Written by Elijah P. I have a proposition for all local hip-hop listeners: close your eyes, listen to Jeff Grecia’s “Elevate” and imagine a time in 2017 when Al James exploded in the scene and somehow spawned imitators in the scene to the point there was no turning back. Jeff Grecia’s “Elevate” takes the worst elements of a 2023 mainstream rap track. It is more vapid than an emptied Elfbar on a Happy Thursday, a flat tire in the middle of heavy traffic, “aesthetic rap” only catered to pick up people at a bad gig outside of a Poblacion bar. There are verses, flows and pitches here trying to stay away from the formula but it is so formulaic that it’s pointless to hear Grecia’s wincing voice reach to Hell’s gate. What else do we need to hear more of Grecia? Virtually nothing apparently. Not even the tito cornrows and hoodie can save face. If we were to look at it in the bigger picture: We do not need more Al James clones in the scene Support the art and the artist:
REVIEWS
TRACK REVIEW: O $IDE MAFIA & TUS BROTHERS – CRASHING
Written by Elijah P. The internet has long existed to demystify many different art forms. From showing its bare bones to even revealing what is there and what makes the material in the first place. In music, there’s an ongoing debate whether or not an unfinished track with little to no final mixes made by the engineer – or in short a “leak” – made it out in the open from trusted sources all over the ethernet is better than the final product. Take O $IDE MAFIA and Tus Brothers’ collaboration “Crashing” as an example. As far as my hearing is concerned, “Crashing” sounded a lot more tamer, sinister. And yet it feels a lot more collected with the trademark rage-y verse-carrying by none other than O $IDE MAFIA. With Tus Brothers’ classic contemporary voice aping overkill sticking out like a sore thumb in the mix, even if the beatswitch in the earlier versions from the leak wouldn’t save the track from being unbearably mid in the long run. “Crashing” was an experiment in collaboration. It was an attempt to make something work from opposite sides of different worlds trying to make sense of something on paper and yet fall flat on the surface. Gee, Cashman, and Madman have equally drawn their swords higher than ever, exceeding everyone else’s expectations presence-wise while Al Tus and Rudy Rude attempted to sound as piercingly sharp as their cohorts, but neither of the two would even come close to match O Side’s energy in the first half. From the internet’s obsession over TMI in IG livestreams to the inevitable leak of the earlier version – which is now gone from YouTube – “Crashing” did their best to keep the hype yet the leaks made sure that there are no such things as securing the element of surprise. Support the art and the artist:
EP REVIEW: LORY – Cramped
Written by Elijah P. Terno Recording’s wunderkind Lory has stepped out of his comfort zone from being a lone bedroom pop producer from Parañaque to becoming a full blown three-piece with added layers in the mix. In his latest EP “Cramped”, you get to see Mikee Mendoza becoming more lethargic-sounding, scooping all the gruff and making his surroundings a bit louder, albeit a bit rougher than usual. He’s grown to unlike the pop fluff and embrace much of the textures. It’s almost getting there, it just needs a little stir in the pot. In other words, Lory and his friends just need a little bit of spoiled choices in soundscapes rather than choose to spoil the party entirely in reflection of past material. “Cramped” is treated as a sampler to Mikee’s next endeavors for his solo project rather than a bookend to his phase of city pop. Moving on to greater and bigger soundscapes rather than staying in the four corners of his room, you have tracks like “Huli Na Ba Kayo”, “Di Siguro” and “The Sun” embracing all the noise and continuously experimenting what he can do as a musician. Is the EP an “achievement” of sorts? Listeners would doubt its pop resonance and bright textures and would possibly question its length, but “Cramped” is more of an intentional practice of sorts. In “Slow Down”, you’ll be surprised by how this sounds like it should stay from the previous EP. Confidence is what is lacking in Mikee’s presence and maybe a bit of a looser and more liberating use of vocal filters to make Mikee’s voice shine as well as his lead guitars. But as his deadpan delivery persists in the latter half of the EP, the voice becomes a grower in a sense where Mikee’s voice does shine if you look at it in a more uncharismatic-charismatic lens. LORY’s “Cramped” has its ups and downs but to the project’s benefit, the reception is enough to not dismiss the project entirely for the lack of trying and enthusiasm being brought. There are guitar lines and synths being put to good use and maybe “Cramped” is seen better as Mikee’s ground zero compared to what the debut project was at the dawn of the post-lockdown last year. Support the art and the artist:
TRCK REVIEW: PETTE SHABU – bulbulin ka na
Written by Louis Pelingen & Elijah P. When it comes to looking further into the hip-hop that rumbles in eclectic and queer stripes, Pette Shabu follows through with pure, uncompromised ethos. From the multiple tracks she has released so far, she never dumbs down her brand of transgressive hip-hop tapestries as she nimbly steps into boom-bap production and stomps roughly into bruising experimental production, all while she knits and staples her eccentric bars with an upfront delivery that’s all deft and bold. Working in the realms of surrealist lyricism and absurd rhyme schemes, Pette Shabu operates at a level of a beast walking the runway. ‘Bulbulin ka na’ shows Pette Shabu working in horseboyy’s shambling soundscape — not to put her targets into a roasting, but rather into an explosion. There are incendiary lyrics hiding behind her writings, and Pette’s unabashed presence shines in Phoenix-like proportions. It starts off with an introduction that may come off as a snarky warning, but it then follows through with Pette entering the fray with a whip, lashing away against those who dare try to fuck with her. There is a little bit of Arca’s trans-assertiveness that is embodied here, albeit Pette’s neck-cracking wordplay and rhyme patterns allow her snappy delivery and her bars to sting deeper, spinning you around with bruises all around you. With horseboyy’s buzzing production amplifying Pette Shabu’s lyrical and vocal ferventness, Pette Shabu cuts above and delivers a whiplash of a song. It’s sassy and pointed, with clever bars arranged around her unabashedly queer language that topples down her targets with a flick, never backing down without a fight. You may want to listen to what she has to say, or else you might be caught slipping under her radar. Support the art & the artist:
EP REVIEW: Disco Mobile Service – You’re Here Now
Written by Louis Pelingen Sometimes, we wonder what has changed with the places we missed visiting beforehand. We wonder if these places still end up today, if there is a change of tone and presence in the familiar paths and sceneries we always encapsulate in our minds so many times. Did these places, even if met with the chance of being abandoned, still hold up their gentle images to poke our unnerved spirits within sociopolitical events breaking us all apart? For Disco Mobile Service aka Jomied Armancio hailing from Visayas, he aims to form a record that collages samples to compose a tropical dystopian soundtrack for the country given political events that gets harrowing at every turn. It was an idea that he eventually worked on in 2022, moving past the universal mental anxieties most of us have gone through during pandemic lockdowns and steadily working his way to finally put out his first ever project under Disco Mobile Service, ‘You’re Here Now’. In this EP, Disco Mobile Service records still memories, and fragmented ambiance from environments he himself visited, and constructs sonic frameworks around it to formulate said tropical dystopian soundscape. Disco Mobile Service wanders around with this framework with measured ambient dub and downtempo, his compositions never snapping apart immediately and opting to modulate in and out of the sonic scope. ‘Eyesocket’ opens up its observations of this muted concept, the thumping tropical beat marches through as recordings of foggy birdsong are enveloped with these hypnotic synth swells. ‘New Forest Exit’ lurks further in the undergrowth of tactile and grainy field recordings as the dour synths drone through the song. The tempered percussion lines linger and rumble alongside spare yet gleaming keys combat that dourness within the forest of fleeting recordings. ‘Concrete’ ends the EP in its most ominous, waves of noise fogging the start before pillars of worrying synths wash over the track. The drum beat composed