Tag: Hip-hop

  • ALBUM REVIEW: Gaspari – GAS STATION

    ALBUM REVIEW: Gaspari – GAS STATION

    Written by Paolo Elwick

    After a standout 2025 filled with hits like “KODAK BLU” and “SO DIZZY,” Greenhouse Records’ rapper-producer Gaspari entered 2026 with just as much vigor by enlisting O-SIDE Mafia star Costa Cashman for the energetic single “I BE LIKE (DIFG).” But every hot streak eventually begs the question: how much gas does he have left in the tank? 

    If debut album ‘GAS STATION’ is anything to go by, Gaspari seems to have come prepared with a full tank — and maybe enough fuel to actually go the distance. And he wastes no time proving just that. 

    From the very first track, “GUDSHIT,” Gaspari puts his foot on the gas, kicking the album into overdrive with an adrenaline-inducing track bolstered by a barrage of drums, keys in the background, the occasional sound effect, and of course the voices and flows of SCOOP DOGG, HELLMERY, and Gat Puch. “DUMB & DUMBER” with Sica, however, shifts gears with an unexpected beat switch that trades a whistle-assisted instrumental for a more aggressive, almost menacing, combo of kicks, snares, and hi-hats. Then there’s “COUNT 2 10” with HELLMERRY, a raunchy and frustratingly witty track built on the premise of counting to ten before eventually counting back down to one. While it’s HELLMERY who delivers the eventual title drop, Gaspari’s verse has no shortage of simple but enjoyable punchlines like “Eight, para kang dinibdiban ng ape” or “Three, bayaran mo aking talent fee / ‘Lam mo naka killing spree / Suntok ko nalang yung free.” He even gets to shout out his signature 777 with  “777, sabi nga nila ay living legend.”

    But even the smoothest rides are bound to run into a few bumps along the way. While Gaspari is clearly capable of carrying a track on his own, he often sounds at his best when bouncing off a feature or when collaborators are given the green light to bring a much-needed change of pace in delivery, flow, and overall texture. That’s not necessarily a bad thing — knowing how to work with other artists and bringing the best out of each other is a skill in itself. It’s just that, by comparison, solo tracks like “AIN’T WORRIED” and “VIBES GAG*” can feel, at best, underwhelming and, at worst, forgettable when that extra dynamic isn’t there.

    It’s fitting, then, that the album closes with another collaboration. The “I BE LIKE (MECHA KIMOCHI)” remix brings together Japanese emcees MIKADO, T.i.G skysea, and HARKA, to help give Gaspari one last turbocharged chance to step on the gas — and that’s exactly what he does. Their infectious energy and contrasting styles make for a lively finale, sending ‘GAS STATION’ across the finish line with a well-deserved bang.

    Despite its occasional missteps and slow stretches, ‘GAS STATION’ still makes it clear that Gaspari is heading in the right direction. Albeit his best moments come when he’s surrounded by artists who match his energy and push him into different pockets, those very same moments also show just how much potential he actually has to build on. So what else is there to say? There’s plenty left in the tank; the engine is already roaring, and as long as he keeps those wheels of his spinning, then there’s no reason to think that he’ll be slowing down anytime soon.

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  • TRACK REVIEW: Delinquent Society – Kuha Bag

    TRACK REVIEW: Delinquent Society – Kuha Bag

    Written by Julia Harumi Kudo

    You’d expect a hip-hop track entitled “Kuha Bag” to dead stop at mere materialism, but this one does not. Burgeoning around it are 808s, clipped hi-hats, and even a puny horror-sorrow verve. Formed in 2016 and hailing from Davao City, Delinquent Society continues to attest to its prowess in transcending not only the confines of the hip-hop enclave but also the cultural barriers that traditionally demarcate artistic movements. This gritty act emerges not merely as a linear progression but as a powwow of cultural forces, weaving its way into the collective consciousness of an expansive and diverse audience.

