Francis Magalona: A tribute to the phenomenal 3 Stars and a Sun advocate

"Bahay kubo kahit munti, may pula, Bughaw, dilaw, atsaka puti…There is a need to sow the seed, toil the soil and plod until your hands bleed; 'Coz this land is sacred, many a battle have been fought with hatred, don't tell me that you understand; It's been 400 years of tears for the brown man; Still and all the fight has just begun...3 stars & a sun!”

- 3 Stars and a Sun

"Every color and every hue, Is represented by me and you. Take a slide in the slope,Take a look in the kaleidoscope; Spinnin’ round, make it twirl... In this kaleidoscope world"

-Kaleidoscope world

March 6, 2009- Another dissident of Filipino nationalism in music passed away. I was saddened by the fact that one of my idols will go down the pit; but at the same time I am grateful that all his efforts in his call for unity and national pride through music are now widely recognized by Filipinos the world over.

More popularly known with names like: “FrancisM,” “Master Rapper” and as “The man from Manila” Francis revolutionized the merging of rap music and pinoy rock and produced a new genre in music appealing to everyone’s taste. Rich, poor, young and old alike were delighted with Francis’ mix of music. His stuff also brought in a new awakening for the youth on the roles they’ll have to play to make society whole.

Some of his songs (to name a few) were: Mga Kababayan, Man from Manila, Kabataan para sa kinabukasan, Ito ang gusto ko, Nilamon ng sistema, Mga praning, Meron akong ano, 1800-96, 3 stars and a sun, Baw-waw, to the ever popular Kaleidoscope. Francis M dominated the airwaves and earned the respect of artists and musicians and bagged the title as the Philippines’ Master Rapper. He also lent support to the establishment of new artists in both rap and pinoy rock and has since collaborated with fellow artists such Eraserheads etc. to raise the bar of OPM.

Several prestigious honors were given to him which included being cited as the King of Philippine rap and he was featured in international hip hop publications such as the All Music Guide to Hip-Hop: The Definitive Guide to Rap and Hip-Hop published back in 2003 by Backbeat Books, and making it to the May 2004 issue of The Source a U.S. based publication.

Among the awards given to him was the 2005 Pioneer Hall of Fame Award by Empire Entertainment at the 1st Annual Philippine Hip-hop Music Awards, 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 from the Philippines and abroad.

Above all this, he was given the ultimate award after his death though the efforts of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts; He was given the Presidential Medal of Merit by the President of the Republic of the Philippines and cited “for his musical and artistic brilliance, his deep faith in the Filipino and his sense of national pride that continue to inspire us.”

I’ll say my salute and goodbye to you idol and couple it up with a grin, knowing that you’ll live forever with us through your music…

Message in a Bottle