Spoken word artist Juan Severo collaborates with rockstar Basti Artadi

MANILA, Philippines — Demographers say that Gen Xers, or those born between the ‘60s and the ‘80s, tend to be “laid back and cynical” as a result of growing up alongside the music channel MTV.

In contrast, millennials, who were born from the ‘80s to 2000s, are said to be tech-savvy, but at the same time, liberal in economic and political views.

As such, although there are overlaps in their birth years, there is allegedly a disconnection and a generation gap between Gen Xers and millennials, which is why they assumingly cannot come to terms, may it be in the family or in the workplace.

But spoken word artist Juan Miguel Severo, a millennial, does not think so.

“Maliit na bagay ang generation gap compared to the bigger things we have to face as a people, as Filipinos, and as a community of artists, napaka-irrelevant ng differences kung ikukumpara sa mga pagkakapareho natin,” he espoused in an interview with Philstar.com.

“Being a millennial, you just are. ‘Di naman kailangan parating magsubscribe to all the labels na ikinakabit nila sa millennials. Of course, we have the privilege of accessibility dahil sa social media, dahil sa mas advance na technology na tinatamasa natin pero millennials in general are much more than that naman.”

To narrow the divide between Gen Xers and millennials, Juan Miguel recently collaborated with rock star Basti Artadi, a Gen Xer, to develop “Time For Us,” a musical-and-spoken word piece.

Severo made popular the art of spoken word poetry when “Ito Na Ang Huling Tula Na Isusulat Ko Para Sa’yo,” his original piece, made rounds on social media, making it viral among the millennials. The piece cemented the admiration of spoken word poetry as an art form, and since then, Juan Miguel has become the face of the craft in hit soap operas such as “On the Wings of Love,” starring James Reid and Nadine Lustre.

Juan Miguel now stars in “Ikaw Lang and Iibigin,” opposite lead stars Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson.

Meanwhile, Artadi is the vocalist of the award-winning rock band Wolfgang, which rose to fame in the mid- to late-90s, making him a legend among those from Gen X.

The central message of their composition, said Juan Miguel, is the coming together of generations.

“I wrote the entire thing in one seating. Minor edits na lang when we were recording it to see how my poetry would fit with Basti’s composition,” Severo explained.

“’Pag nagsusulat kasi ako medyo matagal bago ako dumating sap unto ng inspirasyon, pero once I get there, ‘yun, isang bagsak na lang ako.”

Juan Miguel and Basti’s composition is now being used to promote “Time For Us,” a movement that marks the collaboration between tech companies Acer Philippines and G-Shock, a franchise owned by Casio.

“Basti and Juan Miguel are with us in aspiring to bring the Gen X and the millennial generations together,” says Ray Gozon, Senior Marketing Manager of Acer Philippines, in a statement. “We want these two generations to see the merits of working together.”

Likewise, like two people from two different generations, ex-lovers can also be friends and forge an understanding, said Severo, who also recently starred in Anderson and Arci Munoz’s romantic comedy, “Can We Still Be Friends.”

According to Juan, he rewrote the wedding scene in the movie because originally, his character was the only one speaking. From this experience, he wrote a wedding vow for the first time, which is different from writing spoken word poetry.

Surprisingly, writing a wedding vow was easy for him because he believes in the movie’s message and took inspiration from his character’s journey in life and insecurities.

“Actually, medyo frustrated ako kasi bakit ko ‘yun sinulat for this movie, ‘pag kinasal ako, ‘di ko na s’ya pwedeng gamitin, pero okay lang,” shared the spoken word artist, who is dating the same person for two years now.

“I’m happy naman pero hindi ko pa rin iniisip ‘yung marriage ngayon,” he disclosed.

“ ‘Yung ‘Can We Still Be Friends,’ kinikilig pa rin ako kasi hindi ko naisip na magkakaroon ako ng major movie this year, especially because I’m already taping a teleserye, so napakalaking blessing sa’kin n’un,” said Juan, who wishes to do more collaborations with other artists, and possibly, a two-hour spoken word show.

Can a millennial like him really become friends with an ex-lover?

“Of course,” he confidently noted. “Depende kung sa paano nagtapos ‘yung relasyon n’yo, and of course, it will always take time before kayo makarating sa punto na ‘yun!”

WATCH: "Time For Us" by Basti Artadi and Juan Miguel Severo

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