'Mag-aral muna kayo mabuti': Zaito tells young aspiring rappers

MANILA, Philippines — Rapper Zaito gave an advice to young people who wanted to pursue a career in the country’s hip-hop scene. 

In an interview with Philstar.com during the free concert of Quezon City Councilor Hero Bautista, Zaito advised kids not to leave school to pursue a hip-hop career. 

“'Wag niyo munang itutok yung sarili niyo sa hip-hop. Mahalaga mag-aral muna kayo mabuti. Yung iba kasi iniiwan na yung pag-aaral umaasa agad na aangat sila sa hip-hop,” Zaito said. 

“Maganda diyan, palawakin niyo yung kaalaman niyo. Samahan pa rin ng panalangin. 'Pag may guide kayo ni Lord, hindi kayo mahihirapan. At saka ‘wag kayong gagawa ng kantang walang kabuluhan,” he added.  

Zaito admitted that the rap scene in the country was devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. His “Ang Probinsyano” stint was also affected because of non-renewal of ABS-CBN franchise. 

“Nagbawas talaga ng tao. 'Di ba nagsara ang ABS,” he said.  

“Ngayon puro campaign jingle ng mga gobernador, mayor, konsehal. Yung vape shop ko. Mayroon akong mga bagong kanta kaso hindi ko pa nailalabas e. Pare-pareho kaming nabalian gawa ng pandemic kaya kanya-kanyang diskarte kami ngayon kung paano itataguyod yung mga pamilya namin,” he added. 

To celebrate love and life, the Quezon City District 4 recently held a post-Valentine's concert at the Amoranto Stadium. The free concert was the brainchild of Super Team 4 with each member bringing in different artists to perform to the appreciative crowd. Almost 15,000 attendees trooped to the venue for a night of music. Over 600 uniformed personnel were deployed to ensure the safety of guests and enforce social distancing protocols.

The event started with a battle of the bands competition featuring bands from District 4. A total of 10 bands performed as the stadium started to fill up with attendees. As the sun set, Fliptop legends Zaito and the Righteous One came to the stage amidst the cheers of the crowd to start the concert proper.

This was followed by a steady stream of performances from artists and bands such as Overflow, Breezy Boys, Tuglaks, Curse One, & VYNLC, Abbadon, ang Bandang Lapis, J Kris and Phoebe. Filipino rap duo Blaze N Kane closed out the concert at the stroke of midnight.

Quezon City 4th District Councilor Hero Bautista said that this concert had a special place in his heart. Despite being part of Super Team 4 and one of the VIPs of the concert, Bautista led the event as the concert director, overseeing the entire run of the production. 

“We are two years into the pandemic and we miss this kind of event. I missed directing this kind of event. I miss the energy, the fun. It can be tiring but seeing the people having fun makes it all worth it,” he said.

“We had 1 week to plan out the event but everyone managed to deliver. The team from Heaven’s Best and Kuya Hero as well as the help of my fellow councilors and their teams were instrumental in pulling off this event,” he added.