Manila, Philippines – Spotify has launched a new music initiative titled ‘Kalye X’ dedicated to continuously promoting the Pinoy hip-hop in their platform, as well as dedicated to collaborations between artists, fans, and the community.
As part of this new initiative, Spotify worked with emerging and established Pinoy hip-hop artists to release a series of Spotify Singles. A first-of-its-kind in the Philippines, these original tracks bring together local artists to showcase the depth and diversity of Pinoy hip-hop.
The new initiative was marked with a launch party held in Brooklyn Warehouse in Manila, where Kossy Ng, head of music for Spotify Asia was joined by hip-hop artists Al James and Cookie$ to share more insights on the vibrancy of the Pinoy hip-hop scene.
“As a way to bring Spotify’s Kalye Hip-Hop playlist to life, Kalye X aims to amplify the everyday stories and experiences, told by passionate artists and communities. With the growth of Pinoy hip-hop listenership doubling in the past year, it’s important that we empower our artists to share their craft with fans in a deeper way, as well as push the boundaries of Pinoy hip-hop music culture,” Ng said.
As part of this initiative, three Spotify Singles will be released from August to October this year featuring artists from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Kicking it off is the pairing of Midnasty and Cookie$, presenting their track as an ode to the vibrant Visayan scene. Hailing from Zamboanga, the inventive collective Morobeats led by DJ Medmessiah, reimagines the sound of Mindanao hip-hop with their unique track. Lastly, representing the streets of Manila, Gloc 9, Hero, and Ramdiss will pull off a three-way collaboration.
MARKETECH APAC also caught up with Spotify’s Kossy Ng to learn more about Spotify’s marketing direction and insights on this latest initiative.
When asked how ‘Kalye X’ was formed, Ng said it was born out of the genre’s rising listening traction not just in the Philippines but also globally.
“Music is core to Filipino culture. Combined with easy access to streaming devices and an appetite for the local music scene, Spotify provides a platform to uplift artists and reflect the depth and diversity of the genre. Taking on its own unique Filipino identity, Pinoy hip-hop has been gaining incredible traction. In the past five years, there has been an unprecedented growth of 700% in local streams of Filipino hip-hop songs. Spotify’s Kalye hip-hop playlist has also seen five times growth in streams, reinforcing the central role audio plays in hip-hop culture,” she explained.
Provided data from Spotify notes that listenership of Pinoy hip-hop also grew globally at 600% strong with top markets including the United States, Canada, and Australia, amongst others.
It is also worth noting that Spotify had a previous hip-hop-related campaign initiative titled ‘Kalye Hip-Hop’ conceptualised alongside local creative agency TBWA\SMP. For ‘Kalye X’, Ng said that they worked with new partners to promote this new initiative, including with local audio marketing agency HOMONYM.
“We collaborated with our local partner, Homonym. As part of the process, Homonym collated insights from fans, labels, and industry insiders to better understand and support the Pinoy Hip-Hop scene,” she said.
She also added, “We also want to be mission-driven when it comes to unlocking the potential of human creativity and engaging the wider hip-hop community. We worked with streetwear brand HGHMNDS, who designed and produced Spotify’s exclusive KALYE X merch, gave the stage to AllStars and Rekta Sa Kalye, dance and rap battle collectives, and also commissioned a graffiti mural with Honeycomb Arts’ Kayo Cosio and Trip63. And we are just getting started.”