Remember the boys who created Marikit? I mean Juan Caoile and his schoolmate, neighbor and best buddy Kylewish. They were kids in school who just wanted to do their own rap recording and to their surprise, their initial effort ended up an instant success.
Truth to tell, they were among those who made the COVID-19 lockdown a bit more bearable three years ago with their lilting song Marikit.
They went “Binibining Marikit na dalangin ko/ ikaw ang nagbigay ng kulay sa aking mundo/ sana ay pang habang buhay na ito…” and sent everybody TikToking and dancing or simply feeling good with their infectious paean to a maiden described as marikit.
Now, these Marikit rappers from Tondo are back. This time Caoile and Kylewish are with assist from their friend Jawz and they are selling bigger than ever. How did they do it? They simply went back to the cause of it all, ang dalagang marikit.
The tune echoes their first big seller but with a difference. Maybe because they are older and now aware of the world, this new single is a sexy Marikit sa Dilim. “Binibining Marikit na dalangin ko/ ’Lika na dito sa kuwarto ko/ alam mo na ang kasunod nito…” Then fade to dark.
Marikit sa Dilim is a sexy slow jam with hints of R&B but the beat is no less infectious. Check out TikTok to see the fans and celebs caught up in the rhythm of the tune. They love it. No wonder it is now a streaming champ after it was dropped less than two weeks ago.
As of this writing Marikit sa Dilim has been streamed 7,521,559 times on Spotify and still gaining. Over on YouTube, it has over three million views on its various channels. And that is just the lyric video. Watch out for the new music video with a special secret guest star which will drop next week.
And like Juan Caiole, Kylewish and Jawz, Pinoy hip hoppers are spreading the Pinoy rap gospel everywhere in a big way.
Hev Abi continues to go all-Taylor Swift in the Spotify Philippines weekly hit list. That means that his songs are occupying several slots in the Top 50 Playlist. That means that seven titles out of 25, all feature the young rapper from Morato.
This also means that rap music is back on top for the first time since the glory days of Gloc-9 and Abra. Rap has become so big that those singer/composing harana boys are now finding it difficult to get into the hit list.
Let us see if this will hold out within the next months and if Hev Abi and his colleagues will be able to bring back Pinoy hip-hop tunes to their glory days.
The Spotify Top 25 of the Top 50 for the week: Babaero by gins&melodies and Hev Abi; Marikit sa Dilim by Juan Caoile, Kylewish and Jawz; Walang Alam by Hev Abi; Alam Mo Ba Girl by Hev Abi; Makasarili, Malambing by Kristine Dawn and Hev Abi; Get Low by O Side Mafia and BRGR; Lil Kasalanan Shortie by Hev Abi; Faded by Illest Morena; Take All the Love by Arthur Nery; homebody by DEMI and Madman Star; 711 by TONEEJAY; Tingin by Cup of Joe and Janine Teñoso.
My Love Mine All Mine by Mitski; Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift; We Made It by Nik Makino and Flow G; Heaven Knows, This Angel has Flown by Orange & Lemons; Miss Miss by Rob Deniel; Para sa Streets by Hev Abi; Sa Susunod na Habang Buhay by Ben&Ben; Rom Com by Rob Deniel; Pakundangan by DEMI and Hev Abi; Parehas Tayo by Nateman; YK by Cean Jr.; Para sa Akin by Jason Dakal; One of the Girls by The Weeknd, plus Jennie and Lily-Rose Depp.