    “Kuha Bag,” featuring longtime collaborator Rjay Ty and now a new chapter led by Aud and Contemplate, introduces a creeping tension before the rhythm locks into familiar trap demeanor with frigid beats. Yet producer SCOOP DOGG crimsons those expected elements with layers of distorted electronic texture, an ebbing interference that makes the entire beat feel unstable, almost hacked. Aud’s prose views success as an escape velocity, “Para to sa mga stuck hood and they still there. Now we in the building ‘di mo ‘lam yung feeling”, while keeping the hood in memory although it refuses to just solely be trapped within them. Contemplate muses, “Raming nag hate, alam kasi nila kami favorite ni God. Partida pa nga to hindi pa to sinagad, malala”, with the confidence of someone who has overcome countless doubts that criticism now is just futile background noise. Delinquent Society sounds older now, not tired. Sharpened. Less interested in proving they belong because they never really needed permission.

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  • TRACK REVIEW: KXLE, Maxy Presko – Marlboro 

    TRACK REVIEW: KXLE, Maxy Presko – Marlboro 

    Written by Adrian Jade Francisco

    The local rap scene has built a habit of reshaping globally familiar sounds into something closer to home. Filipino hip-hop interpolation thrives as cultural déjà vu rather than just familiarity—KXLE and Maxy Presko inhale Post Malone’s “Psycho” and exhale something local known as “Marlboro.”

    The track opens with an instant earworm of a chorus, with lyrics “May chick ako na psycho / Di niya ko niloloko / Nandiyan lang sya palagi / Yung yosi nya Marlboro.” Its lyrical hook can sound silly, as in NATEMAN’s “IMMA FLIRT,” but its catchiness still lands just as hard. This time around, KXLE leans on his honed cloud and pop rap production. Drawing from his long experience in the genre, he filters “Psycho’s” melodic memory into the humid texture of Pinoy rap.

    While it lacks added sonic flavors in its instrumentals compared to its contemporaries who interpolate music from previous years, it instead thrives on its raw infectiousness. The interpolation doesn’t sit on top of the beat; however, it is the beat’s backbone.

    In “Marlboro,” that tradition continues not as imitation, but as translation—where borrowed melodies are reshaped into something that feels unmistakably local.

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  • MIXTAPE REVIEW: Dexter1ne&only – 1nderfuL

    MIXTAPE REVIEW: Dexter1ne&only – 1nderfuL

    Written by Noelle Alarcon

    Pampanga’s Dexter1ne&only gained recognition in 2022 for his hit “In Luv:” short and sweet, pushed forward by trap beats, and dripping with codeine. After dropping a single in March, he finally returned to music this May with the mixtape ‘1nderfuL.’ In all its 23 minutes and 11 seconds, the rapper flaunts a more complex and sonically realized direction in his discography. 

    ‘Gunaw’ starts the mixtape off with a bit of familiarity due to its similarity with his older music. It’s a song that lays the ground for the more upbeat innovations in the tracks to come. Arranged on a straightforward beat that eventually envelops you in the fog-like synths that drone on and provide texture to the track, it’s as crunchy as the peso bills in the artist’s pocket. 

    Dexter1ne&only’s pivot to mumble rap and pluggnb is an intentional, well-thought-out choice. Every element chosen in this cocktail of synths, leads, and airy 808s makes every track essential to the listening experience. It’s also in this chosen avenue that he’s able to express the lightness of vulnerability in the mixtape’s underbelly, like asking someone if they’ll be there to support until the end, or being unable to wait just to see someone you love that you end up asking to FaceTime.

    All nine tracks on ‘1nderfuL’ are incredibly diverse, each one of them able to stand on their own as they possess their respective sonic identities. But of course, there are standout tracks as well where Dexter1ne&only and the rest of the Stunna4Life roster truly outdid themselves. 

