Filipino Americans inspired by today's headlines, write songs of defiance and love

Songwriters, rrom top left, clockwise: H.E.R., Jessica Sanchez,
Ruby Ibarra and Ella Jay Basco.

The younger generation finding their voice during the age of dual pandemics -- the coronavirus and hate -- may be the most self-aware and militant since the 1960s.

Four songwriters -- they happen to be all Filipino Americans -- released their songs reflecting what's happening around them, to them personally and with their friends and families.

H.E.R., aka Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson won an Oscar for her song "Fight For You." written for the movie Judas and the Black Messiah.

Although the movie takes place in another era, the aforementioned 60s at the height of the Black Panthers power, her intent and lyrics are applicable to today as it would have been for that time.

Read the lyrics and it could have been written for George Floyd or any of the other Black, Latino and AAPI who have died at the hands of the police:

All the smoke in the air
Feel the hate when they stare
All the pain that we bear
Oh, you better beware
Their guns don't play fair
All we got is a prayer
It was all in their plans
Wash the blood from your hands

[Pre-Chorus]
Freedom for my brothers
Freedom 'cause they judge us
Freedom from the others
Freedom from the leaders, they keepin' us
Freedom gon' keep us strong
Freedom if you just hold on
Freedom ain't free at all, oh no

"Musicians, filmmakers, I believe we have an opportunity and a responsibility, to tell the truth, and to write history the way that it was, and how it connects us to today, and what we see going on in the world today," says H.E.R. 

Ella Jay Basco is only 14 years old but she's trying to have an impact on the world of her future. The Filipino Korean American actress who debuted in Birds of Prey as Cassandra, the orphan waif who will become the future Batgirl, is a singer and songwriter, too.

She wrote the song "Gold " and collaborated with Filipino American rapper Ruby Ibarra, and Ella’s writing partner (and brother) Darryl J. Basco, the song is a love letter to the Asian American community. 

Sometimes I never win
but I was blessed with the Golden skin
Don’t stress about where you’ve been
Just look inside, find what’s within
Girl you know you’re beautiful
Stand tall, unmovable
It’s undisputable
You a Boss Bitch as usual, You a Boss Bitch as usual!

“GOLD ft. @rubyibarra is out now!!! Mainly streaming on Spotify, Apple, and BandCamp so go check it out!!! We wanted to make a song that speaks out to brown pride and the color of our beautiful golden skin,” Ella Jay Basco wrote on Instagram. 

“(The song) is about me taking ownership and power of my GOLD/Brown skin. Not everyone fits in the typical boxes. I asked Ruby Ibarra to guest on it because she is a Dope Filipino rapper,” she explains.

Jessica Sanchez, the 25-year-old singer, who performed on American Idol’s 11th season, wrote and composed “Us,” a song that she hopes can unite people together against the rash of violence against Asian Americans.

The hate directed at AAPI felt compelled to do something the best way she knew how.

"I'm all about spreading positivity," she told the San DIego Union Tribune. "but I'm a very quiet person at the same time, I'm not very good at talking. The way that I express myself is through my music."

Her lyrics go:

Done, I’m trying to numb the pain
That only we could ever change
Still we’re running everyday
I wanna know why we’re afraid
Can we believe again
If it was just for a day
Would we still feel the same
Can we believe in Justice today
Would we still be the same if...
All of us could see that
No one’s to blame
All of us realize
Our heart beat the same...

“It’s super important to remind each other that, like, we have to find a solution and the solution is to bring each other together, and to unite and to support each other no matter what color, what age, what gender,” Sanchez said. We all have to come together and love each other and support one another, especially when people are being pushed down.”

She hopes her fans will enjoy the song when it is released on May 7. In the meantime, she told the Union-Tribune, “I’m super happy that my first song I’m able to release is something bigger than who I am.”

H.E.R., Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak surprise at the Grammy Awards

H.E.R. won two Grammy Awards Sunday night.

H.E.R., Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak represented the AAPI communities at the Grammy Awards Sunday night.

The Filipino American singer and songwriter H.E.R., aka Gabriella Wilson, took home two Grammy's for:

• Song of the year: "I Can't Breathe," which was written in response to the death of George Floyd. She accepted the award with her co-writer Tiara Thomas.

• R&B Song of year: "Better Than I Imagined" which she recorded with Robert Glasper, Meshell Ndegeocello & Gabriella Wilson, songwriters (Robert Glasper feat. H.E.R. & Meshell Ndegeocello).

