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1. His real name is Raymond Abracosa. When he joined FlipTop in 2010, he became known as Abra.
2. He isn’t from the infamous hip-hop tribe of Tondo. Instead, he belongs to the sheltered hip-hop crew of…Valle Verde in Pasig. This dude graduated Colegio de San Agustin and University of Asia and the Pacific.
3. He’s a hip-hop late bloomer. Instead, was heavily influenced by Pinoy rock — specifically, Parokya ni Edgar, Eraserheads, and Rivermaya, Bamboo.
4. It was “Bagsakan,” Parokya’s collaboration with Gloc-9 and Francis M that got him hooked on hip-hop. “Nung narinig ko yun, parang ‘wow. Lupet ng rap, a,” says Abra. And then he never looked back.
5. He has an indie recording company called Artifice Records, which has two hip-hop groups. Abra both to belongs: Lyrically Deranged Poets, or LDP for short, where the style of writing and rapping is more poised to international audiences. “Mas political ang LDP, English ang gamit namin duon. Yung isa naman, kasama ko sina Loonie and Ron Henley sa ‘Ceberus.’ Mas hip-hop skills exhibition naman yun,” Abra explains.
6. His song “Gayuma,” released in 2011, has over 32 million views on YouTube.
7. When he finally released his self-titled debut in February 2014, Abra has become something of a star. His record sat on the top of the charts for the entire summer of 2014.
8. He will talk about anything and everything in his rap. “I write about politics, mga sakit ng lipunan, pero papatak at papatak pa din yung mga sarili mong emotions, opinions sa lyrics.” Among the topics that you will hear in his songs are love and everyday life.
9. He’s comfortable being popular. Abra doesn’t really believe in the concept of selling out. While he understands where purists are coming from, Abra makes a good point:“Di ba, simula pa lang nang mag-rap ka, pangarap mo nang mapakinggan ka ng marami? Ang importante, no compromise.”
10. The MTV Music evolution concert is making him really nervous. “Kasi wider na ang audience mo. Tina-translate ko lang itong kaba ko into excitement para come May 17, beast mode na kami. Isipin mo, binibigyang attention ka na nang buong mundo. Kailangang galingan na natin!”
11. He’s style has changed since last year. “Ibang-iba na. When I’m writing for my sophomore album, ayoko na kasi margining yung same thing. Maiba naman di ba? Mas advanced na ito. “
12. There will be two new albums in the near future. “Within the year, lalabas yung album naming ng LDP. Ang solo album ko naman, sa February next year. And it will be for free.”
