Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Spotify's KALYE X Campaign Illuminates Pinoy Hip-Hop

20/12/2023

Pinoy hip-hop is overtaking the music scene in the Philippines, and the lively beats of Filipino artists are finding their way to listeners far beyond the geographical borders of the country. The genre reflects the energy, how organic the art form is, and how accessible rapping is to everyone, shares Chesca Tan, Spotify's Lead Editor for Philippines. Pinoy hip-hop is gritty; it's street.

To celebrate Pinoy hip-hop's massive growth on Spotify-a more than 700% increase in streams in the Philippines since 2018-we launched KALYE X. For the uninitiated, kalye means street in Filipino. The initiative celebrates the collaboration between artists, fans and community, and serves as an extension of Spotify's popular Kalye Hip-Hop playlist. This playlist is home to the best of Pinoy hip-hop tracks, also enabling artists to be discovered and reach more fans in the Philippines and beyond-gaining listeners from 184 countries, says Chesca.

The KALYE X campaign kicked off with an unforgettable street-themed party. It featured live performances from contemporary Pinoy hip-hop icons Al James, Morobeats and Midnasty; a hip-hop dance showdown; street graffiti; and a chat session with Spotify's Head of Music, Kossy Ng, about the vibrant culture of the Pinoy hip-hop genre. The launch was a testament to the vibrant tapestry of Pinoy hip-hop culture.

We also teamed up with six local artists from the three main islands of the Philippines-Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao-to record and release three new Spotify Singles. Each track showcases the depth and diversity listeners can find in Pinoy hip-hop.

Midnasty and Cookie$ bring the best of Bisaya beats in the track Wa Na Wa. I have been dedicating my music and craft to take Bisaya hip-hop beyond Visayas, and this collaboration with Midnasty is an important step in that direction, explains Cookie$. Working with Spotify allows us to transcend boundaries and share the vibrant Bisaya culture through our music. I hope this latest track not only empowers our fans but also creates a legacy that resonates far beyond our hometown.

Gloc-9, Hero, and Ramdiss pulled off a three-way mash-up for their song Umaga that represents the island of Luzon. I love writing songs about real stories and struggles of people, and being able to capture what we go through every day, says Gloc-9. As an artist, I want my music to resonate with everyone, hip-hop fan or not. That is why I take pride in creating songs that tell people's stories like what we did here.

Morobeats reimagines Mindanao hip-hop on their single, Kendeng. DJ Medmessiah, a founding member of the group, says, We're proud and excited that the rest of the world will hear Kendeng.' We've been dedicating our music and talent to showcase the rich Mindanaoan culture and share our style of hip-hop, and this collaboration with Spotify is providing us with that opportunity.

After spending time in the studio, the artists took to the stage for Spotify-hosted performances of their Spotify Singles in Cebu, Davao, and Manila. The excitement was palpable as nearly 6,000 fans attended the shows. The love for these songs spans the globe, and the artists and their Spotify Singles were featured on a billboard in New York City's Times Square.

Learn more about these diverse and talented artists in our Spotify Singles documentary.

Want more Pinoy hip-hop? Check out our Kalye playlist below.
LINK: https://newsroom.spotify.com/2023-12-20/spotifys-kalye-x-campaign-illu...
See more stories from spotify

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

09/03/2026

Judge Rules VOA's Kari Lake Has Acted Unlawfully'

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/03/2026

Utah Scientific Adds Three Companies To Technology Partner Program

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/03/2026

Broadpeak Showcases Premium Live Streaming Advanced Monet...

Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and monetization at scale, will showcase its latest innovations for broadcasters and streaming platforms at NAB Show 2026 (boot...

09/03/2026

RT supports launch of The Replay' Bringing the Voice of Mchel Muircheartaigh Back to Irish Homes and reconnecting lost memories

A powerful new national initiative supporting people living with dementia launch...

09/03/2026

How AI Is Driving Revenue, Cutting Costs and Boosting Productivity for Every Industry in 2026

AI is everywhere and accelerating everything - becoming essential infrastructure...

09/03/2026

ABB Robotics Taps NVIDIA Omniverse to Deliver IndustrialGrade Physical AI at Scale

ABB Robotics and NVIDIA today announced a breakthrough partnership that brings i...

07/03/2026

NAB Show: Tedial to Showcase Solutions for Future of Media Operations

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

06/03/2026

TNT Sports Acquires Exclusive U.S. English Language Broadcast Rights to FIBA Men's and Women's Tournaments

TNT Sports and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) have reached a mul...

06/03/2026

OffBall to Partner with TOGETHXR Across Commercial Strategy and Operations

OffBall and TOGETHXR, two influential young media companies in sports, announce a strategic and operational partnership in a shared push to scale and create inn...

06/03/2026

InfoComm 2026 Names Shure as Exclusive Headline Partner, Showcasing Audio and Innovation Across Key Activations and Stages

InfoComm 2026, a destination for AV, IT, broadcast, and AI-driven systems, annou...

06/03/2026

LTN, MediaKind Partner to Deliver Integrated Reliable IP Transport and Edge Processing

LTN and MediaKind announce a strategic partnership to integrate MediaKind's ...

06/03/2026

X Games Brings First-Ever Summer Championship Event to New Orleans in July

X Games and the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation (GNOSF) announce that New Orleans, Louisiana, will host the first-ever X Games Championship event - the fi...

06/03/2026

Chyron Releases New Edition of AXIS Maps

As part of a busy start of the year at Chyron, the AXIS team developed a set of improvements for AXIS Maps. The features released empower users with more flexib...

06/03/2026

BeckTV Launches BeckFlow at 2026 NAB Show While Highlighting its Latest Design and Integration Projects

At the 2026 NAB Show, BeckTV, a premier systems integrator for the broadcast ind...