Wilson used the moment at the podium to advocate for social justice by referring to the Floyd's death that sparked a summer of protests.

"I didn't imagine that my fear and my pain would turn into impact and possibly turn into change."

"That's what this is about. That's why I write music, that's why I do this," she continued. "I thank God for the gift of a voice... and using me as a vessel to create change."

"We are the change we wish to see and that fight that we had in us in summer 2020, keep that same energy." 

Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars previewed their new collaboration at the Grammy Awards.

Filipino American Mars and Korean American Paak were a surprise performance. They were not on the original lineup but they lobbied to be included and they didn't disappoint in their ode to the 1970s R&B. The duo debuted their new collaboration, "Leave The Door Open" for their upcoming album "An Evening With Silk Sonic"

The duo returned later during the Memoriam segment as they paid tribute to the legendary Little Richard. Mars sang the lrock'n roll icon's hits "Good Golly Miss Molly" and "Long Tall Sally." Paak performed drums for the number.

What's the Grammy's without BTS? Towards the end of awards show, the wildly popular Korean k-pop group performed their hit "Dynamite" and the Army went wild.

Sugar Pie DSanto receives new honor for her legendary career as a songwriter and singer

UPDATE: Sugar Pie DeSanto passed away in her sleep on Dec. 20, 2024 at the age of 89.

Sugar Pie DeSanto, the female James Brown, just released a new album, "Sugar's Suite 7" at the age of 85 and on Dec. 10, she received the prestigious Arhoolie Award for 2020.  

RELATED: Meet legend Sugar Pie DeSanto

Named after her grandmother, she was born Umpeylia Marsema Balinton in Brooklyn, NY, her father was Filipino American and her mother was African American. 

Sugar Pie’s DeSanto's latest album, Sugar’s Suite, can be
 obtained directly fromher producer’s label, Jasman Records. 

She was dubbed Little Miss Sugar Pie by the legendary Johnny Otis. He signed her to her first professional contract in 1954, after which she had her first hit record in 1959.

“While it is important to us that we do represent the Bay Area at large, we are especially proud to honor Oakland’s Sugar Pie DeSanto, who fits squarely into the richness of the East Bay, where Arhoolie is,” Arhoolie Foundation Executive Director Chris Machado told OaklandSide.org.

When Arhoolie Foundation board member Larry Batiste gave DeSanto, an Oakland resident, the news of the hefty award, DeSanto was characteristically nonplussed. “See, I didn’t come here yesterday. I’ve been acknowledged, voted on, rooted for, and talked about all my life. Been there, done that. So I didn’t fall out with excitement. But it’s a nice thing. I’m enthused and feel lucky to be chosen.”

“I’m not as strong as I think I am. I’m not worried about it, though,” said DeSanto. “I’m just doin’ what God says for me to do. I’m still tryin’ to push but it’s hard. I ain’t fallin’ apart, but I’m damn near fallin’! I do want people to know that I always gave it all I had.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.

Jo Koy nominated for a People's Choice Award

It has been quite a year for comedian Jo Koy. 

The Filipino American funny man's world tour "Just Kidding" has exceeded expectations. He regularly plays to sold out arenas. 

He is the first Filipino American to get a cover for Variety, the show business trade magazine. 

"I got the cover of Variety magazine, October 2020! 30 years in the game and this still feels so surreal.. Mike Miller Photo killed it with this shot," Koy posted on his social media accounts.

In addition, Jo Koy's Netflix special "In His Elements" has been nominated for the People's Choice Award as the Comedy Show of 2020. The special was filmed in Manila during which he showcased his Filipino heritage and introduced up-and-coming Filipino American comedians.

Vote for Koy here for the People's Choice Award. Fans have until Oct. 23 to vote.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Earlier versions of this post misstated the voting deadline.

This year, Koy also worked out a deal with Amblin.  Easter Sunday, a movie based on his own experiences with the holiday. Koy says he’s excited to bring the story to the big screen and adds the cast is going to be remarkably diverse. “It’s going to be filled with Latinos, white people, Black people, Filipinos. It’s going to look like my family.”

Jo Koy's funny upbringing as a Filipino American inspires a movie

Comedian Jo Koy played to a sold-out audience at San Francisco's 18,000-seat Chase Center and held them in the palm of his hand throughout his entire set.

