Flonique Guimary

Loonie reveals hit song ‘Tao Lang’ is actually a ‘rebellious gesture

Article (news)

Push Team

<div><br/></div><p>Did you know that Loonie’s 2013 hit &quot;Tao Lang,&quot; which has become a go-to videoke song among Filipino hip-hop fans, was actually a rebellious gesture?</p><div><br/></div><p>That’s what the rapper-songwriter revealed in an exclusive interview with PUSH ABS-CBN during the recently concluded OPM Series: Hip Hop Fest at the SM North EDSA Sky Dome.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fphoto.php%3Ffbid%3D1035348678633652%26set%3Da.548986827269842%26type%3D3&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="766" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br/></div><p>“Sa &#x27;Tao Lang,&#x27; sinulat ko yun as parang rebellious gesture sa label ko dati. Kasi pinipilit nila ako gumawa ng love song. Now, which is ayoko at that time. Parang labag sa loob ko yun na parang hindi eh, hindi. Hindi parang porket gusto ng mga tao yung mga love song ngayon. Ima-manufacture niyo ako bilang ganyan,” Loonie revealed.</p><div><br/></div><p>He also shared that he was given a deadline to submit a love song, but he insisted on submitting the &quot;Tao Lang&quot; composition instead.</p><div><br/></div><p>“Parang nagkaroon ako ng one-week deadline para makapagpasa ako ng single sa kanila. So, yun yung binigay ko pero hindi nila gusto. Kasi gusto nila talaga yung love song. Pero ‘yung (Tao Lang) pumutok eh,” he explained.</p><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1740495618044fgh bn.JPG" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><p>The hip-hop artist shared that it boosted his confidence, as he felt that his decision was the right one at that time.</p><div><br/></div><p>He went on, &quot;So, parang in a way, nagkaroon ako ng, &#x27;I told you so&#x27; moment na oh, diyan love song pero bakit yun yung punto? Ginawa natin yung love song pero yung &#x27;Tao Lang&#x27; parang outdid it. Parang yun yung pinaka-successful.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><p>As of this writing, Loonie’s &quot;Tao Lang&quot; has already garnered over 27.8 million streams on Spotify.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe width="670" height="377" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IIW4YHQcy2M" title="Loonie - Tao Lang ft. Quest" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br/></div><p>Meanwhile, Loonie also advised aspiring artists that it’s crucial to secure the rights to their art, sharing his own experience of realizing that some of his earlier music wasn&#x27;t under his name.</p><div><br/></div><p>&quot;Hindi ko na alam na hindi pala ako yung may-ari nung kanila. Dahil during that time, talagang artistry. Talaga yun (yung goal ko), ngayon naman ganon pa rin. Pero kailangan na namin talagang matutunan yung commerce. Kasi, ang hirap eh. Kumbaga minsan, ano talaga siya eh, anti-thesis siya sa isa&#x27;t isa. Kasi yung kailangan mo siyang i-balance eh,” the rapper shared.</p><div><br/></div><p>Loonie further emphasized the importance of artists receiving what they deserve for their work, saying, &quot;Yun yung bitter truth eh. Kailangan matutunan mo both. Kailangan hindi mo ma-compromise yung art mo, at the same time, you should get what you deserve. Hindi ka mai-exploit.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><p>In the meantime, Loonie&#x27;s supporters may not have to wait much longer, as he assured them that he will be releasing new music soon in 2025.</p><div><br/></div><p>“Magre-release ako ng single soon. May mga nakatrabaho ako na first time kong makatrabaho. I&#x27;m excited ako kung ano yung mga nagawa na. hindi ko pa magsasabi kung sino-sino pero sila yung mga namamayagpag pag ngayon currently sa (hip-hop) scene.”</p><div><br/></div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1740495749703hyy.JPG" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><div><br/></div><p>With several accolades under his belt, including an Awit Award for Best Rap Recording, Loonie admitted that having rising artists look up to him is also a rewarding experience in itself. One example is Illest Morena, who was also part of the Hip-Hop Fest lineup.</p><div><br/></div><p>&quot;Nagugulat ako na lumalapit sila na-influence, naimpluwensyahan din pala sila ng music namin. At ako parang as an artist parang panalo na ako eh. Yun yung unexpected rewards na parang, wow talaga nakikinig pala si Illest Morena. Nagulat ako na talagang pandemic nanonood daw siya ng mga rap tutorials. So yun, humbling and grounding and inspiring at the same time,” Loonie expressed.</p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DGamLSEPx0k/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=607&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A420797.10000000003%2C%22ls%22%3A412077.3%2C%22le%22%3A420774.89999999997%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="852" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><p>Aside from his upcoming music, Loonie also revealed plans to return to battle rap, a field where he is also well-known.</p><div><br/></div><p>“Meron din ako plans bumalik sa battle rap. Dahil marami rin na nami-miss na ako. Dahil last battle (ko) was 2017 pa sa Japan,” Loonie shared.</p><div><br/></div><p>—By Jemuel Tandoc</p>

<p>Rapper and songwriter Loonie reveals that his hit 'Tao Lang' was actually an act of rebellion at a certain point in his music career.</p>

Rapper and songwriter Loonie reveals that his hit 'Tao Lang' was actually an act of rebellion at a certain point in his music career.

EXCLUSIVE: Loonie reveals hit song ‘Tao Lang’ is actually a ‘rebellious gesture’

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EXCLUSIVE: Loonie reveals hit song ‘Tao Lang’ is actually a ‘rebellious gesture’

Push Team

Published February 25, 2025 11:06 PM PHT

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