The fight is never over – throughout history, music has always been the perfect vehicle to initiate change and call-out injustice. Despite different backgrounds and musical sounds, artists have always found a way to unite and bring forth musical collisions that make a mark in the spirit of both groundbreaking creativity and sonic rebellion.
Which is why MAGNA is the perfect anthem of the year – a classic hybrid of thundering hip-hop rhythms, unfiltered lyrical assaults and brutal modern metal grooves, complete with tight riffage and double-bass drums. Yep – the way only MOROBEATS and INTOLERANT can deliver. The track – produced by DJ Medmessiah and Intolerant guitarist Joey Dizon and drummer Pepo Gohu – is a direct commentary on recent current events in the Philippines and unabashedly carries an explosive message to the people and the perpetrators.
It can now be streamed here.
“We originally released a hip-hop version of “Magna” and shot a video at the Trillion Peso March, where I ran into Pepo” shares DJ Medmessiah of the collab’s beginnings. “But then I realized – there would be a lot more grit, and we could effectively pour more gasoline on the fire if we had a version with live instruments in there, so naturally – I invited Pepo, who is my longtime friend and musical collaborator; I knew his – and Intolerant’s – capabilities to really push the musical direction to a more aggressive and volatile direction, and make the message more effective.”
Definitely not for the timid and faint-of-heart, the track features lyrical tradeoffs between a veritable who’s who of the Morobeats collective: Dizzy D., Naus, Buencamino, Prophecee, Malik, Teemo, Tofu, Miss A and, of course, Medmessiah, with additional scratching and sampling wizardry from DJ Wizard and a booming low end from Intolerant bassist Mic Gallegos.
Recently, the newly minted team up released the music video for the track – shot guerilla style in the heart of Manila, in the streets of Raon in Quiapo, Manila. A definite traffic-stopper, the video captured footage of everyday citizens walking past the group performing, and casually stopping to check-out the commotion and ultimately, get fired-up as well. The video was directed by Medmessiah alongside Yans Torres, Carl Miranda and photographer Patrick Briones.
“It felt right to do the collab, considering that Intolerant had been inactive in the past decade,” reveals Gohu, when asked about the entire experience. “It was a good challenge to take-on, and we’re excited to make more because of the results. We’re also discussing to evolve this into a live set – and plan to make that happen really soon.”
You can stream previous releases from Morobeats and Intolerant and follow their respective pages on Facebook.
This article is brought to you by Amplified Entertainment.
