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Skooled in Hiphop
Selling out, apparently, is all about not being true to yourself. We then talk about certain rappers who aren�t exactly examples of Philippine hiphop. One of the Madd Poets rants about a rapper who doesn�t seem to know anything about rapping, going about his business with tight, sleeveless tops and rather asinine rhymes.
�It�s called packaging,� I reply.
�That�s wrong!� Lowkey hisses. �Rappers should have ego! Look at how he dresses. You don�t dress in tight clothes if you�re a rapper.� He laughs. �We�ve been living the culture, we�ve been in the game for almost seven years. We don�t want another guy to just come out, go jiggy-jiggy, and claim he�s hiphop.�
�The problem is, most record companies don�t really know what rap is about,� D-Coy says, �when you hear rap, it�s about Andrew E. and Francis M. Right now, we�re producing this album, �Loob At Labas,� which should represent our sound more than anything else.� The album, out August 2 from Warner Music Philippines, is a star-studded collection featuring the Madd Poets and Chinese Mafia, as well as Seven Shots of Wisdom and Sun Valley Crew, among others.
�The message is the same,� he continues, �but the styles are different. We say positive things in a negative way, like putang-ina mo, pusher! We expect when the album comes out, that it will be successful. We don�t want to rap for food anymore. We want to show this is real hiphop, real rap, but for this album, you can show it to your Mom. It�s clean. It gets the message across.�
Lowkey agrees. �You come out, but at the same time, rap in a language that everybody will understand - Tagalog. That�s the time that you can reach the most people.�
I nod, barely understanding, teacher to student. D-Coy senses my confusion.
�Ganito lang iyan,� he grins. �Ang purpose namin is to educate what hiphop is all about. It�s all about culture. If you don�t live the culture, you�re not hiphop.�
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