Abstract:
This study examines the role of Filipino kalye hip-hop music as a medium of political resistance
during Rodrigo Duterte’s War on Drugs in the Philippines. It utilizes Shenhav’s framework on
political narratives and political reality, Gramsci’s subaltern theory, and Arnold’s cultural
resistance theory to analyze hip-hop’s capacity to dismantle dominant narratives surrounding the
drug war through cultural resistance. This research derived data through key informant
interviews with four hip-hop artists who produced politically charged music during this period,
along with the archival and thematic analysis of their songs. The findings reveal that kalye
hip-hop’s accessible, simple, and explicit nature enable artists to freely express their criticisms
on state violence, which highly resonate with marginalized communities affected by the drug
war. Moreover, hip-hop allows for grassroots mobilization, especially as it inspires formal and
informal networks within the hip-hop scene—transforming it into a multi-sectoral platform for
resistance. Although the study also finds that the genre’s impact remains restrained due to
systemic challenges such as state repression, ideological divides, and limitations in resources, the
study concludes that hip-hop will continue as a repertoire for resistance as long as crises persist
and as it remains accessible especially to the youth and the communities.
