Hello hello again to our fellow chismis [gossip] diggers. Even Christmas wasn’t saved from not having any Filipino internet tea. This time, it’s between our beloved mhiema Sassa Gurl and Filipino rapper Loonie.
The reason: a line in Loonie’s most recent song “Tugmang Preso” mentioned Sassa Gurl’s name and was interpreted in a lot of ways—even by Sassa Gurl herself. The line went like this, “Nung binan nila ang kantang “Amatz” dahil sa tema, pero “Maria Hiwaga” ni Sassa walang problema.”
Of course, just from this line, many immediately wondered, ‘what’s wrong with Sassa Gurl’s song?’ and ‘there are many songs out there with the same context as Sassa Gurl’s, so why was she called out?’ and more.
Sassa Gurl herself had a message for Loonie after her attention had been called for the song’s lyrics.
Hi Loonie pic.twitter.com/AE1HHCWRoC
— Sassa Gurl #StreamMariaHiwaga (@Itssassagurl) December 22, 2023
In her video statement, she began by saying that she did get Loonie’s frustrations over the song “Amatz” getting censored when rap is a form of art and that all kinds of art is free. She likened Loonie’s frustrations to censorship to the everyday realities of trans people, who are subjected to different kinds of censorships throughout their whole lives—not being allowed to marry is one of them.
What she didn’t get, as Sassa Gurl had said clearly, was why the line and frustration was misdirected to her and her song. “To you, it’s a frustration, to me it’s a victory,” she said. “Na I get to do something for the first time, sa space na sinabi na “that’s not for your, girl.”
Sassa Gurl ended her video by saying that as artists, they should just direct their frustrations towards the system that’s oppressive towards art.
Many people on the internet did agree with Sassa Gurl and applauded her for her choice of words.
PERIODDDD
— AC Soriano (@ItsACsLife) December 22, 2023
Sassa actually defended Loonie’s side and not deflecting to complaints. Daming comments who obviously doesn’t know what the context of the video is all about! It started with understanding the frustrations and airing her own side of the coin. She doesn’t mean any harm but…
— MisterCMT (Scott Drury) (@mistercmt) December 23, 2023
However, not everyone liked how Sassa Gurl addressed the issue. Others implied that she was missing the point of Loonie’s song and that she didn’t have to pull the “gender card.”
As of writing, Loonie has not responded to Sassa Gurl’s message on the issue.
If someone were to ask our opinion on this, we’d say that both sides have made points. First, Sassa Gurl did have the right to speak up, because her name was mentioned right, front and center. She had all the right to ask about why her name and her song was the one chosen, out of the many out there for Loonie to make a statement.
Second, Sassa Gurl didn’t say anything wrong about Loonie’s song or about him in her video. She had only compared his frustrations towards censorship with the everyday realities for people in the LGBTQIA+ community. There were no hard feelings there, only a total understanding or empathy for where Loonie’s sentiments came from.
Third, we do get why people aren’t also sitting well with Sassa Gurl’s statement and words. The rap scene in the Philippines has a profound use of imagery and metaphors—and the general public isn’t so well-versed in those kinds of things, just take a look at our rankings on education.
That’s why people believe that Sassa Gurl didn’t get the point of Loonie’s “Tugmang Preso.” In the line that mentioned Sassa Gurl’s “Maria Hiwaga,” Loonie was questioning why the government at the time banned Shanti Dope’s “Amatz”, which was seen as controversial, especially to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
The song was so controversial that the PDEA had it banned from airing anywhere in the Philippines. Mind you, according to Shanti Dope and his management, the song was far from the “promotion of the use of illegal drugs,” or whatever the government said it was about.
“Amatz” was a song that referred to “getting high” from music and creativity, and NOT marijuana. You can read about that whole statement here.
Now, going back. People think that Sassa Gurl completely missed the point with her asking why her song was singled out from the many others out there all because of Loonie’s lyrics. They said that she was being referenced, and that thing is normal in the hip-hop community.
Fourth, while it is totally valid for people to question how Sassa Gurl responded, it does not make transphobic comments or name-calling right. At all. Yeah, we saw all those transphobic comments and reposts, don’t hide yourself behind a screen name. Some of those comments were even commenting on why she had to pull the “gender card”. Is that misogyny we’re smelling? You tell us.
So, what are your thoughts on this feud?
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