SB19 had recently released a song titled ‘MAPA’. This is a love letter to parents, to thank them for all their hard work and sacrifices. MAPA is a play on ‘Mama’ and ‘Papa’, and can also mean a map (which was also referenced in the song). This song made me ugly cry as emotions I’ve thought I’ve buried already started to resurface. READ MORE
SB19 had recently released a song titled ‘MAPA’. This is a love letter to parents, to thank them for all their hard work and sacrifices. MAPA is a play on ‘Mama’ and ‘Papa’, and can also mean a map (which was also referenced in the song). This song made me ugly cry as emotions I’ve thought I’ve buried already started to resurface.
For me, MAPA is a sad song. I know that this was an ode to the parents but for me, this was an ode to my Nanay, my grandma. Ever since I was a little over a year old up until I was 17, my Nanay was the one who raised. She was the one that stayed up all night every time I was sick and she was the one person who comforted me when my parents forced me in a program I hated. She was the one person I held on to during the darkest moments in my life.
Ever since I started working, one my greatest dreams was to visit home and take her places she had never been. I wanted her to see experience going to other countries, enjoy fancy hotels and see nice sights. I wanted to take her to nice restaurants and have her try everything she wants. But life got busy on my end but I was still holding on to that dream, even though it was less intense now. I always told her, “Next year I’m coming home” and she would always say, “I’ll be here to wait for you”. I left the country in 2013 and finally in the last week of January 2018, I finally booked a flight to come visit home. I got busy with school that I kept telling myself, “I’ll call her later to tell her I already booked my flight”. On February 2, 2018, days after I booked my flight, she passed away. I never got to tell her that I was coming home and this will always be my biggest regret in life.
The words of this song were the words that I wanted to say to my Nanay. The first time I was able to give her money from my own hard work (it was prize money for a writing competition), I saw how happy she was. I loved that look on her and wanted to see that more. Now, I won’t be able to give her all the good things in life anymore. But I really hope she knows how much I love and miss her. In everything I do, I always think, “Will she be proud of me?”.
Don’t get me wrong though, I love my parents. I’m also working hard to ensure that my future includes our whole family to not have any financial problems and that my parents can retire with no problem. They have sacrificed so much for me. My mom had to work abroad as nurse then care aide since I was 9 years old and my dad had to work late nights as a police officer. I also want to one day say, “You don’t have to work anymore”.
MAPA will have a special place in my heart but it’s the song that I can’t listen to too often. It evokes too much sadness from within me. Maybe in time, I can listen to it and not be sad anymore but that day is still uncertain.
SB19 is finally back with What?. They are now more angas but still the same guys we love. The lyrics though may be confusing to some people here’s me explaining what this song is all about. READ MORE
The whole song is basically an ode to their trials, beginning and success. SB19 is not the first Filipino boy group but they are the first group to successfully push the OPM subgenre of P-Pop. Their debut with ‘Tilaluha’ was not very successful but it was ‘Go Up’ that pushed them to the top. ‘Go Up’ talked about how they would work hard to reach for their dreams and ‘What?’ talked about them finally reaching their dreams.
When the teaser came out, I was fully expecting an English song. I mean, the title itself is in English, ‘What?’. But oh boy was I wrong. This song sounded different from their previous releases. This is definitely a start of a new era, not just with SB19, but in P-Pop in general.
‘What?’ sounded like a mash of three songs due to its different tempo and unexpected drops in between songs. This kind of song is not very popular in OPM as we are more familiar with songs that have uniform tempo and expected highs and lows. However, if you’ve listened to K-pop songs like EXO’s Tempo and SNSD’s I Got A Boy, you’ll know that this had been popular for a while now and sounds amazing if done right. And SB19 did it right.
The song is more angas than their previous release. I think they want to show us more hardened and bold visuals this time and I’m not complaining. But behind the angas, the lyrics itself is full of wisdom and story. It actually reminded me on how Gloc-9 used rapping as his way of story telling.
[Verse: Pablo] Nagsimula lang pero wala na ‘kong balak na tapusin ‘Di ibig sabihin ‘pag ‘di tinapos, ako’y hihinto na rin Alam ko naman na ‘di ako pinaka-ano, magaling Got no biz with all of you, please, destiny’s I’ll be better and…
[Refrain: Ken] Lahat ng aking basura ay pupulutin Laging dala kahit sa’n pa ‘ko mapunta Lapat sa lupa aking mga paa
[Pre-Chorus: Justin, Stell] Mahiwaga, bawat nakasarang bintana sa ‘kin dati Lahat ngayo’y nagbubukas (oh-whoa-oh-oh) Daming sakuna, ‘di ko ininda Andito na ako sa wakas (what?)
