In the past few years, the hip-hop culture in the Philippines has seen an intriguing newcomer rise quickly.
Since he started creating music in his native nation under the stage name Kiyo in 2018, the natural-born storyteller has won the hearts of many. He has a talent for writing songs that are as meaningful and relatable as enjoyable to listen to.
However, the 22-year-talent old’s at surprising his audience is what makes him such an intriguing artist. The rapper, whose real name is Yukihiro Rubio, isn’t one to stay in his comfort zone and constantly looks for ways to change his sound.
He shared some information about his tracks in an interview with Bandwagon Asia. He said, “the amateur side tells me that I need to try different genres to find what I am looking for. I’m still experimenting with what I really want to do with my music, [and] that’s why I tried to put [in] everything all at once. This is my first project after all. One thing I learned during the process is that hip-hop is a story of life — you can take hip-hop anywhere as long as it has a beat, and you can always tell your stories. I can tell my stories through different sounds [Having] many genres in one project is really unusual so I wanted it to make sense. That was the challenge. That was why I came up with the idea of time. My debut album revolves around time/the clock and the journey of life! And life is composed of different colors, experiences, vibes, moods, as well as stories of journeys. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions that you can feel [at] any time of the day. That’s why I have different sounds put into one project with every song having a specific time labeled to it.”
The Filipino hip-hop musician waxes poetic about self-worth as he expresses gratitude for overcoming life’s most challenging obstacles and for being able to repay those who have supported him throughout his musical career.
The Navotas City-born musician stated that one of his songs from last year, “We Rarely Appreciate Ourselves and the Simple Things That Give Us Joy,” was inspired by the idea that “we rarely thank ourselves and the small things that give us joy.”
Kiyo flourishes in the world of optimism and earnestness, experimenting with smooth, lo-fi sounds with vibrant production, and disclosing bits and pieces of his personal life to stirring effect.
