Buhay Ng Gangsta

Is it a romantic conceit of the chattering classes to believe that rap is a transnational language of political and social resistance for young men living in the world's toughest and most impoverished neighborhoods? Or is it true?

Whatever you might believe, it's hard to deny that rap is big in the Tondo district, a poor area of northwest Manila. Yesterday, we talked about life in the Baseco Compound, one of several neighborhoods in Tondo. This story, filed by a correspondent for AlJazeera English, gives us a brief glimpse at a community of gangsters-turned-rappers based in Tondo.



According to this article in the New York Times, the gangs of Tondo are the subject of Tribu, a prize-winning movie that is continuing to garner widespread acclaim and attention. Written and directed by Jim Libiran, a television journalist who himself grew up in Tondo, Tribu won the best picture award at the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival in 2007. The film tells the story of a 10-year-told boy living in a neighborhood caught up in the deadly cross-fire of a gang war.

TRIBU the Filipino Gang movie

MS 13 LA Mara Salvatrucha X3 PHILIPPINES | MySpace Video

This article from Philstar.com reveals that some of the film's stars have gone on to record and produce their own rap songs. OG Sacred, who plays a gang leader in Tribu, is the main force behind up-and-coming rap group Sigaw ng Tundo, whose tuneful and catchy track "Buhay ng Gangsta" is a smash hit on YouTube.



The group has their own web site here.