https://www.allmusic.

com/artist/gloc-9-mn0000662137/biography
Artist Biography by Neil Z. Yeung

Filipino rapper Gloc-9 is a trailblazer in the Pinoy hip-hop scene.

Born Aristotle Pollisco in the Rizal province port town of
Binangonan, he got his start in the underground hip-hop scene
with the gangsta rap group Death Threat. Choosing the
moniker Gloc-9, Pollisco would release a handful of albums with
the group, including 1997's quadruple-platinum Kings of da
Underground. He parted ways with the unit in 1999, making his
solo debut four years later with the self-titled Gloc-9 (Star Music).
Packed with his trademark quick, breathless rhymes, the album
featured appearances by Hannah Romawac, Cookie Chua, and
Dong Abay. His sophomore effort, Ako Si..., arrived in 2005. The
album showcased a more laid-back R&B flavor that flowed
beneath his bars. After 2006's Limang Kanta Lang EP, he
released Diploma, which featured the addition of nu-metal-esque
angst to songs like "The Task Is Done" and "Torpedo." Matrikula
(2009) and Talumpati (2011) increased his mainstream audience
with his continued incorporation of pop and rock stylings and
increasingly polished production. In 2012, MKNM: Mga Kwento
Ng Makata arrived. Featuring a dozen guest artists, including Jay
Durias and Billy Crawford, the album earned a gold certification.
His growing popularity helped push his follow-up, 2013's Liham at
Lihim, to platinum status. His fourth release in as many years, the
live album Biyahe Ng Pangarap, featured a set list culled from his
three prior releases and a slew of guest performers like Marc
Abaya, Chito Miranda, Rico Blanco, Ryan Cayabyab, and
Tippy Dos Santos. In 2016, Pollisco issued his eighth LP, Sukli.

https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/92131/gloc-9-keeping-it-real/

Gloc 9: Keeping It Real

By: Eric S. Caruncho Philippine Daily Inquirer / 08:35 PM
March 02, 2013

PEACE, MAN: With P-Noy at the

launch for I Am For Peace campaign (PDI Photo/Lyn Rillon)
Word up:
“Salarin,” Gloc 9’s duet with Bamboo off his 2012 album “Mga
Kuwento ng Makata,” is a guttural cry of anguish straight from the
Pinoy underbelly: a work of Tagalog poetry as authentic, as fully
realized and as powerful as “Maynila: Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag”
or “Isang Dipang Langit.”
Gloc 9 credits the late Francis M. for inspiring him to pick up the
mic, but his lineage stretches way back, from old-school truth-
tellers like Lino Brocka and Amado V. Hernandez, down to O.G.
Fliptop ancestor Jose Corazon de Jesus, a.k.a. Huseng Batute.
(The current local popularity of “battling,” the impromptu verbal
sparring matches between hip-hoppers, owes not a little to the
Filipino poetic tradition of the duplo, or balagtasan.)
The title of the album makes the connection explicit, but even
without the literary references, songs such as the breakaway hit
“Sirena” and the aforementioned “Salarin” speak so directly and
so eloquently so as to leave no doubt in the listener’s mind that
they are listening to a modern bard: In a way, poetry is like
pornography, you know it when you hear it.
The fact that National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera
has unabashedly declared himself a Gloc 9 fan only seals the
deal. In an online column for the investigative journalism website
bulatlat.com, Lumbera wrote:
“Ambag ni Gloc 9 at ang kapwa niya makabayang rapper ang
tinig na nagpapalaya sa mga hinaing at kaisipang pipi ng
mamamayan… Hangad niya na bigyang tinig ang bawat
kabataang may mensahe na nais niyang ipaabot sa kanyang
kapwa. Sa ganyang paraan, nagkakaroon ng tinig ang lahat ng
mga taong may nais sabihin tungkol sa sarili at sa lipunang
kinabibilangan niya. At sa paglaganap ng rap, ang mga Filipinong
pinipi ng kanilang katayuan sa lipunan, ng kakulangan ng pormal
na edukasyon, ng panghahamak ng humahawak ng
kapangyarihan, ay magkakatinig. At kapag ang mga pipi ay
nakapagsalita, isang hakbang na yan sa pagtatamo ng mga
Filipino (nang) masabi nating tunay na pagkapantay-pantay ng
mga mamamayan sa ating lipunan (Gloc 9 and his fellow
nationalist rappers give voice to the unspoken woes and thoughts
of the people… His aim is to give a voice to every youth who has
a message. In this way, every one who has something to say
about himself and his society finds a voice, and with the popularity
of rap, Filipinos rendered mute by their status in society, by the
lack of formal education, by the oppression of those in power, are
able to speak. And when the mute speak, it is one more step
toward true equality in Philippine society).”
 LIKE SIDDHARTHA: Gloc 9
experienced brutal reality up close (PDI Photo/Richard Reyes)
High praise, indeed. Labels like “rap” and “hip-hop” no longer
seem adequate to describe what Gloc 9 is doing, but he is loath to
deny his roots.
“If there’s one thing I want to achieve every time I write a song, it’s
to be able to relate to my fellow Filipinos and not alienate them,”
he says.
[Gloc speaks in Filipino throughout our conversation; his words
are freely paraphrased into English for convenience.]
“For as long as I’ve been doing this, I’ve noticed that when I start
off a rap with ‘yes, yes, yo!’ or ‘wassup?,’ many listeners are
immediately alienated, and likely they’re not going to listen to
what you have to say.”
If he had to describe what he does, Gloc 9 would prefer to say
that he is continuing what Francis M. started, which is forging a
genuinely Filipino rap.
I’d have to say that he’s largely succeeded with “Mga Kuwento ng
Makata,” his sixth album since first being signed as a recording
artist in 1997. It’s that rare commodity, a work of art that’s also a
commercial success, with “Sirena” gaining massive airplay and
critical attention, “Hari ng Tondo” landing in a major film’s
soundtrack, and a slew of potential singles yet to get their due.
His fan base also transcends the traditional hardcore hip hop
audience, including indie and alternative rockers, mainstream pop
fans, and members of the Pinoy underclass who regularly feature
in his songs. A Gloc 9 show is usually an all-ages show, with
grade schoolers rubbing shoulders with high schoolers and
college students, as well as their parents and occasionally
grandparents.
“I’m thankful that they ‘get’ what I’m saying,” he says. “I try not to
sugar-coat truths or to sound flashy. I try to be as creative as
possible in constructing my lines, but also to make them as simple
as I can. To say complex things in a way that can easily be
understood. I call it organized chaos.”
Gloc has been fascinated by language for as long as he can
remember.

