Francis Magalona

He was the eighth of the nine children of actors Pancho Magalona and Tita Duran, popular film stars of the 1940s and 1950s.

His grandfather, Enrique B. Magalona, served as a senator from 1946 to 1955.

Magalona was also a second cousin of Cacai and Regine Velasquez through his mother whose first cousin was Gerardo Velasquez.

Francis Michael Durango Magalona (October 4, 1964 – March 6, 2009), also known as Francis M., was a Filipino rapper, singer, songwriter, television personality, actor, and entrepreneur.

He is regarded as an influential figure in Pinoy hip hop.

Magalona was a son of actors Pancho Magalona and Tita Duran.

Magalona was born on October 4, 1964.

He was named after Saint Francis of Assisi, whose feast day falls on his birthday.

Magalona started out as a breakdancer in the 1980s.

For his high school education, he attended the Don Bosco Technical College in Mandaluyong then proceeded to San Beda College in Manila, attending from 1981 to 1984.

He started as a breakdancer and appeared in the teen comedy film Bagets 2 (1984) and the variety show That's Entertainment (1987) while building his rap career.

His songs "Mga Kababayan", "Man from Manila", "Ito Ang Gusto Ko", "Kabataan Para sa Kinabukasan", "Watawat", "Luv 4 Lyf", and "Lando" (with Gloc-9) have each won the Awit Award for Best Rap Recording, while "Kaleidoscope World" is another notable single.

He was cast in several Filipino movies including Bagets 2 (1984).

He was the resident DJ/rapper in the IBC variety show Loveli'Ness.

In 1990, he released the album Yo!, the first commercially released Filipino rap album.

Yo! included several popular singles such as "Mga Kababayan" (Fellow Countrymen), "Gotta Let 'Cha Know", "Cold Summer Nights", and a duet with Pia Arroyo "Loving You" as the only song that Pia recorded.

His tracks feature politically conscious and thought-provoking rhymes in both English and Tagalog, in the style known as Filipino hip hop.

His notable albums include Rap Is FrancisM (1992), FreeMan (1995), Happy Battle (1996), The Oddventures of Mr. Cool (1998), and FreeMan 2 (2000).

Magalona also ventured into rock, fronting the band Hardware Syndrome.

His music addressed social issues including politics, drug addiction, colonial mentality, and intellectual property rights.

In 1992, Francis Magalona released Rap Is FrancisM (1992).

With tracks addressing the various cultural and social problems that plagued his country such as drug addiction in "Mga Praning" (Paranoids), political instability in "Halalan" (Elections) 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.

This album helped tag Magalona as one of the most politically conscious voices of his generation.

The release of his third album, Meron akong ano! (I Got Something!) in 1993 marked the beginning of Magalona's experimentation with Pinoy rock.

It also saw the birth of Hardware Syndrome—previously known as Cannabis—the band that would, with Magalona at its helm, introduce the merging of Pinoy rock and rap to the Filipino music audience.

Members over the years included musicians Carlo Sison, Francis Villanueva, Niño Mesina, Boyet Aquino, Elmer Blancaflor, Noel Mendez, Perf de Castro, Benjie "Bagets" Mendez, Albert Tamayo, DJ Kimozave, DJ Radikal MK, Otep Concepcion, Kenji Marquez, Jack Rufo, and Wendell Garcia.

Magalona was soon cited for excellence in both genres of music.

He collaborated with other notable OPM artists including Andrew E.., Joey Ayala, Heber Bartolome of Banyuhay, Ryan Cayabyab, Mike Hanopol of Juan Dela Cruz Band, Michael V.., Death Threat, and the band Eraserheads.

In the latter part of his career, Magalona worked together with rappers Pikaso, Gloc 9 and the Pinoy rock band Parokya ni Edgar.

In 1994, Magalona moved from Octo-Arts EMI Philippines, which had released all of his previous albums, to BMG Records (Pilipinas) Inc. with Musiko Records (is a wholly owned of sub-labels of a BMG Records (Pilipinas) Inc.), the same label as the seminal Pinoy rock group, The Eraserheads.

Freeman was released the following year, 1995, and firmly established Magalona's legitimacy in the Pinoy rock scene.

Tracks such as "Three Stars & A Sun", "Kabataan Para Sa Kinabukasan" (Children For The Future), "Suckin' on Helium/Kaleidoscope World" would become defining touchpoints in Magalona's body of work.

A track titled "Intellectual Property Rights" would sample a speech by then-president Fidel V. Ramos.

Intellectual property rights was an issue that would continue to be an important and very personal advocacy for Magalona.

"Kaleidoscope World" went on to win 1996 Awit Award for Best Produced Record of the Year, and the 1996 NU 107 Rock Award for Song of the Year.

Its music video was directed by the celebrated director/cinematographer Raymond Red

Magalona's next album, Happy Battle, was released in 1996.

In television, Magalona was a presenter for MTV Asia, Channel V Philippines, and the noontime variety show Eat Bulaga! (1997–2009).

He was also a judge on Philippine Idol (2006).

Magalona died of leukemia in 2009, aged 44.