    “Yao Ming,” featuring fellow S4L artists GOget Cal2x and Allfred, speaks of success through the symbol that is the Chinese basketball player—and even sprinkles in a bit of longing and worries that come with encountering triumph. There’s a poetic quality that comes to the trio’s rawness; “malabong di ko ‘to gawin ‘gang pumuti yung uwak,” they repeat as they embrace the exhaustion that comes from counting money.

    “Frog Eyez” with Allfred and YPC is another exceptional track, starting off with a series of plugins so amusing you wouldn’t be able to predict how the rest of its runtime will unfold. Laden with multiple sound effects and percussion that just work together, it’s like an auditory representation of the high that they experience. There’s charisma to be found in its self-proclaimed hedonism; ‘yan ang guapanese.

    ‘1nderfuL’ goes to extremes and explores its depths; it explores the casual playfulness of artistry and values staying true to oneself, above all—may it be through authentic accents or stories of humble beginnings. While sharing stories of success, it’s also not afraid to echo hardships and the anxieties of being human, which make it all the more raw, its cool exterior aside.

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  • TRACK REVIEW: Hijo – Ain’t Got What I Got

    TRACK REVIEW: Hijo – Ain’t Got What I Got

    Written by Paolo Elwick

    After the viral success that is “Sorbet,” DJ and hip-hop artist Hijo continues to prove that he’s more than just your average internet influencer. With club-ready beats, earworm hooks, and playful, sometimes out-of-pocket TikTok videos, Hijo has steadily built a reputation as both a standout performer and a digital personality. Now, he’s back to keep the energy high with another club anthem — this time enlisting rap collective Fresh-iLL Club for the bouncy “Ain’t Got What I Got”.

    Much like his previous release, “Ain’t Got What I Got” is an animated track overflowing with the energy you’d expect from Hijo and his vibrant personality. With an instrumental that blends booming drums, triumphant horns, and dynamic adlibs, it feels like a fresher, funkier tribute to the boom bap style. And much like the emcees who’ve championed boom bap in the past, Hijo is bombastic and in-your-face from the jump, delivering an unapologetic PSA to dance as he proudly proclaims, “If you ain’t shaking ass, get the fuck off the dance floor.” 

    The verses that follow share the same bold bravado as Hijo begins trading bars with the diverse cast of Fresh-iLL Club. While the former feels perfectly at home on the track, some members of the latter lack the energy and presence to survive the beat’s punching onslaught. As a result, the energy of the track can sometimes peak before cratering. The good thing, however, is that it doesn’t take long for the track to get its groove back. Before you realize it, you’re probably already back shaking ass on the dance floor.

    And that’s where “Ain’t Got What I Got” shines — it’s a hypnotic anthem that builds on Hijo’s natural magnetism and presence to create a track that brings funk, energy, and braggadocio to the parties and dance floors of Manila’s lively nightlife. But more than just that, it captures the city’s after-hours pulse by pairing swagger with an infectious bounce that feels impossible to resist. And in the process, Hijo cements his place in the local music scene as an artist who understands exactly how to move a crowd digitally and in real life, by consistently turning his charisma and instinct for high-energy records into tracks that resonate with audiences far beyond algorithms. So if you frequent these spaces, get ready to hit the dance floor because Hijo isn’t waiting for you to stay still.

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  • ALBUM REVIEW: THUGSTA – THUGS 2 RICHES

    ALBUM REVIEW: THUGSTA – THUGS 2 RICHES

    Written by JK Caray

    THUGSTA’s debut album “THUGS 2 RICHES” leaves more to be desired for the Malate-based rapper, but the talent is evidently there. “THUGS 2 RICHES” chronicles the origin story of THUGSTA, the sacrifices and enemies he had to overcome to achieve the lifestyle he wanted.

    Right off the bat, “FIRST OF ALL” demonstrates THUGSTA’s storytelling capabilities as something to be admired. THUGSTA knows how to craft the perfect underdog story without cutting out the ugly parts; the violence of the environment he came from and how it clearly shaped his jaded perspective on the world. It’s effective at making you root for him in every situation he puts himself in. 

