#pinoy hiphop

LIVE

The time I spent going to places and meeting people is now the time I devote to binge eating, watching TV series, attending free webinars, and listening to music. I’ve been learning a lot more about our homeland and its people these days. Our rich history shows how much potential Filipinos have, but it’s such a waste that we’re taking that for granted.

We’re a melting pot of talents, and I can’t help but feel disappointed sometimes. Did you know that the first few countries in South East Asia to produce feature films include the Philippines? Oh, and we were the bomb in the industry! Did you know that there was a time when Filipinos were thought to be the best dancers in South East Asia? That we’re considered to be great singers? Oh, and did you know that the Philippines had the first hip hop scene in Asia?

You read that right, the Philippines is sort of a hip hop pioneer in Asia. Currently, we associate hip hop with streetwear, graffiti, MCing, flip top, break dancing, YOLO, swag, and of course, rap music. It’s not always easy to the ears, unlike pop music. It’s deemed to be childish or immature sometimes. But it’s unapologetic, and it continues to impregnate new subsections like trap, lo-fi, drill, and many others. The scene itself is ever-evolving, and so are its artists. Our rappers are collaborating with musicians from other genres and artists of different forms- they are making bigger ripples in the industry or at least in their respective communities. One of these evolving and striving hip hop artists is Ceaseman.

THE ARTIST

Ceaseman is a 26 y/o rapper with a lot of titles under his belt. He recently released an album with 31 tracks, and it doesn’t seem like he’s slowing down any time soon.

The subliminal rapper is a member of the hip hop group Kaustik Route. Apart from that, he’s also a film writer/director. Ceaseman is the founder of PFK Collective, the drummer of a surf rock band called The Chingks, and he also represents GSIDE Records, RESBAK, INGAY LIKHA, and The Toymaker Productions.

Life wasn’t exactly kind to Ceaseman. He’s a first-born child in a very conservative family and was expected to carry the responsibility as the breadwinner. But his father went missing, he was detained and eventually had to drop out. He has gone through failures after severing ties with his band back then in hopes of forming a new one among the many other misfortunes that happened in his life. He has seen and experienced a kind of world, not many people his age would have seen, and it’s evident in his compositions.

The variety of life’s horrors, pleasures, and rewards in his music reflects his life as an artist, as a Filipino, and as a man trying to live his life to its fullest. His comrades, Filipino arts and music scene made him feel the need to give everything he’s got to his craft and dreams.

Ceaseman sees himself as a “revolutionary artist” hoping to send messages through film and his music. He also believes that “that ignorance is a choice in the age of information and technology, “ so it’s expected that most of his songs tackle certain social issues that are particular in the Philippines. His bars aren’t always black and white. The lyrics would seem like provoking you to see different perspectives, which would sometimes require you to listen to it a couple more times.

What’s really amusing is his versatility as a musician. Before he became a rapper, he was first a drummer for a post-hardcore band. He also plays melodica as well as other percussion instruments. Ceaseman definitely has the ears for the beats. His skill for weaving words together developed from being an emcee, which requires someone to be quick-witted, interactive, and creative. Bring his musical inclination, life experiences, critical thinking, collaborative mindset, passion for the arts together with his wordplay and you got a recipe for a good hip hop artist.

THE ALBUM

On the 30th of October this year, Ceaseman released an album entitled “Carpe Omnia” which is currently available on Spotify, Youtube, Amazon, Itunes, Medianet, Tiktok, and other major music stores.

The title means “seize it all” following the theme of its precedent, “Carpe Deym” (carpe diem), which is the Latin translation for “seize the day.” The recently released album has 30 songs with a hidden track only available on the physical copy. The bonus track is in collaboration with two distinct figures in the hip hop scene and was recorded in Tondo, Manila.

Carpe Omnia will definitely take you on a ride with its variety of hip hop subsections. The jazz and lo-fi flavors, as well as the forgotten Tagalog words like ruweda (wheel), galugad (scouring for something), and bagwis (feathers), made the album refreshing and interesting.

Ceaseman said that he wanted to overwhelm the hip hop community and hype up his comrades by releasing this many songs. It’s like a compensation to his 3-year hiatus, which he spent playing as a drummer for Roots and flowers and The Chingks.

“So technically, Carpe Omnia is 3 albums in one for the three years that I should have released a single album per year.“

Among the many songs in the album, Ceaseman particularly likes Bon Vivant, Onis, Avant Garde Bagwis sa Hawla, and the hidden track. I personally loved Bagwis sa Hawla, which I think is the most personal. This sounded like a narration of his life when he was just deciding to pursue his passion, choose himself, and leave their home to take a chance- like the story of most artists who have a family member that doesn’t believe in their passion or dreams. The other songs I keep playing on repeat are Para-paraan, G, J. Crapola, and Ruweda.

THE FUTURE

Despite the pandemic, Ceaseman is planning to release yet another album early next year, which he will be entitling “Carpe Vitam” or “seize the life.”

Ceaseman said that he still has 4 albums worth of content in his creative bank, so there are definitely many possibilities for this young artist. He’s hoping to collaborate more with other artists, especially those that have greatly influenced his music.

It seems like Ceaseman is already claiming 2021 to be his year as he’s planning to do an album tour for Carpe Omnia, and release music videos and a new single along with his comrades from the PFK Collective. Supporters should also expect live hip hop sets with a band real soon.

Even if we don’t want to admit it, the standard has always been the Western’s in the music industry. With the scope of their influence and the history we’ve shared with them, we sometimes can’t help but work on their shadows. As much as we want to be proud to be Filipinos, to be an independent nation with a culture and history of our own, we can’t seem to detach ourselves from the colonial influence. But artists like Ceaseman, who seemed to want to desperately get out of the mold and share as much of himself in his craft, is what’s making the Pinoy hip hop scene really ours. Artists like him who strive in their respective fields, though sometimes shunned by their kin or fellow Filipinos, are the very people that are saving the Filipino creative industry. They make it feel as if it’s not hopeless at all.

Hip hop is unapologetic, is critical of itself, is flexible, and is resilient- much like us, Filipinos. Pinoy hip hop may not fit the masses’ interest like how western hip hop does- it may not be as dominating as K-pop. Still, there are definitely many Filipinos who are passionate about it and have the talent to pursue it. We just got to acknowledge that potential, really see them, and support them. And guess what? We don’t need to do much.