7 SHOTS OF WISDOM
The Hip Hop Party Aint Over… It's Just Beginning
Lionel Zivan S.Valdellon

published in PHILMUSIC.com: May 15,1999

"I see I got your eyes clashin', examinin' my curious kind of fashion, and askin' so what's up with tha baggy pants … another fad, people say, but I don't care if you don't like what I wear, instead I'll wear it anyway…" (from "Stare")

7 Shots Of Wisdom are explaining how hip hop is the '90s equivalent of '50s rebellion--- a struggle to get heard and be recognized, especially here in the Philippines. It's a struggle to get past the fashion and more into the music. They tell me with smirks on their faces, "Hip hop is just like rock and roll dati…the devil's music. It's always subject to discrimination pag bago."

And true enough, their music isn't mainstream pop, it's rap and R&B. Their lyrics aren't soft expressions of mushy love, their words machine gun all over topics like partying and finding a place in a society that discriminates. Much like their mentors in Kulay, 7 Shots is a smooth combination of urban groove and Pinoy soul, although the former is more pronounced than the latter. Yet, far from being cynical soldiers on a scarred battlefield, the group is a funny, vibrant barkada. They tell me they've been through a lot, but it doesn't show on their faces…instead the bond between members shines in the music they play.

Their debut album under Boom Dayupay's Vibestation Entertainment label (and distributed by BMG) is a 10-song collection entitled Lifted. And their first single "Who's Got Da Funk?" is still doing the rounds on radio playlists.

We are seated at a small, cozy restaurant in the middle of SM Fairview, where they've just performed for a medium-sized crowd ripe with indifference. They're in t-shirts and jeans, care of the mall tour's sponsor (further pronouncing their youth, at least to my eyes) and a lot of laughter peppers the conversation.

IN THE BEGINNING…

PhilMusic: I know you shopped your demos around to record companies before landing with Vibestation. What was it like?
7 Shots Of Wisdom: At first it was hard dahil inikot namin ang lahat ng record companies. Walang tumanggap. Then we found Boom who liked what we had. At that time it was only Harry, Mario and Mickey pa lang, rap group pa lang kami.
___If we didn't meet Boom, siguro we'd still be playing in underground parties and places like Katipunan's Flambeaux. Iyon ang unang underground hip hop na scene.

PM: How long has 7 Shots been around?
7S: From the very start? Aw, man matagal na…(they start counting on fingers) 6 years na, but with this complete group 3 years. 6 years? Ngayon lang namin nabilang!
___Kaya medyo matagal ang paggawa ng album, kasi before, rap trio lang kami tapos dumating sina Kim at Philip, and we fused everything.

THE MUSIC, THE CREW

PM: Talk about your music on Lifted.
7S: All the songs are written by us and Boom helped us with a lot of stuff. Our album has twists of everything. A flavor for everybody, since we listen to different kinds of music: folk, rock and roll, alternative, pop, R&B, jazz. Lifted was recorded in the Boom Room (Boom's Paranaque studio) over a span of a year and a half. We recorded everyday, sometimes till about 5 in the morning. We picked the 10 best songs out of around 32 which we recorded.
___We try to keep the music clean: no violence, walang murahan, we try to keep it positive and have fun. And we also guested other rappers from the Blow Up The Spot scene in Flambeaux… There are so many talents here who are so good, but just don't get a chance.

PM: What's your song creation process like?
7S: Ganito! (seated around a table)… Papel, radyo, cassette tapes. We put our heads together. Minsan, we pattern a new composition after another song that we really like… say, a groove which is nice. We base it on that groove, write a song around it, and then it's in the studio that we change the music and make it our own.

PM: Why are most of your songs in english?
7S: Oh we do have one or two songs with Tagalog parts. We have a song "Trilingual" which is in 3 languages, English Tagalog and Spanish, kasi half-Mexican si Mario. And one of our guests did a Tagalog rap in the last track. We'll try to do more in the future.

PM: What about decision-making in your group?
7S: Majority rules! Minsan, matagal talaga ang process, ang debate. Kulang na lang sumabog ang lugar. "Palitan mo iyan." "Ayokong gawin ang kantang iyan!" It's a real messy debate, but we reach a compromise. We put it to a vote and majority wins.

