Philippine Music

Francis “Kiko” Magalona is also known FrancisM, Master Rapper, and The Man From Manila and is credited as being the first Filipino rapper in the Philippines to successfully crossover to the mainstream. He is also popularly known as the King of Pinoy Rap and is one of the most idolized, celebrated and influential rappers within the genre. He was diagnosed on August, 2008, with leukemia at the Medical City Hospital and is currently undergoing treatment. We’re hoping for your quick recovery Kiko!

A rap-core band from the Philippines, Slapshock was formed in 1996 by several students  from UP Diliman. They played in clubs in Manila before signing a recording deal and releasing their first album in 1999. To date, Slapshock has released 5 albums, and in 2003 was nominated for Best Artist by MTV Asia.

Dubbed as the R&B Prince, Jay-R (Gaudencio Aquino Sillona III) is one of the regular mainstays of the noontime show SOP along with other artists like Ogie Alcasid, Regine Velasquez, and is often paired with Kyla, the Philippine’s R&B Princess.

Jay-R’s music is a mixture of rap, pop, and R&B, but his vocal range is not to be undermined as he can easily belt out to different tunes and can do duets with the country’s premier singers. The video below is Jay-R with Kyla, singing a duet of Stick with You by the Pussycat Dolls on SOP.

Born Billy Joe Crawford in May 16, 1982 in the Philippines, he spent several years in the show That’s Entertainment before his family relocated to Texas. After he won a Dallas talent show, he traveled to New York to record and write material for his self-titled debut album under V2 Records. Today he continues to regularly visit the Philippines with his mom, and just concluded a very highly-successful concert here in the Philippines entitled Move.