Gloc-9's New Album Sari-Sari Story is His Most Diverse and Ambitious to Date

Gloc-9 has been a household name in the rap and hip-hop community across the Philippines and Southeast Asia for nearly 30 years. With multiple albums and awards to his credit, and having mentored a new generation of rappers under his management, it seems there’s hardly anything left for the artist, whose real name is Aris Pollisco, to achieve in his career. 

However, there’s still plenty of material left from the undisputed “king of Philippine hip-hop.” Sari-Sari Story is the next eagerly anticipated album for both new listeners and hardcore fans alike, representing arguably his most polished, diverse, and creative output yet.

Written and recorded in six weeks, Sari-Sari Story didn’t exactly have a battalion behind it, although Gloc-9 specifically tapped the one and only Raimund Marasigan to take the helm of the new project as executive producer. The veteran musician (and original member of the Eraserheads, among other musical projects like Sandwich and Squid9) helped provide different layers to the album, which fans will no doubt enjoy. 

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Production on the album is inspired by different generations of hip-hop: the intro "Panulat Mo" is a callback to drumless, Griselda Records-like production; "Sagip" surprises with the curveball of a jersey club beat pattern rarely used by Gloc himself; "Tinda ni Linda" is a nod to ‘90s hardcore and horrorcore hip-hop; and "Yakap," is a track about suicidal tendencies (a topic rarely tackled in mainstream hip-hop today). Sari-Sari, as the title implies, sees Gloc-9 effortlessly laying down different kinds of blueprints and styles. It’s more than just a love letter to a community; it's a testament to his love for the genre.

Esquire Philippines sat down with Gloc-9 and Marasigan to talk about the album at length during an exclusive listening party of all 10 tracks at Tower of Doom, Quezon City. The artist said he felt humbled by the opportunity of challenging themselves with writing and releasing new material in a decade.

“Walang mahirap kaya ko na-appreciate si Raimund,” he explained. “Very honest siya sa mga directions na napuntahan ko. Ang tagal ko nang hindi nagsusulat ng kanta na parang meron akong respected teacher. Alam mo yung feeling na may respected teacher na lagi mong kasama na may lesson ka. Meron kang exam sa teacher mo na nirerespeto mo, so kailangan mong galingan. Ang tagal ko nang sumusulat, taon na, ng kanta na ako lang nasusunod din. Parang estudyante ako ulit, naeenjoy ko talaga.”

Gloc-9 also gave three rappers a feature credit in one of the songs from the album: Hero, Ramdiss, and G-Clown, appear in the posse track aptly titled “Idol."

“Yung ‘Idol,’ isa sa mga favorite ko rin yun,” he said. “Medyo prinessure ko si Ramdiss, Hero at si G-Clown to perform pagdating sa pagsusulat. Sobrang galing sumulat mga hayop na to."

Marasigan, meanwhile, explained how things just fell into place as far as his involvement in the project is concerned. 

“Tumawag si Aris, gumawa tayo ng kanta, alam ko isa lang,” he said. “Pumunta siya sa bahay. Nag-bike kami sa umaga tapos umuwi siya, tapos every week meron siyang bagong study niya na ipapadala. So yung trabaho ko, gawing soundtrack ng pelikula para sa makulay niyang sinusulat dahil makikita mo, mararamdaman, at maamoy mo; ganong klaseng lyricist si Gloc. Di pa natatapos yung isang kanta, may ipinapadala pa siya, di mo mare-realize na six weeks pala yun, napakabilis niyang sumulat.”

When asked about the most surprising track in the album, “Tinda ni Linda,” which features a haunting narrative of a cannibal putting up a mom-and-pop store in public, Gloc-9 shared what it was like to write a fictional track that is partly inspired by horrorcore sensibilities in old school hip-hop. 

“Fiction talaga yun!” he laughs, “You try to look for interesting topics to write about. Medyo ganon ako kadesperado maghanap ng bagong songs kaya cannibalism ang aking pinasok.”

While elaborating on the themes and stories being told in Sari-Sari Story, the natural-born writer and storyteller said he knew he wanted to pull out all the stops to give every single listener an immersive listen from start to finish. 

“It comes natural when you age,” he said. “And as you age, if you’ve been working on your craft, inevitably you mature. Kaya mas nagiging comfortable ka sa sarili mo as an artist, especially how you write.”

Gloc-9 was also able to add that there were zero hassles in working with Marasigan, knowing that they’ve been collaborating since the start of the rapper’s own career. 

“Walang ego involved,” he said. “I owe it to him; naibigay ko lahat ng songs sa kanya.”

Sari-Sari Story is an album that feels and operates like a mixtape. With little to no uniformity in track sequencing, Gloc-9 was able to come up with different formulas and approaches in rap to the point that he felt inspired to write new songs again after a long while.

“You come to a point that you have to really look for new topics to write about,” Gloc-9 said. “Kaya ganon ako lumanding. It’s very inspiring din na meron pakong natitisod na ganon na topic na may napopprove sa sarili ako na kahit papaano may natitirang tinta sa aking panulat.”

With Sari-Sari out in the world, the artist said he is looking to try reinterpreting those songs live with a different approach soon, something that he is yet to try. 

“Minsan pinag-uusapan namin,” he said. “Baka sakali mape-perform yung songs with an orchestra or with a big band. Anything na hindi ko pa nagagawa.”