Gloc-9 celebrates 20th Year in OPM, renews ties with Universal Records

Press release

Gloc-9 is celebrating his 20^th year in the Philippine music industry and to mark 

the milestone, the multi-awarded rap icon has renewed his ties with his former 

label Universal Records.

“Universal is family. Yung mga trabaho ko dati, mga ginawa ko noon, maganda 

ang naging relationship namin. With family, you treasure the relationship you 

have,” says Gloc – 9, who is currently recording songs for his brand new EP called Rotondaunder Universal Records.

The five-track EP, set to be released soon, will feature mostly collaborations with 

OPM artists. These include the track Rotonda and the album’s carrier single Ice 

Tubig, a collaboration with Mike Luis.

“Ito ay tungkol sa isang babae na ang kanyang puso ay parang ice tubig”, shares Gloc-9 as he expresses his excitement over his new project in his new home.

Ice Tubig will also be the first music video that will be released by Gloc-9 from his new EP.

For updates on the release of Gloc – 9’s latest single and music video Ice Tubig, 

follow Universal Records on Facebook at facebook.com/universalrecordsp

hfanpageor on Twitter at @universalrecph.

Gloc-9, Universal Records lead this year’s Awit Awards winners

Universal Records nabbed numerous commendations from the recently-concluded 2014 Awit Awards, held at the Newport Performing Arts Theater, Resorts World, with Gloc-9 winning most of the major awards – Album of the year for “Lihim at Liham,” Song of the Year for “Magda,” Best Rap Recording, and Best Collaboration.

Asia’s Songbird received two awards for Best Inspirational Song for “Nathaniel,” and Best Christmas Recording for “Hele Ni Inay.” These songs are part of the album “Hulong Ka Ng Langit,” which won Best Album Packaging Award.

Sam Concepcion won Best Dance Recording for the carrier single of his “Infinite” album – “No Limitations.”

PhilPop entries also made it to this year’s roster of winners – “Papel” and “Pansamantagal” won  Novelty, and World Music Recording of the Year, respectively.

Here is the list of Universal Records winners from the 27th Awit Awards:

Best Collaboration

Song Title: Magda
Artist: Gloc 9 feat. Rico Blacno
Record Label: Universal Records Inc

Album of the Year

Song Title: Liham at Lihim
Artist: Gloc 9
Record Label: Universal Records, Inc

Song of the Year

Song Title: Magda
Artist: Gloc 9 feat. Rico Blanco
Record Label: Universal Records Inc

Best Dance Recording

Song Title: No Limitations
Artist: Sam Concepcion
Record Label: Universal Records, Inc

Best Inspirational/Religious Recording

Song Title: Nathaniel
Artist: Regine Velasquez-Alcasid
Record Label: Universal Records, Inc

Best Christmas Recording

Song Title: Hele Ni Inay
Artist: Regine Velasquez-Alcasid
Record Label: Universal Records, Inc

Best Rap Recording

Song Title: Magda
Artist: Gloc 9
Record Label: Universal Records, Inc

Best Musical Arrangement

Song Title: Hele Ni Inay
Artist: Homer Flores
Record Label: Universal Records, Inc

Best Album Package

Album Title: Hulog Ka Ng Langit
Artists: Jay Saturnino D. Lumboy & Anne Kate Piñero (Graphic Desigers); Jay Saturnino D. Lumboy (Album Concept); Mark Nicdao (Photography)
Record Label: Universal Records, Inc.

Best World Music Recording

Song Title: Pansamantagal
Artist: Sitti Navarro & Julianne Tarroja
Record Label: Universal Records, Inc

Best Novelty Recording

Song Title: Papel
Artist: Joey Ayala & Gloc 9 feat. Denise Barbacena
Record Label: Universal Records, Inc

Noel Cabangon, Gloc-9 receive Platinum Record Awards

Post-event release material

 

Platinum Singer-Songwriter Noel Cabangon and OPM Rap Genius Gloc-9 are undeniably two of the biggest OPM acts of today.

 

Last Sunday, May 4, during “ASAP 19,” Universal Records Managing Director Kathleen Dy-Go awarded Noel Cabangon with three record awards – Double Platinum for “Byahe,” Platinum for “Tuloy Ang Byahe,” Gold for “Acoustic Noel,” his latest release.

 

These albums, consistently top the music charts, contain Noel’s rendition of some of the most loved OPM classics.

 

On the other hand, Gloc-9 was also awarded a Platinum Record Award for his latest album “Liham at Lihim,” which included the hits “Magda,” “Takipsilim,” and “KMT.”

 

Recently, Gloc-9 spawned numerous awards at the 2014 MYX Music Awards.

Gloc-9’s Myx Music Awards bodes well for mainstream Pinoy music

Gloc-9 won four major awards in the Myx Music Awards 2014 (MMA2014), the most for any artist who was nominated.

 

But what is more important about this win, is not so much the fact that Gloc-9 won in four out of six categories that he was nominated in, nor that he won four times more than any other artist.

 

It is that Gloc-9 won it for a song like “Magda.”

 

The idea of Magdalena is not new. The legend that is Freddie Aguilar introduced us to “Magdalena” in the early 1980’s, a folk song about the plight of a girl who was misunderstood because of the work she was forced into doing. In the Aguilar song, Magdalena is seen as “sawimpalad,” living a wretched life, where her story is one of choicelessness.

 

Gloc-9’s “Magda” does not point a finger at this woman’s life. The songwriter tells this story with compassion and understanding. Spoken from the perspective of her childhood sweetheart Ernesto, the story is allowed its romance, as it is allowed its heartbreak and undoing. Because Ernesto speaks of Magda, we are given the chance to see Magda as a spit of a girl, as someone who left her childhood behind. In the present she is a woman who is trapped in the cage of her own doing.

 

The song does not judge Magda, as it does make her human. She is treated as solitary and independent, she is allowed her own individuality, her own voice.

 

This is Gloc-9 at his most creative, where his decision to use another character to speak about Magda allows for a distance, a non-judgmental stance about her character. It is this creativity that was awarded by the MMA this year. But more importantly what they were honoring was this rapper-songwriter-artist’s decision to tell a story we would rather not hear, of a woman we would rather be blind to.

 

And this is really the value of Gloc-9’s quadruple wins in this year’s MMAs. He won for the song “Magda” in the context of mainstream original Pilipino music that makes hits out of repetitive lovesongs and novelty. He won for “Magda” at a time when the originality and relevance of original Pilipino pop music is being questioned.

 

Each MYX Music Award is composed of 60% audience votes and 40% artist or peer votes. And on a year when Gloc-9 wins big for a song like “Magda,” we are being told how the audience and the members of the industry as well, are in fact ready for difficult stories and complex songs.

 

Winning those four MMAs for “Magda,” as such, is not just a measure of Gloc-9 as artist. It is a measure of what the audience of local music is ready for. One hopes original Pinoy mainstream music heeds this call for creativity and relevance.