More than their spirited deliveries, rappers lend credibility to such statements

because most come from working-class backgrounds. They live out the same
difficulties that a few only glimpse through their rhymes. Out of about 200
local artists, FlipTop’s main man estimates that only 10% do it full-
time. Anygma, a Philosophy graduate from the Ateneo de Manila
University, is part of the minority that sees rapping as a long-term career.
Since FlipTop made the genre more accessible to an identifiably wider
audience, it was natural for the country’s big-name labels to take an interest
in some of the league’s best emcees. Though a few, such as Abra, Shehyee,
and Loonie, have found success in more commercial ventures, Anygma still
believes that “profit should never be an emcee’s first and foremost concern
and most especially not over their supposed passion for the art form.”
Far from begrudging fellow rappers their success outside FlipTop and the
underground battle rap scene, Anygma is just as proud of what other artists
have achieved. As always, he approaches the subject from a different
perspective – one that stems from genuine concern for the future of the
culture and the people who continue to advance it.