Born Aristotle Pollisco in 1977—he was named after the Greek

shipping tycoon, not the Greek philosopher—Gloc 9 grew up in
sleepy, semi-rural Binangonan, Rizal. He credits his early years
with making him the writer that he is today.
“I had an incredibly rich childhood,” he recalls. “I was able to
experience wandering freely around, playing in the rain, getting
into mud fights, climbing trees and swimming in the river. I played
all the childhood games that sadly children today have forgotten.”
The young Gloc went to school in nearby Morong. His
schoolmates came from all over and he absorbed their
vocabulary. He became a wordsmith at an early age, being the
first choice to create catchy slogans for anti-drug or pro-nature
campaigns since the third grade. He would take current popular
songs and write new original lyrics for them, to make them fit the
theme.
At the same time, he was getting schooled in real life. His mother
ran a sari-sari store, and he was often called on to do the
marketing for the household. Being the “Palengke Boy” put him in
contact with the entire spectrum of Pinoy society at an early age.
When he got older, he served as “conductor” for his father’s
jeepney route, plying the Binangonan-Cainta Junction.
The seminal moment came when, in high school, he started
rapping spontaneously to a classmate’s cassette player,
improvising lyrics on the spot, to everyone’s delight. Thence came
the realization that what he wanted, more than anything, was to
be a rapper.
“I love what I’m doing,” he says. “I’ve never asked God for
anything else, and even today, when things get blurry, and I feel
that I’m not thinking straight, I stop and try to imagine myself back
in first year high school, on a bench in Morong, Rizal, praying to
God to please, let me be a rapper, and let me release my own
album. I was 12 or 13 years old. That always puts me back in the
right state of mind. I’ve always treated what I’ve achieved as a gift
for which I’ll always be thankful.”
There were some hard dues to be paid, however.
Out of high school he took a succession of menial minimum-wage
jobs to support himself while pursuing his dream: as cleanup crew
in a fast food chain’s commissary, as a pizza maker in an all-you-
can-eat pizza joint. All of these experiences fed into his lyrics.

