to talk about Filipino Rap. – words I never thought I’d say.

Today's hyperfocus is on Ala-ala Nalang by Hambog ng Sangpro Krew, Masaya Ako Sayo by Curse One and Yumi, and the classic Hinahanap Ng Puso by Gloc-9 and Hannah Romawac. I haven't embedded media in such a long time, I'm not even sure if this would work.

1. ALA-ALA NALANG by Hambog ng Sangpro Krew https://open.spotify.com/track/6u0TGBSX4H6uNNwzMO0cWe?si=d516dfb4b15b426a If you've loved "River Flows In You" by Yiruma, you'd find this song quite interesting. I've never imagined "River Flows In You" and rap married so well. Just don't take a deep dive into the lyrics if you're going through massive personal stuff, because the lyrics might just pierce you indescribably. Binibilang ang mga araw hanggang sa'king pag-alis

   Habang palapit ng palapit lalo akong nagtitiis

   At tinatago nag namumuong lungkot sa'king damdamin

   'Di mo lang alam 'di ko na kaya 'di ko lang maamin Oh, love unexpressed. I think it's very easy to write about heartbreak.. What's difficult is writing about the cusp of heartbreak and separation-- that very specific moment of losing somebody you love. It's easy to wallow over a broken heart, but sit down knowing you're at the front seat of your own heartbreak is a different type of torture. You don't get a lot of songs that perfectly describe that junction. This one does it. Again, don't take a deep a dive into the lyrics if you're going through massive personal stuff. Just trust me on this.
   

2. MASAYA AKO SAYO by Curse One and Yumi https://open.spotify.com/track/5sB1hG81TWQTrzuMwxuUg8?si=b862ccc159bf4159 I don't know why, but this one sounds like a mid-2010s KPop boyband hit. For some reason. Maybe something Super Junior..? -- I really don't know, as I wasn't a big KPop boyband fan. I can't figure it out. Something about the pace of the words, or maybe the beat..? I've never been known to be good at describing music-- only how it makes me feel, but there's something very KPop-like about it. Sana'y habang-buhay ka nang makasama 'pagkat masaya ko sa 'yo The way it's sung somehow makes me think of some circumstance of trying to convince somebody, "Hey I actually am happy with you". There are certain melodies that fit certain sentiments. To me, this doesn't align, but it somehow works out. I don't know. Sometimes I wonder why happiness is hard to come by. Just a thought. Can't we ever be just happy without hypervigilance of whether or not we're only imagining things?
   

3. HINAHANAP NG PUSO by Gloc-9 and Hannah Romawac https://open.spotify.com/track/1r50q0lRt8LhVOrwm8JjRg?si=9faa705e7bc2469f THIS. This came out in 2003-- and do you even know how young I was when I'd see this song playing on MYX in the morning while getting ready for school? Very. Hinahanap ng puso ang pag-ibig mo

   (Makinig ka sana sa 'kin)

   Hindi ito malilimutan ang pagmamahal At ligaya na dala mo

   (Laman ng aking damdamin)

   At kung saka-sakali na kaya mo pang ibalik

   (Sige na 'wag ka nang magalinlangan)

   Ang dating pagtingin

   Sa puso kong nananabik pa sa iyo

   I liked this song because female vocals along with rap wasn't very common at the time this was released. There was something about it that felt a bit special.. but you know, listening to this again as a grown adult, who has felt adult emotions opens a new spectrum of emotion that I probably never would have understood as pre-teen. That's the thing with growing up, I feel. You realize things you never thought you would, you discover something in your heart that makes you receptive to certain complexities of human emotion-- and you can't even say no.

Spotify is such a convenience. That's all I can say. <3