Module 3: New Forms of Art

Module Overview

Lessons in this unit came about because people have access to the Internet.
Social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube flourished and made way for new
forms of art. These new forms are thriving in the Philippines and have the possibility to
stay longer. This module contains the origins of FlipTop and stand-up comedy and their
influences to the Filipinos.

Motivation Questions

Who is your favorite rapper? How about your favorite comedian/comedienne? Have you
experienced performing rap/hiphop music?

Module Pretest

Instructions: Read the statements below. Match the given statements to the ones inside
the box by writing the answer on the space provided before each number.

_______1. This is a brand name for a rap battle.

_______2. He/she is the founder of FlipTop

________3. This is a show or performance in which a comedian performs original

jokes on stage in front of a live audience to make them laugh.
_______4. This is a complete stand-up routine, from start to finish. It is structured with a
beginning, middle, and end.

_______5. This is where the comedian starts with a great joke to get the audience
laughing from the first line.

_______6. These are short conversational bridges that connect one joke to the next.

_______7. This is what comedians call jokes.

_______8. The final joke in the show.

_______9. He is an American stand-up comedian who is famous for his Filipino content
comedy.

_______10. This is where you use your personal experience and write what you know.

Lesson 3.1: FlipTop

Lesson Summary
Created in 2010, FlipTop is one of the most popular cultures in the Philippines. It is where
two rappers take turns in showcasing rhymes and rap strategies to outclass each other. Since
then, and across the past decade, it has amassed more than 1.5 million views on YouTube alone,
a testament to the popularity of the platform for aspiring rappers. Fliptop, also known as rap
battle, is a big hit for us Filipinos.

Learning Outcomes
In this lesson, you are expected to:

1. Learn the origin of Fliptop;

2. Define FlipTop and how it uses different rhetoric strategies to address some issues; and
3. Clear any misconceptions about Fliptop in Pop Culture
Motivation Questions
What is FlipTop? Who do you think is the founder of FlipTop? Can you give me the names of some
famous rapper you know?

Reading

At this point, you will read a blog by Karina Isabel M. Yap that narrates an experience of a person
who witnessed a Fliptop Battle event live. This topic is very familiar to me because I have been a
follower (from the very first upload of FlipTop back in 2010 up to this day) of FlipTop. We will try
to steer away from the idea that FlipTop is just two people talking foul to each other. Rather, we
will assign FlipTop as an art performance that attracts a lot of criticisms because of its dominant
grip on modern day hip hop movement and music scene.

The Modern Day ‘Balagtasan’

by Karina Isabel M. Yap

A few years back, fliptop rap battles gained recognition in the Philippines quickly after several
videos of such went viral on YouTube. Millions of Filipinos trouped to the popular video sharing
website to watch two men test each other’s wit with rhythmic and clever lines delivered in an
impressive tongue-twisting manner. The men also test each other’s tolerance for insults.

Tongue twisters and rhymes have a special place in the childhood of every Filipino. However, most
are taught in English like “Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers.” One could argue that
fliptop battles are, in essence, a reclamation of childhood and its transliteration to the native
tongue.

Anygma, one of the more famous faces in the fliptop scene, attributed the success of fliptop rap
battles to the typical experience of Filipino male telling each other all types of bull in the parking lot
“from grade school to high school.” Somehow, remnants of afternoons spent hanging out with my
classmates, in grade school and high school, outside our school flashed in my mind. The memories
are hazy, but it made me smile thinking of the crap we told each other.

Fliptop rap battles do not feature your usual nursery rhymes. It’s common for colorful language to
find its way in the prose of participants. Derogatory remarks occasionally pepper their prose. The
constraints of rhythmic flow free participants from the burden of being politically correct. Words
you wouldn’t dare say in front of your mother are spitted out in fliptop rap battles, without hesitation
and without a blink of an eye from the participants.
Ejo vs W-Beat

For this article, I watched the fliptop rap battle between Ejo and W-Beat, for the First Filipino Rap
Battle League, uploaded on YouTube a few weeks ago. It’s everything a typical fliptop battle should
be. Perhaps, the tamest line from the battle came from Ejo: “Sana marami kang ininom na tubig
bago makipagbuno sa tulad ko. Sa sobrang init ng aking linya baka matuyo ang utak mo.” There’s
a lot of reference to popular culture. Spongebob was not spared. Nothing seems sacred. Plants vs
Zombies was mentioned by Ejo, saying W-Beat was spared by zombies hungry for brains, simply
because he has none.

Allegation that one of the participants was brainless had each man showcase his wit in a fliptop
rap battle. Participants Ejo and W-Beat intertwined their prose with trite social commentaries and
observation of the locals.

Poverty and prison were mentioned, just in passing, but it showed awareness of socioeconomic
issues that dogs the youth engaged in fliptop rap battle. These two issues, afflicting American youth
in depressed communities, are popular subjects of rap, even among rappers that broke into
mainstream media. One can say fliptop rap battles serve as a medium through which Filipino youths
decry their condition.

“Nang dahil sa maling paniniwala ng kabataan, tuluyan nilang nawasak ang ating kinabukasan.
Nang dahil sa kahinaan tulad ng kayabangan,” rapped W-Beat, who is older than Ejo.

Mainstream acceptance

Fliptop rap battles had gained a wider mainstream acceptance since 2010. A comedy show had a
segment resembling such, replacing the rap with “pickup lines.” In YouTube, a casual search will
reveal tons of videos of Filipino youngsters engaged in fliptop battles. It cuts through social classes
and ages.