    On the other hand, the cocktail mix of producers, all with their own take on THUGSTA’s sound, barred the songs from sounding indistinguishable from one another while being easy on the ears. The simple beat switch between “PUSSY” and “PARA SAKIN YAN” gave the album the variety it needed to make the listening experience more enjoyable. It’s no wonder that within its 19-minute runtime, every song pops out in its own way.

    At times, however, rap performances have rendered themselves redundant with flows that get monotonous when the rapper reaches over the 16-bar limit rather than writing memorable bars. In “PARA SAKIN YAN,” Thugsta doesn’t match the enthusiasm of the song and gets overshadowed by the high energy of the beat. A little more charisma goes a long way for an album like “THUGS 2 RICHES.”

    One unfortunate flaw that comes and goes throughout the album is the distasteful misogynistic quips that THUGSTA adds in at times. While it is well-known that the rap canon has had its misogynistic roots in the culture it sprung out of, it becomes hard to ignore when he’s spitting a verse that makes you actively root for him, only for it to be followed by namechecking women “putas” he doesn’t waste time on. Overall, it is disappointing enough that it takes away from the immersion of an otherwise good song. 

    “THUGS 2 RICHES” as an album may have some glaring issues performance-wise, but THUGSTA’s adept writing chops and the songs’ dynamic beats carry it past the finish line. Outlandish and right in your face, THUGSTA presents himself as a fledgling who, with finer adjustments and more rapping allure, would have the potential of having a lasting fanbase from the general audience he’s already gained from being just himself.

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  • MIXTAPE REVIEW: Lil JVibe – 2KLUVSHIT

    MIXTAPE REVIEW: Lil JVibe – 2KLUVSHIT

    Written by Lex Celera

    Almost three years after ‘WHOLE LOTTA LUVSHIT,’ it’s safe to say that Lil JVibe’s reputation continues to precede him – albeit not in the same way as it was in 2016. Since focusing on music, the rapper has found his niche in shaping Top 40 hits into hip-hop fare through sampling and interpolation. The formula is all but unknown in today’s music landscape  – Supafly’s “Answer The G” and Nateman’s “Imma Flirt” come to mind – but no one is as consistently brazen as Lil JVibe. “Prince Say” and “Hip Or Thighs” indicate that there’s nothing that’s stopping him from riding on the coattails of pop’s most earworm-worthy hooks and calling it his own. 

    With ‘2KLUVSHIT,’ Lil JVibe fires a miscellany of tracks that iterate on the same principles of his previous work in the same unbothered, uncohesive manner of a Datpiff mixtape. He does a good job choosing songs that are dated enough not to be overtly overshadowed by the original, but not so far back as to be unfamiliar. Justin Bieber, Neyo, and Ginuwine’s bodies of work are blatantly reborn anew with jersey club and drill elements. Like with the rest of his discography, it’s the reworking of the familiar that draws attention, but it’s the blatant commitment to the bit that makes it enjoyable. It just makes sense to pull directly from a hit to make another hit. 

    “My Doja” is exactly that as it rises above with its take on Ginuwine’s “Differences” in a manner not unlike Pop Smoke’s own take in “What You Know Bout Love.” The result is Lil JVibe at his most riveting, where his experimentation bears fruit without holding back. We’re seeing the same tradition in hiphop upheld by the likes of Max B and Jim Jones, where an artist is known for their remixes. But familiarity works both ways: if a remix brings the original to mind, it’s only natural that hearing any of those sampled tracks now makes us think of Lil JVibe. And that list keeps growing.

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  • ALBUM REVIEW: PRAY – THANKGOD4ALLDIS$WAG

    ALBUM REVIEW: PRAY – THANKGOD4ALLDIS$WAG

    Written by Elijah P.

