Here’s an interesting documentary over 10 years ago called “Beats, Rhymes, and Resistance”. This documentary was originally conceived and shot in 1997 by three amateur filmmakers (Dawn Mabalon, Lakan de Leon, Jonathan Ramos). They set out to create a document of the Pilipinos making noise in the Los Angeles hip hop scene at the time.

At that point, Pilipinos had yet to gain their full due as b-boys/girls, DJs, graffiti artists and emcees. Now as Pilipinos become more and more recognized for their skills, it is important to look back at a few of the pioneers who helped lay the foundation for the next generation of Pilipino/Pilipina artists. The females were fighting for respect in hip hop.

If you were into that scene back then, you may recognized names like Brian Bello, DJ Babu, DJ Dwenz, DJ Icy Ice, DJ Kid W.I.K. DJ Rhettmatic, DJ Symphony, Immortal Fader Fyters, Poet Name Life, Kiwi, Pai San Jose, and Faith Santilla. Check out this documentary and the skills these pioneers had.