|
|
|
|
Francis Magalona
|
| |
|
| |
Francis Magalona (October 4, 1964 - March 6, 2009), also known as FrancisM, Master Rapper, and The Man From Manila, was a Filipino rapper, songwriter, producer, actor, director, and photographer. Often hailed as the "King of Pinoy Rap", he was considered a legend in the Philippine music community. With the success of his earliest albums, he was the first Filipino rapper in the Philippines to cross over to the mainstream.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Francis Magalona' Start a new discussion about 'Francis Magalona' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
Francis Magalona (October 4, 1964 - March 6, 2009), also known as FrancisM, Master Rapper, and The Man From Manila, was a Filipino rapper, songwriter, producer, actor, director, and photographer. Often hailed as the "King of Pinoy Rap", he was considered a legend in the Philippine music community. With the success of his earliest albums, he was the first Filipino rapper in the Philippines to cross over to the mainstream. He is also credited for having pioneered the merging of rap with Pinoy rock, becoming a significant influence to artists in that genre as well. He was also a television host on MTV Asia and on noontime variety television show Eat Bulaga! Magalona died seven months after being diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia. The Philippine government has announced that Magalona will be posthumously awarded the National Medal of Merit, for his contributions in promoting patriotism through music.
Music career
Starting out as a breakdancer in the 1980s, Magalona was cast in several Filipino movies of that decade, including Bagets 2. He likewise gained attention as the resident DJ/rapper in the IBC-13 variety show Loveli'Ness. In 1990, he released the groundbreaking album Yo!, the first commercially released Filipino rap album. Yo! included several popular singles such as Mga Kababayan Ko (My Fellow Countrymen), Gotta Let 'Cha Know, Cold Summer Nights and Man From Manila. With tracks that featured politically conscious and thought-provoking rhymes in both English and Tagalog, Yo! was a big success and helped catapult Filipino hip hop from underground to mainstream status. It also marked the birth of Makabayang or Nationalistic rap in Filipino hip hop.
In 1992, Francis Magalona released Rap Is FrancisM (1992). With tracks addressing the various cultural and social problems that plagued his country such as drug addiction in "Mga Praning" (Paranoids), political instability in "Halalan" (Elections) as well as the detrimental effects of a colonial mentality in "Tayo'y Mga Pinoy" (We Are Filipinos), the record's complexity and conscious message quickly earned it its classic status and became the standard by which future albums of the genre were to be compared. This album helped tag Magalona as one of the most politically conscious voices of his generation.
The release of his third album, Meron akong ano! (I Got Some!) in 1993, followed by FreeMan in 1995 marked the beginning of Magalona's experimentation with Pinoy rock. He soon was cited for excellence in both genres of music. He frequently collaborated with other OPM luminaries such as Joey Ayala, Heber Bartolome of Banyuhay, Ryan Cayabyab, Mike Hanopol of Juan Dela Cruz Band, Andrew E., Michael V. and the Eraserheads. In the latter part of his career, Magalona worked together with Gloc 9 and Parokya ni Edgar.
In 2002, with the assistance of then FUBU Philippines' management employees Carlo Maniquiz and Nick Tuazon, Magalona launched a compilation album of the same name. Later that year, his greatest hits album, The Best of FrancisM was released by Musiko and Sony BMG Philippines.
Magalona founded his own record company called Red Egg Records, and a production company, Filipino Pictures Inc., where he served as the resident Director. Through his production company, Magalona produced and directed music videos for several bands and solo artists such as Ely Buendia. His work on Sponge Cola's "KLSP" won Best Rock Video at the 2006 MYX Video Awards.
Shortly before his death, Magalona collaborated with Ely Buendia and various Filipino artists on an album dubbed as The Sickos Project. It will be released posthumously. Both Francis M. and Ely Buendia were having health problems at that time. The album's carrier single is "Higante" (giant) which is about sickness. In an interview, Ely Buendia described his self as "ticking timebomb" and Francis Magalona as "unborrowed time." The album will include a documentary about Ely and Francis.
