Original interview by DOUGBROCK
Retranslated to English for the general public by Sinking Fish
Original interview upload: January 29, 2023
Quick Links:
- Part 1: The Early Years
- Part 2: Taking the Leap
- Part 3: Rain-Soaked Dreams
- Part 4: Going Up with the Boys
- Part 5: The Rocksta Mentality
- Part 6: Tasting Success with SB19
- Part 7: Future-Proofing and Taking Risks
- Part 8: Keeping an Open Mind
- Part 9: Closing Thoughts
DOUGBROCK Radio Episode #89 Part 6 – Felip’s Confidence and Tasting Success with SB19
Dougbrock: Okay bro. Real quick, let’s go back. Back then, you gambled. You gambled for whatever you have now. You deserve this because you bet on it, man, right? You didn’t know anything, didn’t have pocket money, even had to borrow money just for you to be here.
My question is: How important was it for you to realize- No, let me rephrase my question. When did you realize that, “I’m going to bet on this. I feel like this is what I really want to do.” And why? When did you [say to yourself], “No more school, it’s really this. I think I believe Josh’s call. Even if a lot of us are auditioning, I feel like it’ll be me.” When did you realize that, and how or why?
Felip: Probably after… no, before- okay, Josh and I talked, right? That night, I mulled over it continuously. The whole night. I didn’t get a lot of rest because I was mulling over it. Then the next day, I went to school. Then when I got home, I said, “Grandma”- Oh, while at school, I couldn’t focus since I was thinking about it. That’s when I thought, “I think I really want to do this. This is what I enjoy doing.”
Dougbrock: It’s different when you feel like you have a calling, huh?
Felip: *Tug, tug, tug, tug*, that was my heart when I was about to tell her (his grandma).
Dougbrock: No matter how much you try to resist a decision, if it’s what your heart wants, it’s hard to fight it.
Felip: I felt like I would regret not doing it.
Dougbrock: You didn’t want to have “what ifs”.
Felip: I’m the type of person who believes that if I don’t take action now, I’ll end up regretting it later. So might as well just do it. I reasoned [to myself], “I need to risk this. I’m confident in myself.” At that time, I had faith in my abilities. That I had something valuable to offer.
You just really need to be confident in yourself.
Dougbrock: How important is being confident? Because when you applied, when you went here, you trained, you got rained on and all. When it was the last interview, you were very arrogant. How important that you are confident and you acknowledge your talents and your skills, so that when you get to the questioning, you are able to deliver effectively what you want to convey and your dreams.
Felip: Let me tell you something. Perhaps during that moment of perceived arrogance, I was [feeling] desperate. I had to be like… there’s a certain term for it- I felt compelled to stand out, so I had to do it. But I truly was confident that I had something to show. I had [the] skill. I refrained from any sort of exaggeration. I flaunted only what I actually had, not things I couldn’t do. I had to prove myself first before being arrogant. That was my attitude. I was aware of my limitations. If I couldn’t do something, I learned how.
Dougbrock: So, arrogant in a sense that you are confident about yourself and you’re cheering yourself on that you did that. Because before, you couldn’t.
Felip: And [that’s] the thing about confidence—with it, you can better project yourself to others, which could then be a source of inspiration. Consider, for example, someone donning an outfit that isn’t as easy on the eyes, but they feel confident with what they’re wearing-
Dougbrock: That it looks nice still.
Felip: Yeah, they wear it with so much confidence that they make the outfit look good on them. Seeing that is inspiring. It makes me want to be confident in my own skin. You have to accept it in order to be truly confident.
Take your skin, for example, or any imperfection really—accept it. Gradually, you’ll find yourself growing comfortable with it. That’s how it was for me.
Dougbrock: You have to acknowledge first what you have, who you are, before you’ll be confident, right? In yourself.
Felip: And like my deep voice, like I said, right? When it changed, I wasn’t fond of it initially. I didn’t truly embrace it. But one day, I made a conscious effort to appreciate it, because of the encouragement from those around me who always said, “It’s nice, trust me! Do it.”
So I honed that skill [and] practiced diligently. Gradually, as more people liked it, my confidence in it grew.
Dougbrock: Then you even got into a group that needed a deep voice. Perfect, right? You used it as an advantage.
Felip: So I honed it, refined it, and over time, I learned how to love it. Because when I showed what I could do- my deep voice, despite it not conforming to the standards we had back then, people actually liked it. So I learned how to love it. And now, I’m super in love with it.
Dougbrock: “It’s good that I have this. Unique!”
Felip: “Wow, I’m so lucky that I have a voice like this! Because not everyone can do this!”
Dougbrock: Yes. It’s very nice. Okay, let’s break this down.
So we know that you’re into singing. And when you stopped, [you] then [started] dancing. Now, singing and dancing. And you became successful with it.
Let’s briefly revisit the moment, particularly for the artists and individuals inspired by your story. How did you feel during your first performance when the fanbase’s enthusiasm was overwhelming? Where was it? When? Can you describe the experience? What was going through your mind during that moment?
Felip: It was when we were allowed to perform again, after the pandemic. Remember afterwards? Rules were loosening up, but performing was still prohibited in public.
Dougbrock: Yes, then we got to Alert Level 1, and it was allowed.
Felip: It was that moment, man. As in, super crazy.
Dougbrock: You didn’t imagine that the growth of your fanbase got that wide during the pandemic?
Felip: No, I didn’t. They were so impatient to see us! You know that feeling? I said, “Bro, we’re superstars now! Is this really our level now?” As in we were able to fill the stadium!
Dougbrock: Where was this?
Felip: This was at Araneta. So we said, “Woah, we might need a bigger space now!” I mean we saw the people—the crowd was crazy, man.
Dougbrock: They love you so much, huh?
Felip: Yeah, so much.
Dougbrock: And you love them back. The ATIN is-
Felip: Of course, of course. Whatever we have now is because of them.
Dougbrock: So it was super wild? How loud? What did it feel like?
Felip: The volume was deafening; it was truly loud. Without monitors on, it really was deafening. We couldn’t hear anything.
Dougbrock: Araneta was thundering.
Felip: Even with monitors! For example, at rehearsals, there were no people in sight—[the volume] was loud and we thought that was enough. But when there was a screaming crowd, our monitors became useless.
Dougbrock: You have to really know the song and where you’re at.
Felip: We always asked them to turn up the volume mid-performance.
[Things can get] extremely loud. And you really have no time to be exhausted because witnessing the fans going wild gives you goosebumps every single time.
Dougbrock: Makes you even more hyped. They really return the energy, huh?
Felip: Yes, it’s like that. You can’t see it, but you’ll feel it. The energy people give you. “Raahhhh” you know? It feels so good.
Dougbrock: What happened after that? How did it feel?
Felip: That’s when exhaustion hits. I wanted to sleep right away.
Because you’ve given your best. Without any breaks, just straight [up] performing for maybe an hour or an hour and a half. Then the energy from the crowd is electric, the screams are intense, it was-
Dougbrock: [A] core memory.
Felip: Yes, it’s one of those moments that I’ll never forget, even when the time comes when this’ll all end. I’ll seriously never forget it. I’ll never forget the feeling of looking at the crowd— it’s dark, everything is bathed in blue, and the venue is fully packed. It’s just too crazy.
Dougbrock: That’s love, huh? You see that’s love, huh?
Felip: I began with absolutely nothing. We started in a place where nobody appreciated us, performing to almost empty rooms where even seven people felt like an accomplishment. We still gave our absolute best. And now, here we are, with countless people watching us, finding inspiration in us, and looking up to us.
Dougbrock: That moment, everything flashed back, huh? All that you went through. In Araneta, a fully packed, sold out show.
Felip: You know when you first come [up] on stage? “Rahhhh!”
Dougbrock: Mhm, opening.
Felip: I couldn’t believe it. Sometimes, when I’m in the shower, it just hits me, and I find myself leaning against the wall. Out of the countless people in the Philippines, five individuals were blessed with this opportunity. It means the world to me—truly, it does. I can’t let this go.
Dougbrock: You’re one of those five individuals. Wow!
Okay, now that I’ve felt that truly [crazy experience]- and it wasn’t too long ago, just last year when it was allowed, and now it feels like you have the whole world at your feet. Felip I want to quickly ask: What changes do you envision for 2023 from 2022 for your music career?
Felip: 2023?
Dougbrock: Mhm, because now it feels like you have so much to release, like this is the music you’ve always wanted to create, the real essence of you. But can you pinpoint any changes? Are there any new developments?
Felip: Perhaps, hopefully, to gain recognition from a broader audience, not just our fans, especially within the hip-hop community. I mean, I really want to reach out to those who aren’t already fans because our existing fans are always there for us. I want to expand!
Dougbrock: Get more of them.
Felip: Get more of them, expand our reach.
Dougbrock: Because it’s beautiful to be in a community, huh?
Felip: And I think it also helps our group. Like, “Woah, who’s this guy? Who’s this Felip? Oh, he’s part of SB19! Who is SB19? Wow, it’s different!” Stuff like that.
Dougbrock: Just growth while expressing and sharing your craft.
Felip: And when we perform solo, we push ourselves even further. It’s like a challenge to explore our skills and discover capabilities we didn’t know we had. This process contributes to our growth, helping us become better performers for the future. Because, naturally, we still want to perform in the years to come.
Dougbrock: Yes, and more stages.
Felip: More stages, and even bigger ones! Global scene- we aim to penetrate it. So, I think that doing solo performances is a big help.
Dougbrock: …that you grow. That’s really nice because not only do you get to expand your own personal audience, but also each member of the group gets to do the same. And ultimately, you’re all part of one group that’s experiencing significant growth! And that contributes to the main goal which is to expand A’TIN. Wow.
Felip: Of course, it’s also for those who exclusively enjoy a particular [genre of] music. I want to show them [that we’re versatile], that this isn’t the only thing we can do. We can do that too. That’s why our leader, for instance, has his own, very underground hip-hop style.
Dougbrock: Pablo?
Felip: Yes, Pablo. His music video is very [underground hip-hop]. And then there’s me, I also have a different sort of music. We can do that. This isn’t all that we can do.
Dougbrock: This is where you let it all out.
Felip: So we aim to showcase our versatility as artists, and we do so by creating our own individual music. We’re capable of producing and writing our own songs, and to show our skills. That’s it—to elicit reactions like, “Wow, these guys are amazing, man!’”
Dougbrock: You produce your music. You can produce music. Can you mix and master them?
Felip: Not yet. But soon, but soon!
Dougbrock: You’re working on it!
Felip: Yes, I’m working on it!
Dougbrock: Woah, see? That’s dedication. That’s what being passionate is about. At least you’re learning it so you can understand it, right? Can you direct visuals or can you direct your visuals?
Felip: While I was writing for “ROCKSTA”, things were already happening in my head. I thought about the emotions I wanted to convey- I immediately wrote it down in my notes so I wouldn’t forget, “For this feeling, I want a blazing microphone.” This and that.
Dougbrock: You could already visualize it while writing the lyrics.
Felip: Because it’s like this: “ROCKSTA” is the type of song that resonates with a specific audience, so to speak.
Dougbrock: With this song.
Felip: With this song. There are people who won’t immediately take to it. It requires repeated listens before it grows on you. That’s what happened to me with “ROCKSTA”. At first, it didn’t make much of an impression. It’s not too aggressive, but also not too laid-back.
Dougbrock: Just in the middle.
Felip: I can’t quite put a finger on it myself. There’s just something about “ROCKSTA”. So, yeah, I get that there will be others who might not really vibe with it. But hey, give it a chance. Give it a chance!
If you listened to it once and didn’t like it…try again. Listen to it twice. It’ll grow on you. Some music is like that—you might not like it at first, but over time, you end up enjoying it.
Dougbrock: Usually, those are the ones that become classics. The easy, catchy ones are the ones that quickly… I mean, that’s just my observation. Anyway, bro, I still have a lot I want to ask you, but we need to take a break first.
Guys! We’ll take a break first, you already know. You’re still here on your favorite podcast.
[Channel Promotion]