Probably one of the, if not the most, low-key rapper in the business, Gloc-9 is also one of the most popular and lauded in his chosen genre. With all the awards and recognition he has received, he remains modest and humble - staying true to himself and not letting anything get to his head. He recently bagged the much-coveted Best Rap Artist of the Year in the 1st Philippine Annual Hip Hop Awards, besting institutions in the rap music industry like FroncisM and Andrew E.

"I stay the way I am because I don't see any reason why I shouldn't." he says. "I know what I have and haven't yet achieved. I set my own standards for myself. I feel that there is more for me to accomplish. It's a learning process. I learn new things everyday and I apply it to
the songs I write."

Indeed, listening to Gloc-9's songs, you'd feel like you're listening to his life story. Everything is based on his experience and the experiences of people he knows. This is why we can all relate to it, because at one time or another, we have also gone through the same things in our lives.

It took a while for Gloc-9 to release a follow-up to his highly-recognized self-titled debut album. But it sure is worth the wait. As Gloc-9 puts it, "this album is more me". Aptly titled Ako Si... Gloc-9, the album contains 11 tracks, written and produced by Gloc-9 himself, including collaborations with established names in the hip-hop/R&B scene such as DJ MOD, Keith Martin and FrancisM.

"I'm very excited with my new album. It's a lot different from my first," he shares. Most of the songs in his first album were written for a certain soundtrack and songwriting competition.

On Ako Si... Gloc-9, he starts fresh, writing everything from scratch. He was also given full creative freedom for the album, which makes him ecstatic. "I'm grateful that I was given full trust by my label in the making of this album. I'm happy to be able to make music the way I want," he says. "And I'm really proud of the outcome."


Gloc-9 wanted to be a singer actually when he was growing up. When he was 12 years old, his friends noticed that he was accurate in timing and had a knack for rap. It was then that he discovered FrancisM and got inspired. He started experimenting and soon enough, he found
his own style. He went on to share that, "The name Gloc-9 was given to me by a friend, Ronald Salanga of Death Threat. It was probably associated to me because of the way I rap - the speed, the clarity of the words."

His favorite song off his new album is the first single "Tula". A song about his own life - how he started, where he is now - it's clearly an expression of his thoughts and emotions. "When I wrote 'Tula', it was very free-flowing. Di ko no pinagisipan," Gloc-9 shares.

For 2005, Gloc-9 aims to be acknowledged by everybody as a rapper. Isn't he recognized enough? "What I mean is to be recognized by absolutely everybody. Not just by my peers or people in the industry... I want to be able to reach out to more people - sa probinsya, sa lahat ng sulok ng Pilipinas". He hopes that his new album will be the key into achieving this goal. We believe so too. With the release of his new album Ako Si... Gloc-9, he proves that he is indeed one of the country's finest and fastest rapper.

Ako Si... Gloc-9 is now available on CDs and cassettes at record stores nationwide and online via Titik Pilipino, released by Star Records.