READINESS FOR HIP HOP

PM: After today's mall performance, do you think the masses are ready for 7 Shots in particular and hip hop in general?
7S: Yes to both. Nowadays, you can hear (hip hop) on the airwaves. Everything from R&B and rap to jazz. Filipinos are agreeable with hip hop because we love to sing and dance. And 7 Shots' music is made for dancing. Kahit saan ka pumunta ngayon may hip hop na, sa schools lalo. Not like 5 years ago… Hip hop is spreading. Evolving.
___Iba na talaga ngayon. Before, in clubs, you'd dance to puro techno….ngayon, sumasayaw na sila sa hip hop, R&B, reggae.

AUDIENCE REACTION AT GIGS

PM: What's the audience reaction been like in your gigs? I know you've done a campus tour…
7S: We've been really surprised. Because our music? A lot of people can't usually relate to it. But the response has been ok in the schools.
___Sa clubs naman, yung matatanda, nagugustuhan nila pag… lasing na sila. (laughter all around)… Hindi! Na ge-gets nila pag revival. Every crowd has to be attacked differently. The yuppie crowd, we give them revivals. The younger crowd, we give them mga bago.
___But the hardest crowds to perform to are the ones in malls--- mga masa. It's a struggle every time we take the stage. Sometimes it's discouraging when they're just standing around, nakatingin lang sila sa iyo. Nag-aalangan ka magperform. Pero, you're an entertainer, you gotta go on.

PM: And you're planning a bar tour with a live band? Tell me about it.
7S: Yeah , with a band named Opus, pero ang gagamitin namin rhythm section lang. People always see us with just minus ones you know? It'll be different when people see us with the band. It's a new experience na naman. And it's exciting. It should happen sometime in June.
___Also, we also have the music video for "Whos' Got Da Funk?", directed by Boom and Dave Yu. It's gonna be dope. The concept of the video is a live gig and we invited everyone in the underground hip hop scene here. In the video we show how we party. You'll see how hip hop will take over!

THE FUTURE

PM: Dreams for the group?
7S: To take it as far as we can go. Hopefully… the grammies? (we all crack up laughing)
Where we are now, we can't believe sometimes. For a hip hop act to penetrate radio, TV, malls, clubs… kakaiba. Ngayon, kahit papaano, pa-unti-unti, lumalabas na ang hip hop.
___Before some of us didn't believe in God. But now… hindi mangyayari ito kung di dahil sa Kanya. He's helping us out. We're studying the Bible. Whenever there's a show, we always acknowledge Him and ask for strength. One time nangyari na di kami nagdasal. Everything was messed up, one of us went blank, forgot lyrics.

STATE OF THE NATION

PM: Any message you have for the struggling hip hop underground?
7S: Some people think it was so easy for us to get here. 'Cause they see that we're in the limelight now, but it was hard work … and you gotta work if you wanna get anywhere. Love your music, develop your craft.
Things won't happen for you unless you push, push, push for that dream. No handouts in this world. If you don't love your work and yourself, you're never getting where you want to go.

DRUG FREE?

PM:Last words?
7S: Don't do drugs!
PM: Is this antidrug stance because you just know it's bad conceptually, or you've actually tried it and it's bad?
7S: From experience, man. We've tried it and it's bad. Kaya nga 7 Shots Of Wisdom kami. 7 is a symbol of completeness, and Wisdom is everything we've been through, the knowledge we've gained not from teachers but from experience.
PM: You're totally vice-free?
7S: Ah no. We don't wanna front that we're goody two-shoes or something. Siyempre, we love to have fun din, we drink and smoke… but it's not like we do it everyday. As much as possible we try to take care of ourselves… our health, our minds, each other. Andami nang nadaanan… Tara inuman tayo mamaya! (laughter)

"So everybody in the scene, have u ever seen a pinoy that can throw down like this flow, even rock a show like this? I think not. So feel the funk that I got." (--"Who's Got Da Funk?" by 7 Shots of Wisdom)

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