    PRAY is one of those Manila rap outliers who know how to play the game from the very beginning. On his debut project ‘THANKGOD4ALLDIS$WAG,’ he walks in already dressed for the role: “gangway” street styling, flex-first instincts, and a slightly pitched-up delivery that turns his nasal cadence into its own signature. The tape runs under 20 minutes and barely lets any track breathe past the two-minute mark, which is part of the point. This isn’t a rap “album” in the old sense. It moves like an Instagram timeline refresh: fast, glossy, and prepped for replay.

    For all its iced-out production luster, PRAY’s strength isn’t merely identifiable trap aesthetics. He understands how to sit inside production and steer it. His ear works like a DJ’s. The beats across “MONEY COUNTER,” “RA$TA,” “F*CK AGAIN,” and “$YRUP TSAKA DOPE” hit that sweet spot where rage energy and cloud-rap drift start bleeding into each other; Trap hi-hats flare up, melodies blur into neon haze, then PRAY slides through with a calm, almost smug control. He raps like he’s narrating a lifestyle he’s already living, pitching into his dreams he hopes to buy into. He even plays a Kodak Black sample of “counting money” as one of the “freakiest things” he’s ever done.

    Lyrically, he plays the expected cards: money, lust, lean syrup-soaked bravado. Still, the project doesn’t collapse under cliché, because PRAY knows how to sell a line. His hooks land, his timing stays sharp, and his vocal tone has enough character to keep the tape from feeling like another copy-paste flex mission.With all its charismatic end result, THANKGOD4ALLDIS$WAG won’t convert the experimental rap purists, and PRAY isn’t aiming for that crowd anyway. This is music for the city’s wired-up nights, for kids who treat Instagram as a moodboard and ground zero for the come-up. PRAY enters 2026 with real potential, and this debut proves he can get ahead of the game.

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  • TRACK REVIEW: maki! – popout

    TRACK REVIEW: maki! – popout

    Written by Elijah P.

    “Lahat sabog/ fuck it, we get lit,” maki! declares on “popout,” a year-opener single that wastes zero time pretending it’s anything deeper than adrenaline and appetite. But that’s the trick: what sounds like disposable turn-up rap is also a tight little mission statement. maki! opens the track greeting the listener like he’s clocking into a shift, then asks for love with the kind of hunger that most rappers like him wouldn’t barely achieve. maki! does it effortlessly. 

    “popout” runs under two minutes, and it moves at the speed of an online reel. The beat leans into bitcrushed, 8-bit textures, turning trap into something glitchy and pixelated. maki! slides across it with melodic autotune warps and chopped-up vocal flickers, tossing newly heated ad-libs. The parking-lot setting in the song’s music video feels right: fluorescent, chaotic, nocturnal, and ready for trouble.

    What separates him from the usual mumble haze is that he actually commits to a slightly tilted rise of momentum. He gets from point A to point B cleanly, no dead air, no lazy hook crutch, no filler bars pretending to be vibes. With the internet pushing this slayr/CHE-adjacent strain of pixel-trap forward, maki! sounds tapped into the mutation early, proving local rap gets to catch up, sharpening their skillset into something truly their own.

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  • SOUNDS OF THE SEA: Mary Sue (Singapore)

    SOUNDS OF THE SEA: Mary Sue (Singapore)

    The hip-hop scene in Singapore only continues to grow with every passing moment. Groups such as Construction Sight, Triple Noize, and Urban Xchange marked their impact in the 90s and the 2000s, yet it took quite some time before the culture flourished throughout the country. In the 2010s, more artists such as Akeem Jahat, Yung Raja, THELIONCITYBOY, ShiGGA Shay, and Masia One eventually made their name in the mainstream, carrying and shaping what is there to be shown in Singapore’s Hip-Hop space.

