Hood 047 keeps going for the love of hip-hop

The figures on YouTube as of this writing say 11 million views and that is still counting. This count can go on forever. As long as there are listeners around who can relate to the experience of being Wasted in the hit single by Hood 047, you can bet that there would be people checking out and having fun with the explicit video. I do not mean explicit as in the usual way but explicit as in what happens when one gets wasted.

Jemm Dahon, Kushin, KL, Guthrie Nikolao and Aeron go like this: “Mag-iinuman tayo hanggang magdamag/ walang uuwi hanggang sa mabanggag/ susundin ko ang gusto ko? Walang aawat sa trip ko hanggang ma-wasted/ wasted.”

Wasted indeed. But not as far as the hip-hop collective Hood 047 is concerned. The group has been in existence since 2008 in Olongapo but although the fabled home of folk and Pinoy rock has now switched its allegiance to hip-hop, it has been and still is a difficult life for the members of Hood 047.

For one, they all have to hold day jobs to support themselves and their families. Then, they need to keep the rap juices flowing by being together at the studio and recording what could be a big hit or more important, how they feel and what they believe in. Because of that, there are problems with wives, girlfriends, parents, etc., who are unable to understand why hip-hop is the life for Hood 047. Despite that, they just keep rapping. The problems, after all, are what makes rapping their feelings more meaningful.

This is the first time that they are getting noticed in a big way. This is thanks to co-rappers Soulstice of Ivana fame who hooked them up with Viva for better deals and exposure. Wasted was followed by a kindred tune about getting wasted, Alak Pa, which became the predecessor of Alak Pass, where Hood 047 warns against the evils of would you believe, alcohol, maybe also of being wasted. Well, this must be how these guys are feeling this moment.

As of this writing, the members of the hip-hop collective are Kushin (Richard Olamita); KL (Lheanard King Buenaventura Implica); Guthrie Nikolao; Aeron (Aeron Joshua Basila) who lives in Canada; CHAOS (Mark Anthony Lachica); Gico (Rowen Ace de Guia); IDEA (Christian Lorence Navat); Sintido (Jonathan Lorenzo); Shrlyanne (Shirley Ann Interivo); KARAYON (Romar John Pedrezo); Shonji K (Jaime Barreyro Sta. Elena III); and Mackydawg (Mark Anthony Arneo).

Then, he is too humble to acknowledge it but the leader of Hood 047 is Jemm Dahon, Michael Gerondio Zapata in real life. He owns the Hood 047 studio and is known as the kuya of everybody. If you ever find yourself homeless and hungry in Olongapo, go to Hood 047 and he will take you in. Just make sure you can rap.

Then if you have hip-hop in your blood, you might even find yourself the next day in a rap session with the Hood 047 and maybe even contributing to the creation of a hit tune. Hey yo, you are now part of the group. That is the reason why Hood 047 has a lot of members and just keeps growing.

Speaking of Soulstice, the hip-hop trio recently dropped Para-Paraan, a tune for the soundtrack of the motion picture Pusoy. In keeping with the dark theme of the flick and the prevailing atmosphere around us, Soulstice unleashed some heavy stuff in the new single.

No pa-cute, pa-cute verses for pretty girls like Ivana here. Instead, Mscript (Rene Lagarde), RowMee G (Jerome de Leon) and Seth (Ronald Abasta) are dead serious as they go, “Kaya mo bang tablahin ang mga patas na namumuhay (para sap-ra) Kaya mo bang mamatay o pumatay usapang buhay (para sap-era).” Spoken like a true hip-hop poet. Like Hood 047, they are never para sap-era.

By the way, watch out for the arrival of the exciting Shot Puno by Soulstice soon. This is a collab with who else but Hood 047.