The legacy of Francis Magalona (also known as Francis M.) endures—and it seems like Pinoy rap fans are going to get to “watch” the Filipino music icon one more time at the upcoming Eraserheads reunion concert.
The legendary Filipino rock band recently surprised fans with the announcement of their reunion concert on December 22 at the SM Festival Grounds in Paranaque City, Metro Manila.
In an interview with local news media outlet ABS-CBN, Francis Lumen, the concert’s producer and head of WEU Events, announced that the reunion concert plans to feature Francis M. through the use of holographic technology. He shares, “As we all know, Francis M. is the fifth Eraserhead.” Francis M. and Eraserheads have a long history of working together and are known to be close friends.
Lumen also referred to Magalona’s planned guest performance at the band’s one-night-only reunion concert in 2009. Unfortunately, Magalona died a day before due to complications of leukemia. The reunion concert was dedicated to the late rap icon, with the penultimate song as a reprise of “Kaleidoscope World,” one of Magalona’s biggest hits. In a HipHopDX Asia article chronicling how the Filipino language impacted Pinoy hip hop, we wrote:
Two of the most iconic hip hop songs are sung in Tagalog by rap legend and Pinoy hip hop pioneer, Francis Magalona, popularly known as Francis M or Kiko (a popular Filipino nickname for Francis).
Although the rap king generally sung and rapped in both Tagalog and English, his two classic hits “Mga Kababayan” (My Fellowmen) and “Tayo’y Mga Pinoy” (We Are Filipinos) in the 90s, remain to be the most popular nationalistic rap anthems in the country today.
The Francis M. hologram is one of the latest details to come out regarding the reunion concert, which has been dogged by a number of controversies. The concert recently drew flak for its steep ticket prices, with the most expensive tier costing PHP17,260 or approximately $293. Lumen alluded to it and explained that certain creative elements of the highly anticipated show will be costly, and as a result, the ticket prices are set to ensure a “high-quality show” for audiences.
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The show—and the band members—has been criticized online due to the lead guitarist Marcus Adoro’s participation despite allegations of domestic abuse against his former partner and daughter, singer-songwriter Syd Hartha.
Members Ely Buendia and Raymund Marasigan have since addressed the issue in separate statements, while Buddy Zabala “expressed his solidarity with Marcus’ alleged victims while also saying that he has to abide by however the concert producers decide to resolve the issue,” according to an interview with Rappler. Yesterday (October 10), Buendia announced on social media that tickets have been sold out.
The ABS-CBN news segment reported that a portion of the proceeds will go to advocacy organizations for women and children.
Header image: Artist photos courtesy of Eraserheads via Myktography and Francis M. via YouTube