During his monologue, he often told stories about growing up in Seattle by a strict single  Filipina mother. The audience, the majority of which were Filipino Americans, guffawed as they recognized their own relatives.

Being raised by a Filipino mother is a major part of his routine. "I really bonded with my mom," says Koy. "That's why I identify with being Asian, with being Filipino. Those stories are true. It’s from my heart. It’s what I lived growing up so that’s all I can talk about."

Now his Filipino American family -- at least the comedic version of his family -- will be the subject of an upcoming movie titled Easter Sunday, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

As the title suggests, the Amblin Partners project centers around a family gathering to celebrate Easter Sunday.

“This is a dream come true for me to work with such a legendary production company like Amblin who have produced some of my all-time favorite movies from Jurassic Park to 1917. I’m so honored to be a part of the Amblin family, and to have them help bring my personal stories to the big screen,” Koy said Tuesday in a statement.

Besides being the subjects of the movie, Asian Americans will be behind the camera as well.  Rick and Morty writer Jessica Gao and Silicon Valley star Jimmy O. Yang are among the executive producers. Dan Lin's Rideback will. be partnering with Amblin for the comedy. Comedian and writer Ken Cheng (Wilfred) will write the screenplay.  

Easter Sunday will be released domestically by Universal Pictures.

Koy, who says he has been doing standup comedy for over 30 years, was named the “Stand-Up Comedian of the Year” at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal in 2018. His Netflix special "Live From Seattle" albun reached No. 1 on the 2019 Billboard comedy album chart.

“Jo is one of the most popular comics working today and I’m delighted to be starting this journey with him. Jo’s comedy is at once unique to his life and his experiences, and at the same time relatable and familiar to us all," added Holly Bario, Amblin Partners’ president of production. "With every performance he shares his comedy, his heart and his family with us. His poor family ... who will now be lovingly made fun of in a whole new medium. To them, I apologize.”

Bruno Mars and Disney to team up for film project

A 2017 Instagram post by Bruno Mars shows the singer with friends.

ASAM NEWS

The Mouse, the music, and the Mars: Disney and the Filipino American Grammy winner. wjho was born and raised in Hawaii, are teaming up to produce a music-centered film, ENews announced last week.

Bruno Mars took to Twitter to notify fans, playing a piano cover of “When You Wish Upon a Star” from Disney’s Pinocchio.

Although details about the plot and release date are currently unknown, Mars will perform and produce in the “music-themed theatrical narrative,” according to Deadline. It will feature original songs by Mars.

The 34-year old singe is an 11-time Grammy Award winner with 27 nominations under his belt. The 34-year-old was the best-selling artist in 2012 and has sold over 200 million singles worldwide as of 2018.

Mars' last album, 2016's 24K Magic, swept the 60th Grammy Awards in 2018, with six categories, including: Album Of The Year; Record Of The Year, f lead single; and Song Of The Year, for album single "That's What I Like."

This will not be the first time Mars has acted. He played a small role as Little Elvis in the 1992 film Honeymoon in Vegas, and he provided the voice in Disney’s Rio 2 in 2014. However, this new project will mark Mars’ “first major film role,” according to Grammy.com.

Views From the Edge contributed to this report.

H.E.R. a smash hit at the Grammy's

SCREEN CAPTURE

H.E.R.'s dress  for the Grammy's was designed by DSquared2.

She may not have taken home any Grammys this year, but H.E.R.'s performance of her new song "Sometimes" demonstrated that the future is bright for the R&B singer in the music industry.

H.E.R. , aka Gabrielle Wilson, who won two Grammys at the 2019 ceremony and was nominated for three of the Big 4 categories at the 2020 awards show – hit the stage Sunday (Jan. 26) for a slow-building performance of her song "Sometimes."

(H.E.R. is an acronym for Having Everything Revealed.)

Starting out on the piano, H.E.R. was backed by a string section and a chorus of singers as she worked the song up to a soulful climax – at which point she stood up, casually walked over to a guitar and effortlessly tossed off a searing Prince-like solo without breaking a sweat.

She also showed that she's no slouch in the fashion realm. For the Grammy's, she shed her signature dark glasses and wore a more transparent eyewear, swept her hair above her head so we got a good look at the singer/musician's natural beauty.

SCREEN CAPTURE

H.E.R. sang her new song "Sometimes" at the Grammys.

