8TONBALL

 First things first. Do we know what an 8TONBALL is?

According to Google, the name has a literal and metaphorical meaning. In literal sense, it is a heavy ball weighing 8 tons. Metaphorically, it pertains to heavy emotional or physical burden. We all know how clever and sassy Josh Cullen's lyricism is, especially the way he delivers his lines, even in their group songs. His tone and delivery serves a character full of flavor that makes his rap verses iconic. Now, let's go over the lyrics and try to decipher what the song means.

Wait a second, 'cause we going to the top and (Ah, yeah)

Made a bet, and now, I'm floating never stopping (Brrah)

Wait a second, 'cause we going to the top (Ah, yeah)

Made a bet, and now, I'm floating never stop (Let's go)

        The introductory verse of 8TONBALL is relatively simple and straight forward, yet if you would think about it, there's deeper meaning behind the verse. SB19 started at bottom, especially Josh. He had all the reasons to turn out bad, but he didn't. The whole group started with nothing but a dream, and look at them now. They said they'd go and they did. They soar high and they are not stopping yet. Go up wasn't just a song that told their dreams. It was a declaration—a manifestation of what they want their future to be, and made it a reality.

Break it up, breathe in, exhale (Ah)

Shake 'em up, know y'all don't care

See, we're breaking all the rules, going all out with the bang

Just doing what I want, what I can, serious

Through the years, they've had to endure endless tirade from haters, bashers, and trolls. They've received all kinds of insults, and even recently, a crazy YouTube user threatened to hurt them if they go to the U.S. Many people also criticize them for being different, discarding their music as just noise without truly understanding it's meaning. They are called sound break for a reason. Name an artist or a group who has such a varied discography like SB19? I mean, some artists may have songs in their discography that sound different from one another, but they are all the same genre—or at least themed the same. Majority of artists out there can only stay in one genre until the end of their career, and then they will retire. Some would try to keep their careers afloat by trying out other genres, but I haven't heard any artist that successfully did it.

Laging may serious-biz, delirious nga ba, huh? (Huh)

Tingala, doing my thing ridiculous game

Isulong ang P's and huh, hit 'em up

Better ba? Better ba? Yeah, hell if I, hell if I care (Okay)

Gotta make it pop, let's run it up, I made this game

Paved no way? Ballin' harder, boy, respect my name

Breaking lines, the way we change the ways

I'm taking my claim like eenie, miney-moe, whatcha doing?

Yeah, we here and now, what we losin'

 SB19 is known for their dedication to their craft. Just recently they posted the 'DAM' The Making: Song & Choreo wherein we can see them train like their about to compete in the Olympics. Never have SB19 settled for anything less than the best for their fans and audience. They remained unbothered by the negativities and simply use it as fuel to the already blazing fire inside of them. Haters and trolls are working hard to discredit SB19 contribution to the rise of PPOP and to the OPM industry, but records will not lie. The game may have been existing before MAHALIMA arrived, they made it relevant and worthy of attention and recognition. They may be humble but they know how to stand their ground. They know what they've been doing, and no troll or hater could ever refute that.

I've been working for my desire, we roll or die

We own the hype, we movin', yeah, yeah, yeah

Can you feel the change?

Break hard

One thing that will never change for SB19 is their drive to deliver great music and life lessons that can help others pick themselves up so they can keep going. They don't need anyone else's hype and relevance because they are the hype, and they will always be relevant. Whenever they release a new song or EP, you can feel the ground of PPOP shifting. Do you want to know why? Because whenever our boys deliver something new, it's always on another level. They keep raising the bar so high, it's getting impossible to keep up.

Eight-ton ball, might come crashing down on the ground

Eight-ton ball, yeah, we break it down, get it, get it (Let's go)

'Di lumalapag lang basta, (Okay) mas lumalakas ang asta (Okay)

Wait, wait, I'm cappin', uh, so what? I'm fly

Swerve, swerve, zoomin' 'round, we zoomin' 'round, uh

Swerve, swerve, motor loud, we comin' louder (Ow)

'Di lumalapag lang basta, (Uh-huh) mas lumalakas ang asta

Wait, wait, I'm capping, uh, so what? I'm fly

Like an eight-ton ball, the PPOP Kings broke every doors and barriers laid out against them. When people doubted them, they proved themselves by taking the music industry by storm. When people thought they're done, they showed everyone that they're just getting started. There's catching them because they can run circles around anyone. They've got eyes on them because they always have something to offer. In every era, our five keeps proving that there's a whole new layer of them that we haven't seen. Their moniker: PPOP Kings was given to them. They didn't call themselves that. It was the media and the people who crowned them, these five men just keeps proving why they deserve the title.

Dumagundong man ang tala ay hindi na bibitaw (Oh, you gonna see, rise)

Tumalon man sa bangin ay iisa pa rin sigaw (Brrah)

Bitter attention, we growin', indelicacy of the scars, yeah, we blowin' (I blow it)

Keep it a hunnid, I know it, I'm ready to face all the fuss, yeah, we do it (Yeah)

Heavy metal, keep the pedal down low, better get it when I said it, let's go

Better run, lil' rabbit, I said, we roll, we roll, get ready, now, go

Faced with so many adversities, MAHALIMA had long developed an understanding that as they soar high, people will try to pull them down. They're not naïve or stupid, just inherently good. Despite always having the urge to look for the good in people, they know how to play the game, and they are prepared. Just as Gloc-9 said, you really can't question someone who trained relentlessly and delivered. SB19 is the author of their game, and there's beating them in their own battleground. If you don't like them, you might as well just ignore them, otherwise, you'd find yourself lost in the SB19 rabbit hole just like many others. As haters keep trying to bring them down, our boys just keep walking all over them, slapping them with achievements, all while these haters remain as they have always been.

We'll take time, go up and down

Everything I want is here and more

All I'm saying is we're here now, yeah

Ain't no stopping 'til it's real now, yeah, yeah

Reachin' for the clouds

So high up in the air, I see it now

Need a change, need it right now

They say change is the only constant thing in this world, and SB19 embodies that. From GITZ to Simula At Wakas, if you're not used to listening to different sounds, you will definitely get a whiplash. These boys can give you the most heartbreaking song one minute and make you dance and jump the next. They don't conform, they set new standards that no one had the guts to try before. They are achievers because they don't allow themselves to stagnate and remain inside a specific box. They venture, they invade territories, and they are not afraid of the unknown.