of tropical percussion and digital drums consistently stomps all the way through, paving its way through drops of conversations and beeping vehicles as it toughens up its rhythm lines, ending the EP where that propulsive beat lives through the dystopian view of the record. Despite a few instrumental passages that do jitter the flow of a few of these songs, ‘You’re Here Now’ is a statement of affirmation of where we are now currently after a myopic past few years. It reinstates our inner emotions in the present, viewing the rips and pieces of the past that we collected and remembered in our kaleidoscopic memory. It is ominous how Disco Mobile Service utilizes atmosphere and modulation in his compositions. But even with the dystopia that surrounds this EP, that trudging beat reminds all of us that even with the crushing state of the country at large and the environment that we thought to have changed for the worse, we are now wrapped with coats of comfort despite casted shadows that reminds us how much it’ll get uncomfortable in the future. Support the art & the artist: [bandcamp width=350 height=470 album=2609554962 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false]
EP REVIEW: Lil JVibe – WHOLE LOTTA LUVSHIT
Written by Elijah P. Lil JVibe’s “WHOLE LOTTA LUVSHIT” without a shadow of a doubt, has transcended the level of pop rap songwriting to the point that it’s impossible to retrace back to the days of piano-led “love rap” that was prominent in underground DIY hip-hop music in the mid to late 2000s in the Filipino music scene. But before we proceed to the conclusion, for past edgelords and terminally online historians, Lil JVibe aka Joven David used to be the subject of memes back in 2016 for simply showing the moves inside of an unnamed 7-Eleven branch somewhere in the urban parts of Metro Manila. From the Chris Brown-isms of his dance moves to the sudden transformation of Sample Drill from New York and Jersey Club rapper, Lil JVibe came out of the scene like a torpedo and he managed to hit every single target in the pop rap iceberg. “WHOLE LOTTA LUVSHIT” is the debut project we’ve never asked for but it is the debut project that we do need in this day of age. As much as the topic of sampling and rehashing ideas such as singing along to the chorus of your favorite pop songs is concerned, Joven does it so earnestly to the point that it doesn’t act to his detriment, but rather he gains from it exponentially; literally every track on the project such as “Prince Say” sampling Taylor Swift’s Love Story or “Hip o Thighs”, sampling Hypnotized by Plies and A-kon has ascended to a different level of existence. This goes without saying that Gem Productions’ hands-on work is nothing short of amazing. With the current soundscapes popping in and out, Joven slides across those beats almost flawlessly. There’s an unloading of unrequited feelings and there’s melodic longing all over in this project and those specific elements are home to no complaints. Lil JVibe’s “WHOLE LOTTA LUVSHIT” acts like a mixtape done with the literal meaning of labor of love and an untapped skill more rappers nowadays shouldn’t be scared of doing.
TRACK REVIEW: Hev Abi – WELCOME2DTQ
When it comes to a territorial takeover, Hev Abi does it in the most sinister way by inviting you to 1103 aka South Triangle, Quezon City. Beginning in the Memphis Rap influenced production to the modern-day ominous trap house presence, Hev Abi is looking forward to taking the entire region by storm this year. “WELCOME2DTQ” is documentation of a city that has a long and rich history in hip-hop, and Hev Abi successfully captured the essence of Kyusi via baseball bat-wielding charisma and flawless flows. Say what you want about the A$AP Rocky comparisons, but no one would ever dare to reduce Hev’s uncompromising presence and initiative. He possesses an aura of coolness to the place to the point you’d actually be proud of repping your hometown. Whether it would be a posse backing him up along the Tomas Morato avenue or the overall crew love you receive in “WELCOME2DTQ”, the up-and-coming rapper is largely responsible for being the phantom in the dark, slowly but surely tagging his nearest vicinities with an all-encompassing rap skill. Backed by C.R.E.A.M callbacks by the bridge and demonic pitches placed by the outro, Hev Abi’s at the come up and QC is the launching pad he needs at this time in the hip-hop scene.