Hardware Syndrome
While the 1992 release of Rap Is Francis M saw Magalona's first collaboration with musicians performing live instrumentation, it was his 1993 album Meron Akong Ano that saw the birth of Hardware Syndrome, the band which would, with Magalona at its helm, introduce the merging of Pinoy Rock and Rap to the Filipino music audience. The band would continue to provide the instrumentation for much of the rest of Magalona's career. Members over the years included musicians Carlo Sison,Francis Villanueva, Nino Mesina, Boyet Aquino, Elmer Blancaflor, Noel Mendez, Perf de Castro, Benjie "bagets" Mendez, Albert Tamayo, DJ Kimozave, DJ Radikal MK, Kenji Marquez, Jack Rufo, and Wendell Garcia.
Honors
Magalona would ultimately be cited as the "King of Philippine rap". Magalona's contributions to the genre have been featured in several international hip hop publications including the All Music Guide to Hip-Hop: The Definitive Guide to Rap and Hip-Hop (2003) published by Backbeat Books; as well as the May 2004 issue of the U.S.-based publication The Source. He was also given the Pioneer Hall of Fame Award by Empire Entertainment at the 1st Annual Philippine Hip-Hop Music Awards in 2005.
Magalona was the recipient of the MTV Pilipinas Video Music Awards Generations Award in 2006 "in recognition of his career that has spanned decades and broken boundaries, and for his music which continues to inspire generations of artists and music fans both here and abroad." He was the second person so honored, the first having been singer Gary Valenciano at the 2005 rites.
Malacañang Palace has announced that Magalona will be posthumously awarded the National Medal of Merit, for his contributions in promoting patriotism through music.
Television career
Magalona also hosted several television shows including Eat Bulaga!, as well as being a VJ for MTV Asia. Magalona was MTV Asia's first Filipino VJ and remained with the network from 1997 to 2000.
He was also chosen by Fremantle Media, owners of American Idol as one of the judges of in the first Philippine Idol season that aired on ABC-5. Magalona and his fellow judges Ryan Cayabyab and Pilita Corrales were not retained by GMA Network when the franchise transferred to that network in 2008. Aside from television, he also hosted live events and presentations.
Other endeavors
In his last years, Magalona also turned his attention to photography, a hobby which he began to take more seriously when he started submitting pictures to magazines for publication. News reports note that he was overjoyed when he was accepted as a member of the prestigious Camera Club of the Philippines, and eventually received critical acclaim for his photographs.
Branching out into fashion, Magalona also established a clothing line named FMCC, standing for "FrancisM Clothing Co." FMCC also operates it's stores under the "3 Stars & A Sun" brand.
He also started a foundation with Ely Buendia called Heartist Foundation, which aims to help Filipino artists with health and commercial concerns.
Personal life
Family and early life
Magalona was one of the nine children of actors Pancho Magalona and Tita Duran, popular film stars of the 1940s and 1950s. His grandfather, Enrique Magalona, served in the Philippine Senate from 1946 to 1955. He studied at San Beda College in Manila.
Magalona was married to Pia Arroyo, with whom he had six children and two step-children: Unna, Nicolo, Francis Jr., Elmo, Arkin Luciano, Clara, and actresses Maxene and Saab.
Illness and death
Magalona, 43, was diagnosed on August 8, 2008, with acute myeloid leukemia at the Medical City Hospital, Mandaluyong. "I don’t want a media circus," he said, appealing to the media and to the public. "I want privacy with my family. What I’d rather talk about is how we can solicit blood donations to replace the supply that I have consumed in the hospital."
After his first treatment and discharge, he made his return on Eat Bulaga together with Ely Buendia, who was also recently discharged. Not wanting to let the disease get the better of him, he remained active, chronicling his battle with the disease on his blogs and continuing to pursue his creative efforts in spite of his illness. His daughter Maxene noted that "he always did what he wanted to do. He never let anyone or anything stop him from doing what he loves to do. He still went to the camera club, he still took pictures, everytime he was discharged from the hospital, he records songs with Ely Buendia. He taught us that life is short but it can be well lived. Don’t waste your time in the world."
His wife Pia later described her husband's battle with the disease, saying “Francis was a very passionate person. When he was angry, he was very expressive. He would get angry with his cancer. That was his way of coping with it. But he didn’t give up. I remembered that he told me, "I’m going down fighting."”
On March 6, 2009, at 12:20 pm, Magalona succumbed to multiple organ failure after having been rushed to the hospital and intubated the night before. He had undergone several chemotherapy sessions since he was diagnosed the previous year, and had been expected to undergo a bone marrow transplant.