In her second Grammy's show, the Filipina American artist got into the red carpet glamor by showing off her a kimono-inspired outfit. H.E.R. rocked a multi-colored kimono dress designed by DSquared, plus jewelry by Sara Weinstock, EFFY Jewelry and Rachel Katz.

In her red carpet interview with the Recording Academy, she said: "I just really love kimonos right now, so DSquared hooked it up and they made a little kimono vibe."

"It's crazy to think that I've (accomplished all of this) in just two years and that my first nomination became a win," she told Billboard. 

And all this from a recording artist who has yet to release a debut album -- although she promises us it's coming soon this year.

"You question the path that you're on sometimes and I have no right to do that now! I know I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. And there's no greater feeling than manifesting what is meant for you," she said.

Lea Salonga says, 'I was refused a theatre role for being Asian'

In her own quiet way, Lea Salonga, has been an inspiration to a younger generation but has never received the credit  for the groundbreaking role she has had in show business.


Not enough credit has been given the Filipina singer for breaking barriers in showbiz: the pressures of "representing" when she was given the lead role in as an Asian depicting an Asian in Miss Saigon; or when she was cast to play a European in Les Miserable musical.

We look at her now at age 48 she is no longer offered ingenue roles. Today's young audience forget that 30 years ago, at 17-years old, she opened the doors for several other Asian artists in the much-maligned Miss Saigon musical. The political correctness surrounding the dated musical aside, her Tony-award winning performance opened the eyes of Broadway that Asians and Asian Americans are as talented as any other ethnic group and there is no excuse for yellow-facing, when white actors play Asian characters.

In the interview Salonga talks about the rude awakening she experienced when she was told that she was denied a role because she was Asian.

Even with a Tony for Miss Saigon, jobs were hard to come by. Besides Miss Saigon, there were too few roles for Asians on Broadway outside of Flower Drum Song, Pacific Overtures and The King and I. 

Salonga's performance as the singing voice of Jasmine in the animated version of Aladdin in 1992 made her familiar with a younger generation. "A Whole New World," is the song most associated with her and has become a staple in her repertoire.

Her pitch-perfect voice was so light and airy, Disney chose her to sing to role of another one their "Princesses," that of Mulan, the animated story based on a Chinese legend of a girl who disguised herself as a boy to became a famous warrior. The highlight song, "Reflection," is closer to Salonga, she says. It's about identity and finding one's self.

“Because these films are easy to access there are many generations of children that have seen both movies and I got to play two princesses that were people of color. Being a person of color and giving voice to these two characters of color, it was really quite something," she said earlier this year in an interview with a British publication. "I didn’t realize the impact at the time, for me this was the job, sitting here in my kitchen, now, and looking back on it, what those characters represented and what they mean in the world today, they are princesses, people of color, and they have a lot of young women look to them, heroes, strong and somewhat influential in their own way."

Then Cameron MacIntosh, the Miss Saigon producer, asked her to sing the role of Eponine, the waif in Les Miserable musical. It was a daring decision to cast an Asian ro play the French waif. "They were waiting for me to mess up," she said. "That's why I made sure to nail that song every night."

"When I'm the first Asian person to do a particular role, as with Eponine, that feels really important. The stakes were higher in 'Les Misérables' than 'Miss Saigon,' because I was a young Asian person playing an Asian role," she told the Arizona Republic last year on her world tour celebrating her 40th year in show biz. "You look at me, and I'm exactly what I'm supposed to be for 'Miss Saigon.' For 'Les Misérables,' this is not a traditionally Asian part. This is not a role you would normally give to someone who looks like me."
I still get goosebumps  and my eyes start to water with the emotion she conjures up in the listener as  she sing's  "On My Own" as Eponine in Les Misarable.

That experiment in cross-racial casting (specifically for Asians) in 2000 led to more roles for Salonga, in Allegiance and Once on This Island but despite her popularity on Broadway, movie roles or TV roles failed to knocking on her door. As her long career reaches a point where she can look back with pride, perhaps just as important to her is that other performers, young women who grew up idolizing Salonga, were able find more roles open to them. Ruthie Ann Miles,  Phillipa Soo (Hamilton), Vanessa Hudgens and Eva Noblezada (Yellow Rose, Hadestown) all are indebted in some way to Salonga's groundbreaking work.

Salonga had a role in the independent film, Yellow Rose, which starred Noblezada as an undocumented Filipino American immigrant who wants to become a country singer.

