FlipTop stages the biggest hip-hop festival in celebration of its 10th anniversary

01/17/2020 09:28:25 AM

After one full decade of staging rap battles that made it – and hip-hop music, in general – to everyone's consciousness, FlipTop will celebrate the milestone with a party like no other. 

Happening at the weekend of February 7 and 8, the FlipTop Festival brings 200+ artists that will be showcased through a series of activities related to the culture – and we're not just talking about the music and rap battle along here. Expect two days full of authentic experience with hip-hop heads paying respects to turntablism and DJ-ing, b-boying or break dancing, graffiti, and just the overall history of the culture. 

“The festival aims to really be as inclusive as possible, and more importantly, to have everyone represented properly,” said Alaric Riam Yuson, one of the founders of FlipTop, who also goes by the name Anygma. “As much as hip-hop has grown in the last decade, with every element, region, style, and era, it’s really not easy to make sure that no one is left out. So ultimately, we’ll try to achieve that; to get literally everyone to really represent and celebrate what we’ve accomplished as a culture.”

This hip-hop festival will have US-based artists Bambu and Rocky Rivera will be joining Gloc-9, Shanti Dope, Abra, Shehyee, PriceTagg, Ron Henley, Al James, Illustrado, Shernan, Sinio, Tipsy D, Smugglaz, Zaito, Dello, Kemikal Ali, Arbie Won, and Supreme Fist, as the first batch of confirmed rappers and hip-hop acts to perform.

FlipTop started in 2010 as a rap battle league that promotes the country's hip-hop scene through the said form of art – an act that made impact online and making them part of the massive cultural phenomenon in the 2010s after staging events on almost-every-month basis, beginning on its first gathering, Grain Assault, on 6 February 2010 at Quantum Cafe in Makati City.

Over the years and despite some early mishaps and controversies, FlipTop has tremendously grown beyond its borders through having international guest emcees, expanding location coverages or regional divisions, a series of single and duo tournaments, and having artist management. Indeed, they have pushed the envelope of Filipino hip-hop and battle rap to bolder, and more exciting places, while also championing the art form with uncompromised vision and inclusivity—reflecting the modern sensibilities of Filipino hip-hop fans.

“The quality and quantity of both hip-hop music and battle rap is constantly setting new bars,” Alaric Yuson observes (and pun intended; the basic unit of measurement in music is also often used to refer to as a really good line in rap lyrics). “More and more regions are organizing and seeking to develop their respective local scenes. And lastly, the positive effects of all of our hard work in each and everyone’s personal lives. This is considering the context of how hip-hop used to be perceived – lowly and unworthy of attention, much less pursuing. Now, everyone wants in on it, vultures included. Back then, one would be considered lucky to get to perform in the surrounding neighborhoods.”

In 10 years, FlipTop Battle League has accumulated more than 1.5 billion views on Youtube, beating international records on the strength of its viral and entertaining content. FlipTop also propelled the careers of several biggest battle emcees to even greater heights; such as Loonie, Abra, Shehyee, Zaito, Sinio, Tipsy D, and Shernan – to name a few.

The FlipTop Festival takes place on 7 and 8 February 2010 at Aseana Entertainment City. More details about the festival, including the full lineup, will be announced in the coming days/weeks. Visit the official website  or their Facebook page for more details.

(All pictures used in this article are photographed by Niña Sandejas/ROSARIOKO)

Author: slickmaster | © 2020 The SlickMaster's Files