Share this
Twitter
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Yahoo
Googlize this
Facebook
Export PDF
Print
E-mail
Continued from Part 1
His activism
BLKD is an activist, inside and outside of the rap battle grounds. Aside from being a social work and community development major in UP Diliman, he is also currently the secretary-general of activist artist group Sinagbayan.
How does he feel when his activism is being portrayed as a “liability” by his opponents? “Okay lang, ” he shrugs. “Ganoon naman talaga sa battle, tailored na sa iyo kung ano ang sasabihin ng kalaban mo. Kung pangit ka iyon na ang paulit-ulit na sasabihin, kung addict ka iyon at iyon na. Ako, aktibista ako.”
Does he see it as a liaibility? “Not at all.” He adds, “Saka sa battle lang iyon, kapag harapan na, may respeto. Lalo na dahil hindi naman lingid sa kanila ang history and progressive roots ng hiphop. Alam din nila kung ano ang pinanggalingan ng hiphop, na kilusan itong nagmula sa kultura ng mahihirap, marginalized at oppressed.”
His vision
He has been dubbed as “The Future of Hiphop”, an image that he humbly refuses to indulge in. “Nakaka-pressure din. Actually, hindi rin ako naniniwala. Mas ituturing ko pa ‘yung mga tulad ni K-Jah na future of hiphop, kasi siya, wala pang FlipTop, rapper na talaga. Mula umpisa hiphop na talaga. Ako ngayon lang.”
Warning: Video contains heavy profanity
BLKD may not perceive himself as “the future” but he most certainly is “the present”. His entry into FlipTop “revolutionized” the genre – reminiscent of the traditional Balagtasan, a popular form of debate through metered poetry and witticism that tackled political and socially relevant themes during the 1920s – and ushered in other emerging MCs who now dare to explore topics beyond the otherwise usual personality-based mud-slinging and derogatory exchanges.
He realizes though that FlipTop, and rap in general, still has a long way to go in terms of “unifying form and content”. “Sa ngayon, dominant pa at hindi pa nababasag ‘yung kaisipan sa form na ‘basta nag-rhyme ok na’, kahit walang figures of speech, walang syllabic rhymes, walang flow, walang word play. On the other hand, mayroon na rin namang iba na socially-relevant na ang content pero hindi naman sila talaga naniniwala sa sinasabi nila, o kaya naman ay walang disiplina sa form."
To this end, he excitedly told me about a new project in the works. BLKD, together with like-minded MCs, is currently in the process of forming a “hiphop collective” with the objective of bringing together rappers, deejays, graffiti artists and dancers who want to share their art and talents to advance socially-relevant causes.
“Maraming mga hiphop na progresibo o mga aktibista na nga pero kalat-kalat pa sila, kami. Bukod sa dapat magkaroon ng venue para ma-showcase ang mga likhang-sining nila, mas higit pa, pwede ring magamit ang hiphop bilang tool for organizing. Kahit sa FlipTop, marami nang mga nagtatanong kung saan pwedeng makipagtalakayan tungkol sa socially-relevant issues.”
His enthusiasm on the prospects of “hiphop organizing” was contagious. “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.” Word.
Image taken from ganatronic on Flickr. Some rights reserved.
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