In the US, rap is so developed that occasionally, you read critics raving on the literary significance
of the genre. Jay-Z and Lupe Fiasco are both noted for their literary techniques, similes and
metaphors of life in America. In the Philippines, the same level of development could be attained.
It’s not too far-fetched. We already have balagtasan to build on. Fliptop rap battles, especially one
in Filipino, resemble a more musically updated version of the form. Indeed, one can claim fliptop
rap battles are balagtasan on steroids.

Participants in fliptop rap battles display an awareness of Filipino popular culture in their prose.
Though interjected with colorful language, rappers often have a clear grasp of the conversational,
if not formal, form of the Filipino language. It’s a healthy development in a country where local
music is fast vanquished by imported tunes.

It’s easy to dismiss fliptop rap battles as a fad that will soon fade. But one must remember that
Shakespeare broke new ground in English literature by weaving the language of the common with
the formal language of the aristocracy within the rigors of poetry. The same case can be made in
favor of fliptop rap battles. It affords innovation—which leads to development—in the Filipino
language through the experimentation and exploration of rappers. This isn’t “jejenese” fueled by
technology. In fliptop rap battles, technology merely enables the genre to find an audience, and
attain a critical mass to sustain development of the form.

Discussion
FlipTop has had some changes since its launch in 2010 by Alarci Yuson. It started in
Makati and has become national with various events and divisions in other parts of the
Philippines. Aside from that, FlipTop has produced articles from reputable publishers, and made
it to online radio shows. It also has graced online platforms creating events monthly among
others (Solitario, 2019).

Although we hear vulgarity and below the belt remarks, we should also credit the craft and
creativity of the wordsmiths in each presentation. From the very beginning, FlipTop used to be
somewhat like ‘asarang kalye’ with the emcees throwing jokes and spoofs against each other.
After a couple of years however, it evolved into something franker, and more colorful in the display
of different styles which include, multis (multiple meaning), wordplay, rhyme schemes, and bars.
As of this writing, Yuson declared that FlipTop is the most viewed rap battle league in the world.
 Figure 10. Fliptop Battle. (Image retrieved from http://www.whatshappening.com.ph/post/the-
fliptop-festival-announces-second-wave-lineup-plus-more-surprises.)

Other than the usual themes of personal allegations, political issues also are presented in
some battles like Shernan vs. BLKD (a known political activist), and there are instances that
emcees would exclaim their criticism against the government subliminally or vulgar. There was
even that point when Kahir (another activist emcee) name-dropped a party-list name, which
according to him was just paid by the government. With all this in mind, we can say that because
there is too much freedom in their platform, they can also use this as a vehicle of political satires
and remarks.

A plethora of topics such as addressing depression, women empowerment, drug use,

toxicity in social media, respecting indigenous tribes and LGBT rights are also well presented in
some battles. It is to the extent that Sinio Cagasan popularized the term “Edi Wow!” and has
become a part of daily informal conversations. Approaching the world of FlipTop can be harder
for those who do not listen further. You see, when you cover your ears you can hear your heartbeat
and that is the same with FlipTop. It is a colorful platform of wits and ingenuity which can be
appreciated with full attention to detail. Aside from the insults and foul remarks is the lesson that
we can also defend ourselves without violence but with a carefully formulated rebuttal. I can also
say to you that viewers can grow smarter because FlipTop enhances a person’s understanding
of shades of meaning and references.

Read the definition of terms below written by Heaven Bonifacio.

How Does a FlipTop Battle Works?

The contest consists of three rounds with a time limit for each contender set by the referee.
Overtime is applied if the battle is a draw. The first turn is determined by a toss coin.

•Written or non-written lines are allowed. Both sides can also bring props for the event.
Filipino language is the primary medium although other languages or dialects can be used.

•The winner is determined by the decision of the judges. The criteria for judging are the
usage of words, audience impact, delivery, and rapping style.

•Aside from battle rap, the league has also had a beatbox battle competition, concerts, and
seminars about hip hop culture commonly named as Mindfields.

Definition of Terms

• Emcee : Noun. a term to describe a rapper who acts as a crowd pleaser at live
events.
• Antic: "Noun." A joke or prank done during a battle that has absolutely nothing to do
with rhyming or the battleits self, just used to gain attention or cause controversy.

• Bar: "Noun." In the context of rap, which may or may not be accompanied by music,
loosely analogous to a poetic stanza or strophe (i.e. a grouped set of lines of
determinable measure). Bars often are spoken of symbolically as a sort of wealth or
stock possessed of oneself or another rapper.
• Choke: "Verb." Run out of rapped lines prematurely either by forgetting prepared
bars or failing to freestyle fluidly; arguably the single most incriminating misstep in
rap delivery. Not to be confused with stumbling.
• Multisyllable rhyme (Short form: multi): "Noun." Grouped phrases in which more
than one syllable rhymes. e.g. I've got a bad taste / It gives me mad haste.
• Punchline: ''Noun.'' A line delivered as the climax to a joke or series of setup bars.
• Rebuttal: ''Noun.'' Bars delivered to counter an opponent's comment earlier in the
same battle. Given the inability to foresee such comments, rebuttals are often
delivered freestyle.
• Setup: ''Noun.'' A series of bars executed as a lead-in to a verbal payoff, or punchline.
• Wordplay. ''Noun.'' The witty exploitation of the meaning, ambiguities, sound,
composition, rhyme pattern, and layered subtext of words and phrases.

Example : Natuto ka lang mag-freestyle, akala mo ikaw na si Super-Natural.

E 'yung free-style mo aral, sa kanya super-natural.

Taz haharap ka sa tulad ko na ang pagiging SUPER, NATURAL.

Pagka-tanggal ko ng kaluluwa mo, yun ang super natural."