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Podcast Episode

The History of Filipino Hip Hop Part 2, The Modern Age

Asian American History 101·Gen and Ted Lai·9 August 2026·21 min

About this episode

Welcome to Season 6, Episode 30! We're here to share the history of Filipino Hip Hop… Part 2. In this episode we're talking about the music from the early 2000s to the mid-2010s, a time that's often called "The Modern Age" of Filipino Hip Hop. Waaaaaayyyyy back in Season 3, Episode 45 we talked about the beginning of Filipino Hip Hop, AKA "The Golden Age". The Golden Age had some moments of social awareness and commentary, but the music was definitely a lot more lighthearted than The Modern Age. This era of music marked a turning point in both Filipino and Filipino American hip hop that was defined by deeper lyrical complexity, sharper political commentary, and the democratization of the art form through independent labels and platforms like YouTube. In this episode we discuss some of the artists in both the Philippines and the U.S. who were important to The Modern Age. Artists like Gloc-9, Aklas, Bambu, MC Geologic of Blue Scholars, and Rocky Rivera. We also share some of the big themes that were topics of songs. For our recurring segment, we share what we've been reading… Feelings Unsent by Oliver Drishila and Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com. Segments 00:25 Intro 02:32 The History of Filipino Hip Hop Part 2, The Modern Age 15:28 What are We Reading? Feelings Unsent and Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng