EZ Mil's Song "Panalo," Why It Became So Popular?
Toto
1:11:00 AM
Aside from my idol, Gary V, I'm in all praises to the King of Pinoy Rap. The very first artist who made rap with real Filipino flavor - Francis M. The Pinoy Rap wouldn't be as it is today without the name Francis M. After that first shout of that iconic line 'Mga Kababayan!' It became the starting point of Pinoy Rap History. And like what they say, the rest is history.
Now, let's get into this new and viral Pinoy Rapper who's making a buzz in the music scene. Not only here in the Philippines, but probably, the world.
The Beginning
A few days after the release of his guesting in Wish Bus USA, the uploaded video went boom, massively, with its views, in other words, it went viral. People started talking about the video first, and then everyone starts asking who this rapper is. Who is EZ Mil? Pronounced as letter E and letter Z with the Mil.
The Music
Hearing the intro of the song actually reminded me of my elementary days. The Folk dances that we used to study and practice at school. Fortunately, I'm also one of the dance troops that moves my feet into folk dances. So the music is familiar, and probably every Pinoy students know the melody.
The Singer
Honestly, I don't know EZ Mil was, not until I started looking for his background. And thanks to technology and the internet, it is much easier to check pieces of information that happened decades ago. What I have heard, EZ Mil is the son of the lead vocalist of a band in the 90s. Paul Sapiera, the leader and vocalist of the band called Rockstar.
Side info about the band, they made a few song hits in the past.
The Lyrics
After hearing the song of EZ Mil "Panalo," it somehow brought me back in time when I first caught the song "Mga Kababayan Ko." Not just because both of the songs started with the same phrase, 'Mga Kababayan,' but because of the Filipino flavor infused with the song.
To understand the impact of the song "Panalo" by EZ Mil, I will try to evaluate the lyrics from a perspective of a fan and a true-blooded patriotic Pinoy. In simple term will dissect the song and its lyric, why it hit everyone bullseye right into the heart. But before anything else, I just want to say that I am not a musician or a composer, but I'm just a person who appreciates music and the arts. All the observations you'll be reading here are all my thoughts about the song, so be gentle on your criticism, thank you.
So, let start!
I managed to divide the lyrics into three parts, one is words used or wordplay; the second is history and experience; and lastly, the feeling of patriotic and delivery.
- Word used or wordplay
Like what I mentioned earlier, the phrase 'Mga Kababayan!' is similar to the first line of Francis M's song "Mga Kababayan Ko." From that two words, it is simply a phrase of calling. Calling out to all Filipinos out there. Then it is added with a touch of sincerity that makes everyone listen. Another word is about color, in Francis M's song, he used kayumanggi or brown color, which is the Pinoy skin color, while in EZ Mil he uses the phrase 'kahit anong kulay ng balat,' which basically explains that now it is not just Kayumanggi, but there are other Pinoy skin colors.
What's more interesting is that he manage to incorporate three languages in one song, Tagalog, English, and Ilocano.
It's really interesting how EZ Mil came up with the idea of mixing these three languages in one song.
For Pinoys who grew up in provinces learning to speak and write two or more languages is not impossible. A good example is if your mother is a Waray native and your father is an Ilocano native, you can learn both of their languages.
- History and Experience
The lyrics are well described because it is based on experience. A story that only he can deliver. If you have watched 'Slumdog Millionaire,' well, it is something like that, he can deliver it well because he is present in that situation. Bits of historical facts like the thing about Spain and also the truth about the line 'pusang sinaing.'
- The feeling of Patriotic and Delivery
The lyric wouldn't be complete without the delivery. The bits of anger in every word show the conviction of how he appreciates being Pinoy in his heart. One line that really describes him as being patriotic and is probably touched the souls of other Pinoys, "Despite any turmoil, I'll be proud of my soil."
So, these are just what I have observed and I know others have tried to interpret the song and I also did watch one of the videos where EZ Mil described every line of the song, so what I just did is something different. But in all, there are just a few lines that trigger everything to be listened to by every Pinoy - KABABAYAN, KULAY NG BALAT, and PILIPINO.
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