"It seems to be our time. It's like our Black Panther moment," she mused in an ET interview. "When film studios are recognizing that stories from people of color actually do well at the box office because they are going to be people of color who are going to want to see themselves represented onscreen and are going to want to hear stories from people just like them. It's something that makes a lot of sense. That our voices are not being silenced and that we're actually getting heard and getting seen."

Although she appeared in several Philippine-made movies, Yellow Rose was her first American film. 

"It's great for another generation of young Asian Americans to see faces that look like theirs on screen and hopefully give them this inspirational push to tell more stories later on. It's exciting and it's nice to be able to witness this as it's happening and to be in the thick of it as it's happening," she continued.

Jon M. Chu signs on to direct film about Journey singer Arnel Pineda

SCREEN CAPTURE / YOUTUBE

Filipino singer Arnel Pineda, center, with the group Journey.

JOURNEY's Arnel Pineda's incredible life story -- from being homeless in Manila's, getting discovered on Youtube to becoming lead singer for one of the world's top musical groups -- has all the ingredients of a good movie. That's what Warner Bros. and Jon M. Chu think, too.

Chu, the director of Crazy Rich Asians, has agreed to direct a movie of the Filipino singer's remarkable rags-to-riches story,

"The success of Crazy Rich Asians has blown my mind and set me on a path to champion more unique inspirational stories that represent new perspectives from all around the world,” Chu said in a statement to Deadline. 

“This story in particular has been on my mind since I first read about it years ago. A true fairy tale and triumph of the human spirit. An unlikely hero, an undeniable talent, the power of music and a worldwide stage (literally) has all the ingredients I love about movies.”

As the well-known story goes, Neal Schon, co-founder of Journey, who was looking for a singer to replace original singer Steve Perry, "discovered" Pineda on Youtube. Pineda was able to sound exactly like Perry, down to the soaring vocals Perry was known for in the group's hits, "Don't Stop Believing," "Faithfully" and "Lights." Schon flew to Manila to meet Pineda and brought the Filipino singer to San Francisco where the band was based. Pineda's addition gave the band new life to their current popularity.

Warner Bros, which also was behind Crazy Rich Asians, is negotiating to license the original Journey songs. The Hollywood studio has acquired the rights to the 2012 film Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey, which documented Pineda’s rise.

The studio is searching for a screenplay writer for the proposed film. It will be a few years before the movie hits the theaters since Chu is already committed for a number of films, including Lin Manuel Miranda's Broadway musical In the Heights and China Rich Girlfriend, the sequel to Crazy Rich Asians.

"I have been a fan of Journey’s music since I can remember," said Chu, who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area listening to Journey songs. "I am excited to be bringing the audience along on this incredible story with my partners at Warner Bros who have been a leading champion of diverse voices in front and behind the camera.”

CORRECTION: The spelling of "Jon M. Chu" has been corrected.

________________________________________________________________________________

TGIF Feature: Darren Criss &Lea Michele cover 'Shallow' Oh, my!

PINTEREST

Darren Criss and Lea Michele debuted their version of 'Shallow.'

THERE'S A MOMENT - akin to Rocky racing up the stairs and raising his hands over his head - in the latest incarnation of A Star Is Born when Ally (Lady Gaga), comes up on stage and starts to belt out "Shallow," when you feel like cheering and crying at the same time.

Darren Criss was on stage in his hometown San Francisco with his concert tour partner Lea Michele (both veterans of Glee) when the two did a cover of song "Shallow," a song certain to be nominated for an Oscar. 

Filipino American actor Criss had just won his Emmy when he went on tour with Michele and last week, they played in San Francisco, where Criss grew up.

Criss admits he's a huge fan of the movie and its stars. The two Glee stars did their version of the song and. Criss accompanied with nothing more than an acoustic guitar - damn - if they didn't kill it!

Enjoy.

______________________________________________________________________________

Hasan Minhaj kicks off his show with a bang

SCREEN CAPTURE / YOUTUBE

Hasan Minhaj tackles affirmative action and conservative Asian Americans in the premiered of his Netflix show

By Louis Chan,
ASAM NEWS

HASAN MINHAJ'S NEW SHOW on Netflix debuted Sunday, and if the premier episode is an indication, the former correspondent for The Daily Showwon’t hesitate to speak from his perspective as an Asian American and Muslim.
“Affirmative action as we know it, is about to die, and guess what Asian Americans, we are the ones who can kill it,” Minhaj says in the premiere episode of Patriot Act speaking about the lawsuit alleging discrimination against Asian Americans by Harvard.

