Rhythms of Defiance: Filipino Kalye Hip-Hop as a Form of Political Resistance during Rodrigo Duterte’s War on Drugs

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.