The announcement was first made on the television variety show Eat Bulaga!, which he had co-hosted. News of his death sparked a surge of web traffic to several Philippine news sites, causing a momentary slowdown in the operation of those sites. Guests at his wake included former president Corazon Aquino, along with other politicians and artists who paid tribute to Magalona's contriubtion to Filipino music, and to the national pride - the dominant advocacy theme in FrancisM's music. Numerous television programs, ranging from noontime variety shows to primetime newscasts and late night news documentaries paid tribute to Magalona.
Magalona had been slated to appear as a special surprise guest at the Eraserheads' "the Final Set" reunion concert on March 7, 2009. Since he died the day before, the band instead dedicated the concert as tribute to Magalona. Buendia rapped the 22-bar portion in Superproxy which FrancisM had written, and the penultimate song of their last ever Eraserheads performance was the reprise of Kaleidoscope World.
His remains lie in state at the Funeraria Paz in Araneta Avenue, Quezon City. On March 7 his remains will be brought to Christ The King Memorial Chapel in Greenmeadows, Quezon City, where the fans can pay respects for the last time. Magalona's remains will be cremated on March 11, Wednesday, at 9 a.m. at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City.
Legacy
Malacañang Palace announced on March 8, 2009 that Magalona would get a posthumous Presidential Medal of Merit for promoting patriotism through music. National Commission for Culture and the Arts executive director Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, said President Arroyo would bestow the medal on Magalona for his contributions on "patriotism". The awarding rites is awaiting confrimation.
His daughter Maxene has indicated that she intends to continue Magalona's projects, including his The Sickos Project album with Buendia, and a documentary about his battle with cancer. "We will coordinate with the people he had been working with," the young actress said in a newspaper interview. "I understand that Papa is a big part of history."
Discography
- 1989 Francis M. (Extended of Loving You)
- 1990 Mga Kababayan (E.P. Dance Remix)
- 1990 Gotta Let 'Cha Know (E.P.)
- 1990 Yo!
- 1992 Rap Is Francis M
- 1993 Meron Akong Ano! (I have something!)
- 1995 Freeman
- 1996 Happy Battle (featuring his band "Hardware Syndrome")
- 1998 The Oddventures of Mr. Cool
- 1999 Interscholastic
- 2001 Freeman 2
- 2002 The Best of FrancisM
- 2004 Pambihira Ka (Single)
- 2008 F Word
- 2009 The Sickos Project (with Ely Buendia and various OPM artists)
Television appearance
- MTV Pilipinas Music Video Award 2006
- Eat Bulaga
- S.O.P. (Guest Co-host)
- A Telefantastic Christmas: The GMA All-Star Spcecial (2005)
- True Love: Eat Bulaga Special (2005)
- Philippine Idol (Judge)
- Show ko 'to (2004)
- Astigmatism (2004) as Victim 1
- GMA Telesine Specials
- MTV Talk
- Life’s A Beach
- Music Bureau
- Kamada (1997)
- Student Canteen
- That's Entertainment
- Plaza 1899
- U. F. O. (Urbana, Felisa & Others)
- Loveliness (co host)
- Vilma In Person (co host)
Filmography
- Anak ni Brocka (2005)
- Kwentong kayumanggi (2002) as Narrator - Hundreds Island and the Bravery of Datu Mabiskeg
- Tong-its (1996)
- Ano ba 'yan 2 (1993)
- Mama's Boys (1993)
- Engkanto (1992) as Uban
- Estribo Gang: The Jinggoy Sese Story (1992)
- Joey Boy Munti, 15 anyos ka sa Muntilupa (1991)
- Iputok mo... dadapa ako!!! (1990)
- Gumapang ka sa lusak (aka Dirty Affair) (1990)
- Hati tayo sa magdamag (1988)
- Action Is Not Missing (1987)
- Kung Aagawin Mo Ang Lahat Sa Akin (1987)
- Family Tree (1987) as Edwin
- Ninja Kids (1986) as Tone
- Doctor, Doctor, We Are Sick (1985)
- Bagets 2 (1984) as Ponce
External links
- , Francis Magalona's official website
- , blog by Magalona and wife Pia focusing on his battle with leukemia
- at PinoyRap.com
|
| |
|
|