At the same time he began to make a name for himself in the

local underground hip hop scene. A friend told him he had to have
a rap name if he wanted to be a rapper. It was 1995, the height of
“gangsta.” A number of options were suggested: AK47 and M16
were rejected outright, but he decided that Glock 9, minus the “k,”
sounded catchy.
His raw talent was recognized early on. Francis M. sort of took
him under his wing, telling him: You have a gift, what you do with
it is up to you.
The dues paying didn’t stop when he was signed to Viva Records
in 1997. He already had three albums under his belt when he
decided to enroll in nursing school.
“I figured I got what I prayed for, and it was time to pay back my
parents, and God, for what they had given me,” he recalls.
In retrospect, studying to become a nurse while trying to pursue a
music career was insane: Gloc would go straight from an out-of-
town performance to the hospital, running while changing from his
gig clothes to his nurse’s uniform like Clark Kent. It was brutal, but
it thrust Gloc deeper into the very fabric of contemporary Filipino
reality and proved to be one of his most fertile creative periods.
“It is very evident how hard life is for most of our countrymen,” he
says. “But when I was about to graduate, and spent a lot of time
as a duty nurse in various public hospitals, I saw first hand how
hard life really was for the majority of Filipinos.”
Like the Siddhartha venturing outside the walls of his palace, Gloc
saw death and suffering up close, fathers grieving for dead
children, mothers and newborns crammed four to a bed,
desperately ill patients who didn’t have the five pesos for the
hospital registration fee.
It helped that he was already well known as Gloc 9: Patients got a
kick from having their blood drawn (and, in several cases, having
their babies delivered) by a famous rapper. But the relentless
suffering that he witnessed took a psychic toll. Gloc channelled it
all into his next album “Matrikula,” its title suggesting all the dues
that he had paid for the right to speak.
Francis M., his friend and mentor, already gravely ill, was very
much on his mind while he was writing the songs that went into
“Matrikula.” He wanted, more than anything, to play the album for
“Sir Kiks,” but sadly, time ran out. But the undercurrent of sadness
permeates the work, as well as a growing authority of the voice
behind the songs.
“Matrikula” (2009) was followed by “Talumpati” (2011) and “Mga
Kuwento ng Makata” (2012), with Gloc’s writing getting tighter and
sharper with each album.
“This is probably it,” he says when asked if he has found his
authentic voice. “I don’t see myself changing my sound, or should
I say, trying to sound younger.”
He says turning 35 and being a husband and father (to 8-year-old
twins) have grounded him, and if there’s any new challenge to be
faced, it’s finding new songs to write.
“Here in the Philippines, there’s no shortage of stories to tell,” he
says. “But whatever you do, if you’re doing it for a good reason,
you can’t go wrong.”
He draws his songs from his personal experience, or from stories
that he hears. Sometimes, as in “Lando,” it’s an imaginative leap,
beginning with the question: What kind of travails does a person
have to experience to get him to the point of turning into a taong
grasa (homeless drifter)? Sometimes, the words just come, as if
from on high.
“My writing has become second nature. The word I use to
describe the lines I write is biyaya (grace). When I hear some of
the songs I’ve written, sometimes I can’t believe that I wrote them.
Sometimes, I’m in the middle of writing one line but I already
know what the next line is going to be. And I seldom erase what
I’ve written. It’s a very fluid process, and I can’t attribute it to
anything because I’ve never studied formal writing. It’s really a
gift.” •
For more about Gloc 9, visit www.glocdash9.com

Read more: https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/92131/gloc-9-keeping-it-

real/#ixzz5tk137IW0
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http://biopinoys.blogspot.com/2009/01/gloc-9-aristotle-
pollisco.html

Gloc 9 [Aristotle Pollisco]

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://glocnine.multiply.com/

Gloc-9 (born Aristotle Pollisco) is an Awit Award-winning Filipino

rapper. His fast-flowing vocal style has made him one of the most
successful hip-hop artists in the Philippines. He has won the
award for Best Rap Artist at the Philippine Hip-Hop Music Awards
for three consecutive years (2005-2007) and has also been
recognized by the MYX and MTV Music Awards.

Gloc-9 has also contributed to the soundtracks of several films,

including Star Cinema's "Jologs" and "Trip."

Star Records:

Dubbed as the fastest rapper in the Philippines, GLOC-9 has

released his self-titled and highly anticipated debut album under
recording giant Star Records. It is no secret to GLOC-9
aficionados that this guy can easily rap up to 200 words per
minute. So fast yet so clear, that one can easily understand and
relate to the words he is expressing.

For GLOC-9 (or Aries Pollisco in real life), rap is an expression --

an expression of both his thoughts and emotions. A story of what
he went through or is still going through now, especially of what
he dreams of becoming in the not so distant future.

“The name Gloc-9 was given to me by a friend, Ronald Solanga

of Death Threat,” according to the artist himself. “It was probably
associated to me because of the way I rap -- the speed, the clarity
of the words,” he added. Gloc-9 went on to share that, “It was
when I heard the song Cold Summer Nights of Master Rapper
Francis M., that I got inspired and decided to get into rapping.”

All the songs in the album were either written or co-written,

arranged and produced by GLOC 9 himself. It includes the
massive hits Isang Araw; Jologs; Sayang; Simpleng Tao;
Hinahanap Ng Puso; Sikat Na Si Pepe; and the duet Bakit, which
he performed with Cookie Chua for the 2002 Himig Handog Love
Songs Competition. It also includes Banal Na Aso, the theme
from the TV series Nginiiiig.