TRACK REVIEW: Pikunin – ★·.·´¯`·.·★ Tadhana ★·.·´¯`·.·★
Written by Louis Pelingen Scrolling through Soundcloud, Youtube, and Bandcamp to discover a song that interpolates or adds a twist on a sample underneath always gives you a different kind of feeling. Sometimes it will leave you bewildered that it ends up clicking (or not), sometimes overjoyed with a hint of nostalgia, or sometimes spiraling down to a screech, wondering how adding just the quaintest of beats and vocal takes can bring you to a certain kind of special tug. Pikunin, formerly known as AHJU$$I, flips up Tadhana by Up Dharma Down and puts his own spice into it. A hint of nostalgia slid in – now glazed, full of twinkling sparkles, and a low-key charm – pitching up Tadhana and chopping it down to the chorus and to the signature cooing of Armi Millare as a starter, tugged along with Pikunin’s softer vocal takes (“Please pick up your phone and don’t leave me alone / Cause I can’t be by myself, I don’t want somebody else”). All along while Pikunin drums up a jersey club-style beat with that signature squeak sound that blends well with the rest of the song, and makes the song twinkle more brightly than before. It’s a song that brings up nostalgia, carving up a spin that makes it refreshing, and allows everyone to appreciate the source material even more. Tadhana is already a heartfelt song for anyone reeling from their 2010s nostalgia, and now Pikunin’s quaint yet charming flip of the song does not take away the pathos of the song but rather adds a different kind of tug.
TRACK REVIEW: ABY – paasa vibes
Written by Louis Pelingen It’s a tough situation to be led into false hopes of someone falling in love with you, only to reveal that they’re using you as a reserve, not as a definite showcase of authenticity when it comes to how they’re leading you into that romance. The common quote of “pinaasa mo lang ako” rings like an orbit in these situations, penning itself into the songs that have been local mainstream staples for a good while now. Writing about it can be either devastatingly real, or it can be tepid, where the details burrow themselves into surface-level ‘paasa’ topicality that doesn’t stand out whatsoever. And with all of that musing, Davao R&B artist ABY shoulders the former with a tight control of melody and a punch in her writing and delivery. A song titled ‘paasa vibes’ might be a corny title to start with, but don’t judge it for its title. Listen closely and there’s a lot to be impressed about. ABY’s measured vocal melodies loop and swivel through the choppy beat filled with skittering trap percussion, rubbery bass grooves, and splashy arrays of synthesizers. ABY’s writing (alongside her slicker vocal delivery) has this Dua Lipa influence into it as she blows through a guy that keeps falling in love with her even if she knows that he treats her as a reserve while he keeps finding other women elsewhere. There’s an assured maturity in the complicated ‘paasa’ topic on display especially when ABY herself is close to reciprocating, but wise enough to be on the right path to not be led into the guy’s false romanticism towards her. While the production can be a little mushy, the end result still sticks regardless. It’s splashy, catchy, and also layered once you dig into it. Again, don’t let the song title make you wince, because this packs a lot of punch and a lot of insight that breaks through the ‘paasa’ situations that so many people have found themselves into.