“I find it hilarious that this is the hill were willing to die on,” Minhaj said continuing to speak to Asian Americans.

Born in Davis, California, Minhaj comes from a Muslim family. His parents were born in India.

With a graphic behind him, he points out Asian Americans are 5.8 percent of the population, but 22 percent of Harvard admits.

“In classic Asian-parent fashion, we’re like 22 percent, why not 100 percent?”

He goes on to address Yukong Zhao, the head of Asian Americans Coalition for Education, who took on Harvard after his two kids were rejected by the Ivy Leagues. Minhaj called Zhao the “Chinese Joe Jackson.”

Minhaj then talked about Ajay Kothari, who’s challenged affirmative action from his perch as a leader in the American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin. Minhaj labeled Kothari an “Indian uncle” who confused the movie Akeelah and the Bee with “blackwashing” an Indian story.

He painted Edward Blum, who filed the lawsuit against Harvard, as a White guy who failed in his effort to challenge affirmative action in Abigail Fisher v University of Texas. Fisher, Minhaj said, was a White student with bad grades.

You can watch the episode below:

Awkwafina pays tribute to Lucy Liu on SNL

By Louis Chan
ASAM NEWS

AWKWAFINA brought her own feel to Saturday Night Live last night (Oct. 6).
Her opening monologue was rather brief, but she did go out of her way to pay tribute to Lucy Liu, the only other Asian American woman to ever host SNL.

The rapper turned actress called Lucy Liu her idol and said she waited outside 30 Rock in 2000 when Liu hosted the program.

As a child, she could not get into the show, but Awkwafina said it was important to her to be nearby.

Liu “totally changed what was possible for an Asian American woman,” said Awkwafina.

“I wasn’t able to make it in back then, but 18 years later, I’m hosting the show,” she said to applause.

Earlier she mentioned she grew up in Queens.

“People assume my dad has an accent, and he does…He has an accent like Donald Trump.”

Later she participated in a rather funny dance off, making her moves to the tunes of theme songs from game shows.

That was followed by her role as a hairstylist for Cleopatra.

Awkwafina, whose real name is Nora Lum, is a rising star to watch.

2018 saw her featured in two high profile films- Crazy Rich Asians and Oceans 8.

Now she can add Saturday Night Live to her credits. As she said in her monologue,“I’m not a Crazy Rich Asian, I’m more like a Rebuilding My Credit Asian”

_________________________________________________________________________________

Ruby Ibarra's newest video is the anthem we all need.

RAP ARTIST RUBY IBARRA released a new video March 8 of her 2017 rap "Us" just in time for International Women's Day.

Fresh from her national debut in a Mastercard commercial, San Francisco Bay Area rapper Ibarra mixed Englsih and Tagalog lyrics with contrasting images of the Bay Area and traditional dressed women. The message is strong and empowering.

Music site Thizzler had this to say:

@RubyIbarra links up with @RockyRivera, #Klassy & @FaithSantilla to drop “Us”. These lady MC’s take the mic to display their Filipino pride & spit venomous bars in Tagalog. The video has them rapping in front of traditional dancers from their culture mixed in with the Bay Area culture these ladies picked up while growing up in the region. Check this dope visual in the player up top.

Alamin ang young ugat (Know your roots)! Strong emotions welling inside of me! Great pride rising inside of me. Hope bursting out of me! Images of my immigrant my wife, daughters, mother, sister rush by in a montage ....

The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Just hours after the video was released, Ibarra tweeted:

In this Trumpian age when white supremacists gain courage from the White House, Nazis marching in our streets and the KKK waving the Confederate flag, when Education Secretary Betsy DeVos trying to downgrade the public school system, weakening of the Affordable Care Act, deying climate change and the EPA, apparent kowtowing to Russian interests, Ibarra's forceful lyrics gain more meaning. 

In case you're so caught up in the music, the beat and the images and you don't get the message, towards the end there -- in English -- is the message for all of us!

Here are the lyrics to what could become the new anthem for modern Filipina/Americans (Click on the tagalog lyrics to get a translation.):

[Hook: Klassy]
Island woman rise, walang makakatigil
Brown, brown woman, rise, alamin ang yung ugat
They got nothin’ on us (aye!)
Nothin’ on us (aye!)
Nothin’ on us (aye!)
Nothin’ on us
Island woman rise, walang makakatigil
Brown, brown woman, rise, alamin ang yung ugat
They got nothin’ on us (aye!)
Nothin’ on us (aye!)
Nothin’ on us (aye!)
Isang bagsak!

