Francis Magalona

From WikiPilipinas: The Hip 'n Free Philippine Encyclopedia

Francis Magalona
"Francis M performance at Cinemalaya 07"
Background information
Birth name	Francis Durango Magalona[1]
Also known as	FrancisM, The Mouth, Kiko
Born	October 4, 1964(1964-10-04)
Origin	Manila, Philippines
Died	March 06 2009 (aged 44) Pasig, Philippines
Genre(s)	Rap, Filipino hip hop, Rock, Funk
Occupation(s)	Rapper, Songwriter, Producer, Actor, Director, Host
Instrument(s)	Vocals, harmonica, megaphone, microphone
Years active	1984 - 2009
Label(s)	Octo-Arts EMI Philippines (1986-1993), Sony BMG (1994-2006)
Associated acts	Hardware Syndrome, Andrew E., Joey Ayala, Ryan Cayabyab, Eraserheads, Planet Garapata, Perfecto de Castro, Michael V., Parokya ni Edgar, Gloc-9, Death Threat
Website	Magalona.com

Francis "Kiko" Magalona (b. October 4, 1964 - March 6, 2009), also known as Francis M and The Man From Manila, was a highly popular musical artist in the Philippines. He is credited as being the first Filipino rapper to gain mainstream popularity and success, leading to him being branded as the "King of Pinoy Rap."

[edit] Biography

Francis Magalona was one of the nine children of late Philippine movie legends Pancho Magalona and Tita Duran. Starting out as a breakdancer in the early 1980s, he followed in his parents footsteps and ventured into acting, appearing in several movies before branching into emceeing. He released his first album Yo! in 1990, the first commercially released Filipino rap album, featuring the nationalistic song Mga Kababayan which became a hit.[1] Featuring politically conscious and thought-provoking rhymes in both English and Tagalog, the album was a success and helped catapult Filipino hip hop from underground to mainstream status and also launched a wave of "nationalistic" rap.

In 1992, Magalona released Rap Is FrancisM (1992), regarded as one of the greatest Pinoy Rap albums. With tracks addressing various social problems, such as drug addiction in "Mga Praning," political instability in "Halalan," and colonial mentality in "Tayo'y Mga Pinoy," the record quickly earned classic status and became the standard by which future albums of the genre were to be compared. [2]

The release of his third album, Meron Akong Ano! in 1993, followed by FreeMan in 1995 marked the beginning of Magalona's experimentation with Pinoy rock. He frequently collaborated with other bands such as the Eraserheads and, more recently, Parokya ni Edgar.

Magalona's contributions to the genre have been featured in several international hip hop publications including the All Music Guide to Hip-Hop: The Definitive Guide to Rap and Hip-Hop (2003) published by Backbeat Books, as well as the May 2004 issue of the U.S. based publication The Source. Magalona was the first Filipino recipient of the Pioneer Hall of Fame Award by Empire Entertainment at the 1st Annual Philippine Hip-Hop Music Awards in 2005.[3]

He later founded his own record company called Red Egg Records, as well as his own production company, Filipino Pictures Inc., where he directed music videos for several bands and solo artists. His work on Sponge Cola's "KLSP" won Best Rock Video at the 2006 MYX Video Awards.

Over the years Magalona hosted several television shows including the longest running daytime television show in the Philippines Eat Bulaga!. He has also been a VJ for MTV Asia. Besides television, he also hosts live events and presentations.

In 2002, along with the assistance of FUBU Philippines management, Carlo Manquiz and Carlo Tuazon, Francis launched a compilation album of the same name later that year showcasing a basic who's who of local hip-hop talents in and around the islands.[4] Later that year, Magalona's greatest hits album, The Best of Francis M, was released by Musiko.

He was also chosen to be one of the judges of Pinoy Idol on ABC 5, alongside Ryan Cayabyab and Pilita Corrales.

Magalona was the recipient of the coveted MTV Pilipinas Video Music Awards' Generations Award in 2006 "in recognition of his career that has spanned decades and broken boundaries, and for his music which continues to inspire generations of artists and music fans both here and abroad." He is the second honoree, the first having been singer Gary Valenciano in 2005.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

• 1990 Yo!
• 1992 Rap is Francis M
• 1993 Meron akong ano!
• 1995 Freeman
• 1996 Happy Battle
• 1998 The Oddventure of Mr.Cool
• 1999 Interscholastic
• 2001 Freeman 2
• 2002 The Best of Francis M
• 2004 Pambihira Ka Pinoy (Single)

[edit] Death

Francis Magalona succumbed to cancer at the age of 44 on 6 March 2008 at 12 noon. On 18 March 2009, he was conferred with a posthumous Presidential Medal of Merit for promoting nationalism in his music.

[edit] References

• Francis Magalona Biography of Francis M. on PinoyRap.com
• Francis Magalona succumbs to cancer. In GMA.NewsTV. (Accessed on 6 March 2009).
• "Magalona gets presidential merit medal." In Philippine Daily Inquirer. (Accessed on 20 March 2009)

[edit] External links

• Francis M. on IMDb
• Francis M. profile on AllMusic.com
• PinoyRap.com
• Magalona.com Official Website

This page was adapted from the English Wikipedia. The original article was at Francis Magalona. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Wikipedia, WikiPilipinas also allows reuse of content made available under the GNU Free Documentation License. See full disclaimer.