By: Angelina Limpin
One of the most prevalent stereotypes people have towards UP students can be best described by the following comment from a friend of mine. “Hey, how’s our activist here? You doing good? Shouting and walking down the streets?” However, contrary to popular belief, resorting to the streets is not the only method by which UP students effectively take a stand. Most maroons, creative as they are, devise different tools for awakening a sense of idealism among their countrymen. Take for example Allen Enriquez, more popularly known as the rapper BLKD (read as Balakid), when he stepped out into the world of rap and entered into the battle ground known as Fliptop.
“Hindi lang lupon ng mga porma ng sining ang hiphop. Ibalik natin ito sa ugat nitong pagiging cultural movement para sa pagsusulong ng pagbabagong panlipunan. Walang mali sa paglaban, may mali kaya lumaban.” Enriquez said in an interview.
His interest in rap battles started in 2006, through YouTube. “I started out as a fan,” BLKD recounts. “Pang-enjoy lang. Naghahanap lang ako ng pagkakatuwaan sa Internet.” He pursued rapping because it allows him to maximize the use of lyrics that he wrote to make his voice heard. It was in 2012 when he discovered the Filipino rap battle arena Fliptop. His first attempts at competing there almost always resulted in failure and disappointment. This was because he was more familiar with the American style rap battle wherein the emphasis is on the flow of the rhymes and the figures of speech used. In contrast, Fliptop battles focus more on the insults one opponent hurls against the other. However, Enriquez felt he had something to else offer, that’s why he continued competing.
Watching his youtube battles, one cannot help but be amazed by his quick wit, intelligence and sensibility. He has a penchant for using almost unfathomable Filipino terms in most of his verbal jousts. He always has something profound to say – a talent he developed as a UP student and an activist. Through rap, he is able to point out social issues and raise awareness towards recognizing relevant social problems. However, people consider his expression of activism in his lyrics as a liability. Still, he tries to show that there is a meaningful end that he wants to achieve by his works.
From the perspective of Filipino literature, his entry into Fliptop may even help modernize the concept of the traditional Balagtasan. He is also paving the way for rappers to explore topics beyond the usual derogatory exchanges, especially nowadays when rap battles are also considered as a legitimate and creative avenue that allows people to understand the different issues in our society and present it in an interesting way for the youth.
Despite what he has already achieved, he still admits that Fliptop and rap in the Philippines still has a long way to go in terms of “unifying form and content”. This notwithstanding, his enthusiam on the prospects of “hip hop organizing” is still strong.
0 comments:
Speak up your mind
Tell us what you're thinking... !