    Once the 2020s hit the surface, there came an artist who struck an abstract niche within the underground. Due to the isolation brought back in the pandemic, Siew Png Sim – with his love for acts like MIKE, Earl Sweatshirt, MF DOOM, and Navy Blue – dons the Mary Sue moniker and starts to illustrate his sound. Rougher beats, decisive flows, and pensive storytelling are the name of the game. He slowly shaped those foundations through EPs across 2020 to 2021.

    Those EPs are just a preparation for what he will be putting out since then. In 2022, he dropped his debut record, ‘KISSES OF LIFE’. Here, Mary Sue, alongside the insane row of producers and features across the world, establishes his creative tendencies in full as he lets loose personal experiences of grief and recovery, wading through the loss of his grandfather and the struggle with his grandmother’s dementia. It’s a reflection with memories that pulls him back and pushes him forward, swirling around production that’s simultaneously light and dark. “Moving On!” and “Spirits/Name” stretch out samples to a distressingly glitchy degree, whilst “Cavalry” and “Paper Generals” stall in muted but lighter beats. A juxtaposition that Mary Sue’s weathered delivery passes through without any trouble at all, like a conflicted spirit going through shades of grey.

    The following year sees him expound on his creative streak, with three albums that were released within a few months of each other. ‘For Sure’ replaces abstract collages with tangible instruments, a backdrop that soothes the ragged introspection he evokes in his bars. ‘OK!’ follows suit, a collaborative effort with other South East Asian beatmakers and musicians (Cravism, ABANGSAPAU, etc) to construct a breezier record, adorned with boom bap and pop rap to set the vibe. In contrast, Mary Sue’s collaboration with UK producer Psychedelic Ensemble flips into experimental territory on ‘CACOPHONOUS DIGRESSIONS, A RECORD OF MOMENT IN TIME,’ where the beats blare and crackle in every space, yet never smother Mary Sue’s presence on the microphone.

    His constant work ethic is showcased even further through the “Voice Memos” releases that he pushes out, where even in the midst of traveling to a foreign place, his knack for writing never stops. Recording 2022’s ‘VOICE MEMOS ACROSS A COUPLE BODIES OF WATER’ when he was in New York City for two weeks, and 2024’s ‘Voice Memos From A Winter In China’ when he was on a winter tour in China with Singaporean jazz quintet, Clementi Sound Appreciation Club. His wandering thoughts during those times are now encapsulated within these projects, containing a well of memories that he’ll cherish long-term.

    2025 is an important year that shows Mary Sue’s growth as an overall artist. With the help of the Clementi Sound Appreciation Club, these two forces managed to craft a unique spirit that shines within Mary Sue’s overall discography, ‘Porcelain Shield, Paper Sword’. In comparison with most of his works thus far, he wields a keen disposition behind live instrumentation, a distinction that propels Mary Sue’s performances and lyric-making to the next level. Diverting away from his influences and embracing a style that he can call his own.

    The album’s major perspective on a time-traveling oracle observing the ambiguous and chaotic histories of the world is greatly reflected in the writing and sound that informs this character concept. Mary Sue’s observant insight and assured delivery resonate with the Clementi Sound Appreciation Club’s burnished melodic contributions. Gentle acoustics nimble across spare horns and keys of ‘Thief and the Bell’, creating serenity curtaining the ignorant thief who stole from the village. Rumbling guitars and drums are emphasized on ‘Haste’ and ‘Minesweeper’, creating stabs of heaviness that unveil the violence unspooling past centuries. ‘Horse Acupuncture’ is swallowed up with haunting gongs around burly guitar passages, fitting Mary Sue, Agung Mango, and Nakama.’s observations of people who are shunned by those who get to control the perception of others.

    With the release of this record, it only shows Mary Sue on an upward stream; his craft within Singapore’s underground hip-hop only gets more acknowledgement and refinement. His grounded experiences only give him more to speak about, a hopeful presence that shines amidst the swarm of darkness that surrounds him. With his newfound sword and shield equipped, his thoughtful wisdom leads to wider ground being shown, then gradually explored with a taut mindset.