06/03/2026

Net Insight Sets New Standard for Live Media Operations with Nimbra Live Intelligence

At NAB Show 2026, Net Insight introduces Nimbra Live Intelligence, which definin...

06/03/2026

SES Adds New MEO Capacity as Latest O3b mPOWER Satellites Enter Commercial Service

SES announces that it has added new Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite capacity ...

06/03/2026

LucidLink Launches Connect to Extend Instant Access to Data Stores

LucidLink, the cloud-native file streaming platform for instant, secure access to large files, announce LucidLink Connect, a new solution that enables real-time...

06/03/2026

Case Study: Panasonic Projection Brings Paddington to Life in London's West End

Panasonic helped bring the world of Paddington: The Musical to life through imme...

06/03/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 6: Cincinnati Bengals' Alex Schweppe - Welcome to the Jungle

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

06/03/2026

Ratings Roundup: Post Olympics High, NHL on ESPN Viewership Spikes Over 50%

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week's edition, NASCAR Cup Se...

06/03/2026

Riedel Communications Demos Product Innovations at 2026 NAB Show

At the 2026 NAB Show, Riedel Communications opens with a clear message to the North American market: production technology does not have to be complex. This ye...

06/03/2026

SVG Sit-Down: Midco Sports' Andy Price and Craig DeWit on How the Dakotas-Based RSN Is Redefining Regional Sports Media

Midco Sports isn't your typical regional sports network. Backed by nearly a ...

06/03/2026

Inside the Paralympics with OBS Producer Josephine Xiaofan

The stories around the Paralympics are really touching and the athletes, the atmosphere it is all amazing and we want to use new technologies to help us tell th...

06/03/2026

Apple TV Kicks Off F1 Era in U.S. With Driver Tracker, On-Board Cameras, Multiview, Sky Sports Feed

Apple TV subscribers will have access to as many as 30 additional live feeds acr...

06/03/2026

Ten Years On, South African Hip-Hop Artist Kwesta Reflects on DaKAR II'

Ten years after its release, South African hip-hop artist Kwesta's DaKAR II is still making waves. With 51.8 million streams on Spotify, the album continues...

06/03/2026

Statement on the appointment of Dr Nicholas Pappas AM as SBS Chair

Statement on the appointment of Dr Nicholas Pappas AM as SBS Chair Media releases The SBS Board and Executive have welcomed the appointment of Dr Nicholas P...

06/03/2026

Nielsen: 46 Billion Minutes of Women's Sports were Consumed in 2025*

Nielsen Highlights Women's Sports Viewership Milestones Ahead of International Women's Day on March 8 New York March 5, 2026 According to Nielsen&#...

06/03/2026

MXL Moves Into Stable Production Release

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

06/03/2026

LTN, MediaKind Partner on Industry Transition From C-Band to IP

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

06/03/2026

Roku Unveils 'Roklue' Interactive Content Discovery Feature

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

06/03/2026

FCC Releases Tentative Agenda for March Open Meeting

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

06/03/2026

ESPN to Air Animated Version of Capitals vs. Rangers NHL Game

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

06/03/2026

Tedial to Highlight AI-Fueled Media Lifecycle at 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

06/03/2026

esRadio Advances with DHD RX2 Audio Production Consoles

Spanish FM and online broadcaster esRadio has selected DHD RX2 audio production consoles for use at its studio headquarters in Madrid. Part of the Libertad Digi...

06/03/2026

LucidLink launches Connect to extend instant access to da...

LucidLink, the cloud-native file streaming platform for instant, secure access to large files, today announced LucidLink Connect, a new solution that enables re...

06/03/2026

BeckTV Launches BeckFlow at 2026 NAB Show While Highlight...

At the 2026 NAB Show, BeckTV, a premier systems integrator for the broadcast industry, is launching BeckFlow, the first web-based schematic documentation platfo...

06/03/2026

Net Insight sets a New Standard for Live Media Operations...

At NAB Show 2026, Net Insight introduces Nimbra Live Intelligence defining a new category and setting a new standard for live operations: the Open Media Platfor...

06/03/2026

Interra Systems Focuses on StreamingFirst QC Monitoring a...

At the 2026 NAB Show, Interra Systems will showcase its latest advancements in automated QC, real-time monitoring, and captioning reinforcing its position as ...

06/03/2026

Riedel Communications at 2026 NAB Show

At the 2026 NAB Show, Riedel Communications opens with a clear message to the North American market: production technology does not have to be complex. This yea...

06/03/2026

LTN and MediaKind partner to deliver integrated reliable...

New partnership combines on-prem video processing with reliable IP transport to support the transition from C-Band satellite to IP distribution LTN and MediaKi...

06/03/2026

VEON and JazzWorld Advance Pakistan's Digital Financial Future with Acquisition of TPL Insurance

06 Mar 2026 VEON and JazzWorld Advance Pakistan's Digital Financial Future ...

06/03/2026

Teaser revealed for Saturday Night Live UK

Friday 6 March 2026 Teaser revealed for Saturday Night Live UKTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy options and select Accept All'. Privacy...

06/03/2026

Announcing 'Barbara - Becoming Shirin David'

Back to All News Announcing Barbara - Becoming Shirin David Entertainment 06 March 2026 GlobalGermany Link copied to clipboard Available exclusively on N...

06/03/2026

F1: Bringing real Formula 1 sound to cinema

Discover how the F1 sound team turned a real Grand Prix into a cinematic experience. Director Joseph Kosinski and his team worked directly with the Formula On...

06/03/2026

Arvato Systems Joins Initiative D21 e. V.

Arvato Systems Joins Initiative D21 e. V. Shaping digital transformation together Collaboration in Germanys largest network for the digital society Membersh...