There was once an interview where they talked about how half of them had already left the group and just came back to continue their dreams. Just because they left didn’t mean their journey was over. Ken’s part talked about carrying their trash everywhere which can allude to them not forgetting where they started from. By not forgetting their struggles, this keeps them humble (lapat sa lupa aking mga paa). As I mentioned before, their debut was not very successful but they have steadily gained their place to the top. Now, the things they dreamed of before are now within their reach. They now have more opportunities to show who they really are as a group.
[Chorus: Ken, Pablo, Stell] ‘Di na bala para iangat ang bandera Bara na sa puso n’yo na ang tatama (bang) Ama, salamat at ikaw ang agimat Bawat banat, iwagayway mo’ng watawat
[Hook: Josh, Justin] Wo-wo-wo-wo-wo, watawat Wo-wo-wo-wo-wo, watawat ‘Di na magpa-pa-paawat (what?) Iwawagayway ang watawat
Agimat is a charm or an amulet which some would say would protect you from any danger. Ama in this context is God (or god, depends on you) and God is their agimat that protected them from whatever misfortunes and danger. Iwagayway ang watawat can be literally translated to wave your flag or can also be raise your flag. The last lines means they cannot be stopped anymore. And waving/raising your flag can mean get up and be proud as this watawat can mean SB19’s own flag or the Philippine flag itself (as Pilipinas is mentioned in the last verse).
[Verse: Josh] Pare-parehas lang tayong may pagkakaiba ‘Di ba? Ika nila, ibang mundo nakikita niya Mabuting iba, ‘di gaya nila Pikit ang mata, ang tama, wala, ha
[Verse: Josh] 20-20, paulit-ulit Intelihente subali’t nguni’t Basag ang lente, pinunit-punit Hinubog ng dalagang bakal, sirit (tsss)
Josh’s verse here most likely talks about difference in social status of the rich and the poor. Different people in different eco-socio class see things differently. Those in the upper class sees the world in a different light, like they know they can achieve anything. But those in the lower classes have to work harder and does not see the easy life that those in the upper class do.
[Refrain: Ken] Lahat ng aking basura ay pupulutin Laging dala kahit sa’n pa ‘ko mapunta Lapat sa lupa aking, alam mo na
[Pre-Chorus: Stell, Justin] Maniwala, darating ang mga biyaya Higit pa sa lahat-lahat ng nawala (oh-whoa-oh-oh) Daming sakuna, ‘di ko ininda ‘Di titigil hanggang sa wakas (what?)
This second pre-chorus has shown their strong will to succeed in their craft. During their journey, they had to sacrifice many things and endure many hardships. But throughout that journey, they had also received many gifts and blessings from the people around them. They’re telling us that they are moving forward until the end.
[Bridge: Justin, Pablo, Ken] ‘Wag n’yong sabihin sa ‘kin kung ano’ng aking dapat gawin ‘Di naman kayo natutong makinig (oh-whoa-oh-oh) Sa’n man dalhin ng hangin, ang aking yagit, suot pa rin ‘Di magpapanggap na ako pero hindi (oh-whoa-oh-oh) Daming sakuna, ‘di ko ininda Andito na ako sa wakas
[Interlude: Pablo] ‘Di na bala para iangat ang bandera Bara na sa puso n’yo na ang tatama
These final verses just hit home. I really think that these final lines are what really welcomes us to the second era. These boys ain’t playing anymore. This is a shoutout to all their haters, to all those who doubted them. This is a throwback to their rocky start and journey. They are currently at the top of their game and is still going. They’ve been through a lot but they are finally in a place where they want to be.
This whole song is a masterpiece made by our pinuno, Pablo. He definitely has a way with his words and he had encapsulated their whole journey into this one song. This can also be an anthem to everyone that listens to is as the song helps you realize that the journey may be difficult but you’ll get there at one point. Haters gonna hate but you just gotta keep on moving.
To be honest, I didn’t know what to feel with the whole song the first time I saw it. There were so many things going on most especially with the visual and tempo change. I wasn’t used to this in OPM and never thought this would be in PPop. But here we are, SB19 bringing their A-game and change in the Philippine music industry.
Note: These are my opinion and my interpretation of the song. If you disagree, let’s have a healthy discussion.
Oh Amerl 