Francis Magalona, known as the king of Philippine rap music, has died of complications from leukemia, his colleagues said. He was 44.
A rapper, songwriter and producer, Magalona, who also went by the name FrancisM, shot to national fame with his 1990 album "Yo!" and the hit song "Mga Kababayan Ko" (My Countrymen), in which he urged fellow Filipinos to be proud of their heritage, work hard and strive for a better life.
His 1992 album "Rap Is FrancisM" tackled the Philippines' many problems, including illegal drugs and political instability, making Magalona one of the most politically conscious voices of his generation.
He also appeared on the popular TV variety show "Eat Bulaga." One of the show's hosts, Vic Sotto, announced that Magalona died Friday in a Manila hospital while undergoing treatment for leukemia.
Magalona also used to be a VJ on MTV Asia.
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Francisco "Kiko" Magalona or as he is also known Francis M., Francism, Master Rapper, and The Man From Manila among other pseudonyms is credited as being the first Filipino rapper in the Philippines to successfully crossover to the mainstream. He is also popularly known as the "King of Pinoy Rap" and is one of the most idolized, celebrated and influential rappers within the genre.
A sibling amongst nine brothers and sisters, Francis Magalona is the son of late Philippine movie screen legends Pancho Magalona and Tita Duran. Starting out as a breakdancer in the early 1980s; he branched out to emceeing and released the groundbreaking album Yo! in 1990 garnering the nationistic hit Mga Kababayan (My Countrymen), making the Yo! the first commercially released Pinoy rap album in the Philippines. While rapping politically conscious and thought-provoking rhymes in both English and Tagalog, the album was a total success and helped instantly catapult Filipino hip hop from underground to mainstream status and also marked the birth of Makabayang or Nationalistic rap in Filipino hip hop.
One Mic: Francis M. remains one of the most respected emcees within Pinoy RapIn 1992, Francis Magalona released Rap Is Francis M (1992), which is highly regarded as one of the greatest Pinoy Rap albums. With tracks addressing the various cultural and social problems that plagued his country such as drug addiction in Mga Praining (The Addicts), political instability in Halalan (Election) as well as the detrimental effects of a colonial mentality in Tayo'y Mga Pinoy (We Are Filipinos), the record's complexity and conscious message quickly earned it its classic status and became the standard by which future albums of the genre were to be compared.
The release of his third album, Meron akong ano! (I Have What!) in 1993 marked the beginning of Francis' experimentation with Pinoy rock, becoming an exceptional artist in both genres of music. He has frequently collaborated with other Pinoy rock bands such as the Eraserheads and more recently Parokya ni Edgar.
He has since founded his own record company called Red Egg Records, as well as his own production company Filipino Pictures Inc. and has also followed in his parents footsteps and ventured out into acting; appearing in several Filipino movies and has also hosted several television shows including the longest running daytime television show in the Philippines Eat Bulaga, as well as a VJ for MTV Asia.
Francis M.'s landmark 1992 album: Rap is Francis M.In 2002, along with the assistance of FUBU Philippines management Carlo Manquiz and Carlo Tuazon, Francis launched a compilation album of the same name later that year showcasing a basic who's who of local hip-hop talents in and around the islands. Later that year, Francis Magalona's greatest hits album, The Best of Francism was released by Musiko.
Francis M. contributions to the genre has been featured in several international hip hop publications including the All Music Guide to Hip-Hop: The Definitive Guide to Rap and Hip-Hop (2003) published by Backbeat Books; as well as the May 2004 issue of the U.S. based publication The Source. Francis M. was also given the Pioneer Hall of Fame Award by Empire Entertainment at the 1st Annual Philippine Hip-Hop Music Awards in 2005.