His song Isang Araw received an award for the BEST RAP
RECORDING from Katha and Awit Awards. Incidentally, industry
bigwigs once again recognize GLOC-9's talent, creativity and
music artistry. He has earned nominations for Favorite Male
Recording Artist and Favorite Music Video (for the song Sayang)
in the MTV Pilipinas Video Music Awards 2004, as well as for
Best Rap Recording in the 17th Awit Awards.

"Being recognized for my craft is an honor enough for me,"

GLOC-9 reveals. "I live for music. It's an expression of what I am
and I'm happy being where I am right now." GLOC-9 is just like
his hit single "Simpleng Tao" in real life. He is cool, fun-loving and
indeed very simple despite the fact that he has already marked a
niche for himself in the music industry. He doesn't have airs and
keeps his feet firmly planted on the ground. His friends and co-
workers all agree that GLOC-9 hasn't changed a bit even with the
fame and fortune he is amassing right now.

With all the achievements he has earned, GLOC-9 cements his

reputation as one of the country’s finest and fastest rappers. So
come along, join the journey and listen to the numerous cuts in
the album, to know what this artist has inside of him.

Sony BMG:

Rapping these words from the title track of his new album
"Diploma," GLOC-9 may not have achieved an actual college
degree yet, but deep in his heart he knows already has one - his
compositions, his songs, his hits - achievements that made him
who he is in the music industry today.

Nonetheless, it doesn't mean he is turning his back to a real

college diploma. GLOC-9 or Aristotle Pollisco in real life, in fact, is
currently a second year nursing student. Indeed, that's why he
called his latest album just that. "It can mean two things: one is
stated in the song and the other is me going back to school to
finish college," the award-winning rapper said.

Now signed with major label Sony BMG Music Entertainment,

GLOC-9 couldn't be any prouder with his third album.

"This is very special to me because I never imagined how

different my songs will sound from my previous albums. "A lot of
effort was put in musicality and arrangements which surprised
me. I never thought it could be done in rap music as what most
people do with mainstream pop."
"Diploma" marks a 360 degree turn in GLOC-9's songwriting. Part
of his mission nowadays is to bring positive influence to his
audience.

"Before, I would just get a pen and write songs not really knowing
its effect to the listeners. Now I think of its consequences
especially with children. Likewise, I learned to enjoy every
moment of writing a song."

But still, GLOC-9's lyrics are as real as you can get, yet dishes
out a bit of wisdom. Taking him a year to finish the 14-track all-
Tagalog album, he culled his songs from various motivations: a
good song, a good film, a person or his/other's personal
experiences.

One of those borne out of these inspirations is the carrier single

"Lando." A song mirroring the reflection of our harsh society,
GLOC-9 brings to life a story of a taong-grasa.

"Whenever I see one, I always wonder what led him to a life like
that. I thought of a story about two lovers. The boy is poor, the girl
is rich but still they fell in love despite the difference in social
status. But what they thought was a perfect life suddenly went
tragic because of a crime that eventually caused him to become a
'taong grasa'," It was a moving story, very affecting especially
after seeing the music video which was helmed by the young and
upcoming director Jay Pacena II.

Aside from being his most memorable song to date, GLOC 9

considers the track a blessing for two reasons: "When I wrote
'Lando', it was like someone was already dictating the next line to
me. I finished it in three and a half hours." The second is his rare
collaboration with two of the most respected names in the industry
- master rapper FrancisM and Parokya Ni Edgar vocalist Chito
Miranda.

FrancisM, which GLOC-9 considers as his first and his biggest

influence, lent his voice to sing the song's refrain written
especially for him by Miranda. "I'm so grateful and it was really a
big honor to have worked with both of them."

Other guests in "Diploma" include teen singer/actress Lovi ("Lov

na Lov"), Czarina Rosales ("Blues Niyang Itim"), Loonie of Stick
Figgas and Konflick of Death Threat ("Sila") and Mitchell ("Kayo").

Rock meets rap as Gobas and Reg Rubio of Greyhounds joins

GLOC-9 in "The Task Is Done," a track encouraging people to live
their dreams and that nothing is impossible. Vic Mercado of
Bamboo mans the drums in the interlude "Demo Tape."

Nelly's hit "E.I." was such a personal favorite, GLOC-9 decided to

adapt the song to a new single he called "B.I." Likewise an
Eraserheads fan, he sampled the band's hit "Torpedo" with JP
Cuison of Kiko Machine doing the refrain vocals.

GLOC-9 further expresses who he is as a rapper in "Lapis at

Papel" while he enumerates the bad experiences people had to
go through and tells the listeners to just dance the problems away
in "Sumayaw Ka."

Hailed by critics and respected by his peers, GLOC-9 worked with

established names in the industry like FrancisM, Cookie Chua,
Bayang Barrios, PKSO and Dice & K9 to name a few.