ALBUM REVIEW: ONE CLICK STRAIGHT – ONE CLICK STRAIGHT
Written by Louis Pelingen If you look at the cover, the One Click Straight in the present has shifted away from the One Click Straight of the past. Their image, once observed, has always been a frustration towards the band and their overall output. In their debut album, ‘The Midnight Emotion’, they kneeled over the synthpop worship that has its significant influences from the gauzy sides of the 70s – 80s synthpop. While well-produced with its use of gauzy synth textures, the rest is nothing but a blur. It tries to resort to a ‘foolish romantic chase’ theme, but the writing itself has shunned away from instilling wonder, in that romance and the melodies themselves came off fumbling at the seams. It is interested in the aesthetics of a new romantics leaning synthpop, but never breaking free to consider morphing into something new. This flailing fascination goes to their EP in 2020, conceptualized as a sweeping set of baroque-accented songs treated with a cosmic, starry-eyed harana that goes bigger in scope: polished in its lusher arrangements and melodic chops, but letting the vocals and writing lay limp as a result. The band switched away to another transition in sound and style 5 years into their debut. They used to pull away from their Synthpop worship and replace it with Pop Rock worship; now they pull the stops as a mark of change and growth in their self-titled LP. It is swirling with a rush of energy, urgent and thrilling on the edges as the band picks up strands of Pop Rock, and Post Punk that threads itself down to a cohesive 14-track offering. Going in this direction is a good fit for the band to expand upon their sonic wheelhouse. It brings out the band’s improvements to the table regarding their writing, composition, and production in a way that feels more propulsive, focused, and immediate. “Wake Me Up” is a track evident of this, with all of its driving percussive beat and guitars amidst all the synthetic feedback, pop rock melodies that take some nods to The 1975 to great effect, and crisp vocal chops that seek to snap awake from overthinking surrounding one’s relationship and their own personal doubts. “Hahayaan” shrugs off the judgments that are propped against them, peppered with shuffling guitar strummings and snappy percussion that swarm around the chilled-out vocal melodies. “Untitled 1” opens up with percussive grooves and cycling guitar licks that accelerate and crash through as it progresses, building off a rebellious spark from those who will take the autonomy of their lives. And “Isang Kawalan” closes things off, a retreat from one’s beloved when their identity has faded. It’s a stomping closer where the crashing drums and guitar melodies pick up the rhythms as it plows through to the end. Going even further – when they do strike gold, they make out some of their best tracks to date. The quiet longing of “MRT” is a grand standout for a reason, the warmth from the solemn vocal lines is situated within an excellent chorus and the twiddling guitars and punchy drums. “Synecdoche” and its tender balladry acquaints itself with glimmering synths and calming keys, coating the melancholic loneliness and changes that permeates through the song. But beyond all of that quiet pain comes the bright presence of the lover that’s always in one’s mind, a sentiment that the song delivers wondrously. The 2010s pop rock tunings of “Untitled 2” varies itself as it incorporates some house grooves underneath, allowing the hook to pop out with the grumbling guitars. And “Gulo,” with its waving guitar progressions over the rapid drum pattern, brings enough bewilderment to the post-breakup situation of the song. It plays its bewilderment until the very end, the piano murmurs the regretful musings of the relationship. As much as the band finds their footing with this stylistic shift, they’ve embraced it to a fault that they still find themselves carrying their influences rather than carving a form that is their own. One major culprit for this is that, just like them taking huge notes on 80s synthpop in their debut, this record has a lot of rubbing off of the flagrant 90s – 2000s pop rock and post-punk stylistics that only makes the record less fascinating than it should be. “Dahan-Dahan” has its trudging groove progressions aided by the pianos that may sound thrilling at first, circulating around pacing yourself calmly amidst a world that may leave you behind. The vocal cadence and the shoutier delivery don’t have that same pumping swerve to them, leaving the song to lack any sort of wild edge to it even with the progressions trying to claw things through. “Gitna” goes to a similar issue, where the post-punk nods get rather trite with the shouty vocals and the stomping percussion and guitars. It sketches out the confusion and questions of where one’s life might lead, but the compositions don’t wrestle with themselves to make that point resonate stronger – ending up being clunky as a result. And then there is ‘Some Kind Of Girl’, an immediate dud in the record about the shy yearning towards a girl that then proceeds to put the situation in the friendzone. It’s a dull adult alternative song, paired with the obvious cloying guitar strums, processed beats, and a vocal delivery that sounds more stiff than enthralling. To dig even deeper, there is a part of the execution of these songs that makes the album frustrating to go through. As much as the production stays consistent with how the textures crumble and warp in the mix, the static rhythms of a lot of these songs make it hard to justify the 54-minute runtime of the album. It makes the album sluggish to get through, and without a big switch-up to the structure of the songs just makes things clunky and drag as a result. While the aforementioned obvious pop rock and post-punk influences hold these songs back with the progressions