The aspirational theme of Pinoy rap takes many forms—whether it’s working towards a sustainable career, living the life of luxury, or fighting for a better future as an individual or as a society; any of these, especially within the context of one’s life experiences and goals, are not any less valid than the other.
Mista is the latest rapper from the Morobeats roster to relate his story, specifically how his choices—from pursuing rap as a career to fulfilling his roles to his family—intersect with each other in his latest single, “OBLIGADO” (Required), produced by DJ Medmessiah.
Shot in Morobeats’ usual one-take style, Mista shows a day in the life of a textile worker in Metro Manila. Not only it’s the reality of millions of Filipinos on a day-to-day basis, but he’s also working on his music—although he’s made clear he knows where his priorities lie.
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Mista raps about not having the need anymore to compete with his contemporaries, that the happiness and comfort of his family are better than the gold prize—he’d be happy to settle for silver.
His labelmate, JMara, underscores the thesis of the track, singing in the hook, “Obligado ako/ Ako ay obligado. (It is required of me / I’m required).
How Morobeats Is Putting Pinoy—And Mindanao—Hip Hop On The Map, DIY-Style
In a post last year, Morobeats addressed comments about the style of their music videos, which some describe as “repetitive.” They wrote in Tagalog, “The real reason why our music videos are always shot with one-take [and with the artists walking towards the camera] is because we compare and demonstrate the progress of the career of each our artists, and one-take videos are the most natural [and realistic,] which is what we like to base our videos on since we don’t have cars, women, or other luxury items to brag about even in real life.”
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They continued, “That’s why we make sure that [our music videos] are as close to real life as possible, and so that we can reach those who are just like us and what we want to convey.”
Watch “OBLIGADO” below:
