DOUGBROCK Felip Interview Part 1

Original interview by DOUGBROCK
Retranslated to English for the general public by Sinking Fish
Original interview upload: January 29, 2023

Quick Links:

DOUGBROCK Radio Episode #89 Part 1 – Felip’s Early Years

Dougbrock: What is up cyberspace! Welcome back to your favorite podcast. This is Dougbrock Radio.

What you’re watching now is premiering here, of course, on your favorite YouTube channel, Dougbrock TV.

Man, this is your Sunday habit. You can also listen to this podcast on all podcast streaming platforms like Spotify, Anchor FM, Google Podcast, Pocket Casts, and Amazon- Now also available. Thanks to everyone listening and watching.

This is super solid. This podcast episode is super solid because it was only earlier that I met him for the first time up close and I was able to appreciate his personality right away. He is a real artist.

Ladies and gentlemen, I won’t drag this out any longer. Cyberspace, please all welcome, Felip.

Felip: Hello, man, what’s up.

Dougbrock: What’s up bro?

Felip: How are you, how are you?

Dougbrock: Thank you, bro.

Felip: Yup, thank you so much for inviting me here.

Dougbrock: Thanks, thanks.

Felip: It’s an honor, it’s an honor to be here.

Dougbrock: Thank you so much. Thank you for the opportunity.

Felip: Yeah!

Dougbrock: How are you? So we recorded something. We did something that you guys will be able to watch here for sure. But before all of that, how are you?

Felip: I’m super okay, and of course I hope they’re all okay too. I’m doing good. And it’s okay- I’m completely fine in general. That’s what I want to let people know.

Dougbrock: That’s so nice to know. Because, of course, being an artist in this time and age, right? Not just on social media, television—multimedia in general. You’ve been part of everything lately. And for you to say that you’re okay overall, the balance, yeah?

Felip: It’s probably because last year, a lot of things happened. And when we got home from the tour, I was still super busy. I did a lot of things—I had no rest. Even during Christmas, I haven’t really taken a rest.

Just to, you know, finish everything that I needed to do. So, yeah. Now, I’m happy because it’s gotten lighter.

Dougbrock: Just a few more pending?

Felip: Yeah, just a few more. But after this, we’re going to keep going. That’s life, that’s life.

Dougbrock: I think for artists like you, the “-ber” months [September – December] are super busy, especially the holiday season.

Felip: Yes, super. Super busy. There’s a lot [of things to do] but we’re thankful! We’re thankful.

Dougbrock: Of course!

Felip: We have a lot of schedules, and yeah.

Dougbrock: Blessings, of course.

Felip: They’re blessings to us.

Dougbrock: So you did the tour in the US?

Felip: Yes, US. First in Dubai.

Dougbrock: Okay.

Felip: Then, we went to the US, New York, LA, San Francisco, and then Singapore. Our last stop was Singapore. But before that, we did a local tour first.

Dougbrock: Philippines

Felip: Yes, Philippines first. It was—how many cities? I forgot. Probably around 10 cities.

Dougbrock: Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao?

Felip: Yes, we toured around.

Dougbrock: And then Middle East, US, back to Singapore, and then back home.

Felip: Yeah, yeah

Dougbrock: Wow, okay. We’ve now talked about quite a few things. We made it to the world tour (laughs). It’s just been very quick. But I’m just very thankful that successful artists like him indulge my invitations to talk. Because your stories… Talk about your stories because, bro, it’s an inspiration to a lot of artists.

Because I feel like a lot of talents are being wasted—just kept in the bedroom, kept in the house, no chance of getting out.

Felip: That’s true, that’s so true. Because, you know, there are a lot of good artists that aren’t given the spotlight they deserve. And yeah, I’m happy that- remember when I arrived earlier and I said, “Who’s this?” Like- [that artist is] so talented and I only got to discover them here.

So I’m thankful that I also get to discover artists that inspire me. They just want to do their [own thing]. They just want to follow what they want to do.

Dougbrock: Their craft.

Felip: Yes, their craft. The artistry that they have—they want to share it with people. That can serve as an inspiration. Even if you’re not that well known, as long as you enjoy what you’re doing, that’s what’s most important about being an artist. That you share your own craft to inspire other people.

Dougbrock: That’s what I’m saying. It’s super solid that you agreed to come because this too can be an inspiration to the newbies.

Felip: I’m grateful that I’m here right now. To meet you guys. I’m so thankful.

Dougbrock: The fanbase of Dougbrock TV is super solid. Cybergang, everyone who is here now. And a lot of them requested for you. I’ll look for it on Twitter. Someone sent me a message. Whoever you are, message me again, DM me.

Felip: Thank you, thank you.

Dougbrock: They messaged me that there is a member of a group, a P-pop group, who also does rap on his own.

And then that person- I’m sorry, I really can’t remember your Twitter handle but please message me. That person specifically referred your page to me. I knew about you, for sure, but I said “Oh wow, he’s actually doing solo”.

Because I didn’t know [about it] so that’s what I wanted to know more about. I didn’t know you were also into hip-hop.

Felip: Yeah, it’s really hip-hop.

Dougbrock: Okay, and then they messaged me. And I said, “How can I get to him?” How I could reach you and all that. Because [if I reach out] on Instagram, I’m sure it’ll only get buried under all the messages you get in the daily.

So since they were the one who told me about it- shout out to you again! I said I really wanted to talk to you. Your personal brand was newly launched back then. So yeah, he’s here now.

Felip: I’m here, thanks to you [referring to the fan who reached out to Dougbrock].

Dougbrock: Right? I mean, since that moment, on that day that I saw the DM, I think I tweeted “Inshallah”—in Islam it’s like “God willing”. Because I also wanted to interview a person who performed at Araneta after the pandemic. You know? Just real talk, bro. Thank you.

Felip: It was our fans who made it happen. Near impossible things were made possible because of them. So shout out to our fans, A’TIN. Especially [to my supporters], sisiw(s)—hi to you all!

Dougbrock: Shout out to you, guys. Shout out to you all. So yeah, moving on. Felip, I think this is going to be rare.

I watched your interviews—I checked your past interviews. So I know what to ask that hadn’t come up in your past interviews. So here I’m going to get to know you deeply.

Maybe bro, let’s start by rewind.

Where did Felip start? Who was he as a child? From what place? How was he brought up? What was he into? Did he have siblings? Choose how you want to tell your story.

Felip: Sure, I’ll try my best.

Dougbrock: Go ahead, man.

Felip: To tell the story starting from childhood.

I’m Felip from Lakewood, Zamboanga del Sur in Mindanao. We were poor, so my parents—I think I only met them once or twice my whole [childhood] life—were abroad. They worked in Malaysia.

Dougbrock: Both mom and dad?

Felip: Yeah, they left us with our grandparents. They [his grandparents] raised us, from kindergarten to college. And growing up as a kid- since my grandpa was a pastor, they were what you would call conservative.

Dougbrock: Just knowing how grandparents are in general, especially when your parents are not around.

Felip: Yes, super. You can’t even stay out past 6pm, right? After school, you would have to go straight home and study.

Dougbrock: Shout out to all the grandmas and grandpas because perhaps in an effort to compensate for past mistakes with their own children, exhibit an extra level of protectiveness towards their grandchildren. But they love you well. Anyway…

Felip: I was super close with my grandma. To the extent that I still slept between the two of them, even when I was already in high school. So, growing up, there was never a shortage of love and guidance from them.

And if I happened to arrive home at 6pm, [I would get smacked with] a stem from the guava [tree]. Of course, being from a mountainous rural area with plenty of trees around, that wasn’t hard to find.

The area really had no reliable cellular service then, but there’s one now. Wait, actually there’s still no signal, but there’s wifi.

Dougbrock: There’s internet. There’s an internet line.

Felip: Yes, there’s internet. So how does that work exactly?

Dougbrock: There’s no cellular signal, but the houses have internet.

Felip: Yes.

Dougbrock: Because there’s an internet line.

Felip: Yes, right. Okay, so since we had our own church—my grandpa was a pastor, so is my dad but he’s based in Malaysia. And my uncle, he’s really good with music [instruments] in general—piano, guitar, drums.

Dougbrock: Is he playing at the church?

Felip: Yup, he plays at the church. I’ve always looked up to him, and perhaps even now, he remains the one I truly look up to.

Dougbrock: Wow, total musician.

Felip: Mhm, you know the feeling when you’re playing an instrument, and you close your eyes, and they roll back? Probably because of how beautiful the music is.

So I asked, “Uncle, why are your eyes doing that?” He said, “You’ll understand when you start understanding music.”

Dougbrock: How young were you when you asked?

Felip: Probably around 6 or 7, something like that. So I was at the church…

Dougbrock: Wow, you were already curious at that age.

Felip: Yes. On a small stage, the church had something called a pulpit, with the piano nearby. I always found myself in the very back pew. That was my spot, you know, being a kid and all. After the children’s Bible study, we’d head outside to play.

But when it was time for praise and worship, I’d watch him closely. As he played the piano, his eyes would often roll back, which piqued my curiosity.

One time, I mustered the courage to ask him why. He explained that, to him, music was like a language, speaking directly to his soul. I couldn’t quite grasp it at the time—how could music speak to someone?

Since I grew up watching them all the time, I naturally adopted some of those habits and tried to grasp the feelings [they described]. So yeah. Probably, at this time, my understanding still isn’t as deep as his because I’m not really that good with music. I can just- My skills are enough to make music, but not with the same depth and mastery as him.

Dougbrock: Can you read notes?

Felip: No, I can’t.

Dougbrock: Okay, but your uncle can?

Felip: He can. Because he also teaches music to kids.

Dougbrock: But you’re able to create, right? You can produce for your own?

Felip: I can create and produce using electronics. Because you know, there’s MIDI now. You can play guitar, drums [and etc] there so…

Dougbrock: FL Studio, stuff like that?

Felip: Yeah.

Read PART 2 here.