[Verse 1: Ruby Ibarra]
Yo fuck a story arc if it don’t involve no matriarchs
Our mothers work from the ground up, they craftin' air like ATR
With the butterfly sleeves naka Filipiniana
Pag nagsalita mga banat ay bala
‘Wag magtaka kung ako ay makata
Bulok na sistema, korakot sa pera, bagsak!
But we puttin’ our heart into darkness
They puttin’ these pigs into office
Oh you thinkin’ you schoolin’?
But you hella lost ‘cuz you Betsy Devos while I taught this
But Look at my ate she movin so cold
Can’t hold a candle to her when she glow
Flick of the wrist with the ilaw she hold
Pandanggo sa Ilaw, she drippin’ in gold

[Verse 2: Rocky Rivera]
We pullin' up in a Jeepney
All of my soldiers greet me
Hand me bandanas and pull back my hammer
It’s warfare, when you see me
Skin you alive for my country, I live and die for my country
I kill a pig in a white hooded suit on the low....for my country
They got evil plans in the devil’s hands, but I don't pray cuz I organize
They got new ways to impose strength
But I teach mine how to mobilize
We don’t fight for the money, for the greedy, for the white man
All we want is our freedom
And the right to live on on our motherland

[Hook: Klassy]
Island woman rise, walang makakatigil
Brown, brown woman, rise, alamin ang yung ugat
They got nothin’ on us (aye!)
Nothin’ on us (aye!)
Nothin’ on us (aye!)
Nothin’ on us
Island woman rise, walang makakatigil
Brown, brown woman, rise, alamin ang yung ugat
They got nothin’ on us (aye!)
Nothin’ on us (aye!)
Nothin’ on us (aye!)
Isang bagsak!

(Verse 3: Klassy]
Goddess of guerrilla warfare in every lifetime
We don’t take no shit except an oppressor’s lifeline
If you step out of your line, I will protect what’s mine
Kahit merong rosaryo, sinong magliligtas sa’yo?
Puro dugo, pugot ulo, mula sa dagat hanggang mundo
Reclaiming what ours, the high and the low
These women are Gods, you already know
Roots deeper than water that run in our village
The river runs red, you’ll be dead in a minute
Like Nieves Fernandez, have you beheaded
Fuck with my tribe, quickly regret it

[Verse 4: Ruby Ibarra]
Abaniko sa kamay at isang mikropono sabay
At ang tapang ko gaya ng inay, at halimaw na ang sumasabay
Mga bara nyo lahat sablay, mga rappers na puro bangkay
Tinamaan ko lahat, patay, kaya, walang magiingay
I got that, Filipino phenotype: kayumanggi, mestizo-white
But give me that moreno like that Rufio or Keno type
My lolas they be speaking like, those balisongs or bolo knife
I breathe the ether need no hype
Two tongues that’s sharper with a mic
Anino in my history like from a land where greed is weaved in tight
They thieve until one piso might just turn to C-Notes, see no light
Hacienda like Aquino, right? Rodrigo vigilante type--
They kill my titos left and right, when smoke and mirrors fill the night

[Spoken Word: Faith Santilla]
So let it be known, if you don’t already
Pinays have always been part, and parcel, if not, imperative and critical to the struggle
Filipinas are no strangers to wielding our own power
Of all the privileges that exist in this world, none of which you may be a benefactor of
There is at least one you bear
And that is the privilege of having been born a Filipina
Your DNA contains building blocks made from the mud of over 500 years of resistance and survival
And when you are ready, sis, we’ll be right here

[Hook: Klassy]
Island woman rise, walang makakatigil
Brown, brown woman, rise, alamin ang yung ugat
They got nothin’ on us (aye!)
Nothin’ on us (aye!)
Nothin’ on us (aye!)
Nothin’ on us
Island woman rise, walang makakatigil
Brown, brown woman, rise, alamin ang yung ugat
They got nothin’ on us (aye!)
Nothin’ on us (aye!)
Nothin’ on us (aye!)
Isang bagsak!

Ruby Ibarra’s latest album, “Circa91,” is out now via Beatrock Music. Listen to the album below, and visit her website to learn more. ______________________________________________________________