ANONG PAKIRAMDAM?!

Simula At Wakas

Photo from SB19 Official

Pakiramdam, or feeling in English. A neurological response to body stimulations and experiences. You may feel angry, happy, ashamed, proud, and these overwhelming feelings could become your driving force. Having those feelings is both euphoric and paralyzing, and SB19 once again explored the realm of human emotions. From their debut album, this five amazingly talented individuals have ventured through different human experiences and told their stories through music. Tilaluha talked about the painful feeling of losing someone you've given your whole heart to. Hanggang Sa Huli speaks about the feeling of being beholden to someone, of loving them until it consumes you. Nyebe speaks of hopefulness in the face of uncertainty. Liham talks about true and unconditional love and the feeling it gives. To be accepted despite your flaws and imperfection is the greatest gift one could receive. Ilaw speaks about the feeling of being unseen and misunderstood. Some people may never understand how it feels because they've never been in such situation, but it is absolutely painful. Knowing that you're just there, standing in front of everyone, yet they still can't be bothered.

And last February 28, 2025, they finally released their newest single titled "DAM", marking the beginning of their much-awaited come back. Simula At Wakas is the third and last part of their trilogy, along with Pagsibol and Pagtatag. They planted the seeds of their hard work, perseverance, dedication, and love for their craft. They then allowed it to grow and face storm after storm until it's strong enough. Now, they're ready to reap what they sow. So, what is DAM about? As we listen to the song, we'd realize that DAM is derived from the word pakiramdam or feeling in tagalog. It's the sensation we feel that our brain would then interpret as happiness, sadness, anger, shame, infatuation, etc. A very simple word with so much effect in a person's life, something that often times dictate our paths. Thanks to PABLO, the group's leader, we can be certain that there's so much to unpack in this song's lyricism. Shall we?

Uh, this is ugly

But alam mo naman that me likey

Then again

Uh, 'cause I'm icy

Kahit na ano pa 'yan, come bite me

Whatchu gonna do, do 'pag may dumating

Na maitim na ulap? Ako? Kikiligin!

Kung tutok sa positibo ay baka lang mapraning

Kasi 'pag realidad na ang harang, agad nagising

Josh's introductory part talks about how most people go through life. Many of us crave for the perfect life—hell, a lot of us would do everything we can to make our lives look perfect from the outside. The phrase "maitim na ulap' may pertain to life struggles, problems, and all the bad things one could experience. For those who live in the 'perfect world', facing even the smallest of obstacle feels like the end of the world, but not Josh. He lives in the real world and and he sees things in a much clearer view. He knows that all things must come to an end. He doesn't have a misguided belief that life is beautiful because it isn't, which is why he's ready. He doesn't care if life throw him over a cliff because he'd happily enjoy the fall and would readily brace for impact. Those who know his story would understand what I mean. Josh is the definition of rugs to riches. He'd been on both sides of life, the good and the bad, and he's still here, standing tall and still fighting.

Now, son, ano'ng pakiramdam?

Pumanhik sa walang hanggang hagdan

'Di pa sa padamdam ang katapusan ng lahat ng 'yong sinimulan

Dito sa'king depot lahat inipon kahit 'nong digmaan

I doubt that, 'di ko kayang tagusan

Tanggap ko na'ng kamalasan ay nakaabang

This part is another show of realism. Ken asked how does it feel to climb a never-ending stair, and that stair is life. Every day is a flight of step we must climb in the hopes of reaching the top, and most of the times, we can see it, right? The top? Like if we extend our arms and reach it, we could, only to realize that it was still so far away. It pertains to the constant struggles we face as long as we're alive. This whole stanza tackles about the sad truth on one's life. A life full of difficulties and the feeling of never doing enough. Despite our efforts, it always feels like we can't achieve anything. When we solve one problem, ten more would come. It never ends.

 Kita ba sa'king mga mata

Ang mga bagay na hindi mo nakikita?

Ang kalawakan 'pag ako'y nangarap

Kasukdulan ma'y 'di patitinag

Heto na, heto na, bunga ng mga hiraya

Bago ko pakawalan, isang katanungan

Ano'ng pakiramdam? Ano'ng pakiramdam?

In life, we sometimes need to see ourselves in somebody's else eyes to truly see what everyone else see. We often realize things that we've already known for so long by looking at other people's perspective. When we finally reached that complete and clear understanding of ourselves, that's when we would realize our ultimate dream. The thoughts that had been screaming in our minds would finally have voices, yelling at us to do something and fight for our dreams. I feel like the question: 'Ano'ng pakiramdam?' is for people who finally realized their ultimate goal and freed themselves from whatever's been holding them down.

Bakit ba nagkagan'to? Ang daming tukso

Bawat hakbang laging may gulo

Pagka-malas (Ba't ba? Ba't ba?)

'Di ko ugaling tumakbo, dito lang ako

Kasalanan ko'ng lahat nang 'to

'Lang humpay sa paggusto

The chorus for me is a lesson for us all. When you've been living in the world of playing it safe, you're not familiar of the danger that comes with taking risk. You don't understand the struggle of taking the difficult path, but once you free yourself from that limited world, you will then enter the world of pain, disappointments, and struggles. You will start hearing people question your every move, and you will finally feel the burden of wanting more. You will realize that it's the price to pay to achieve greatness.

Keep throwin' your two cents

I'm all ears with two hands

'Wag niyo 'kong hamunin

'Ge, ang magsiga, susunugin

Yeah, life's a bliss

'Cause I'm the Great, the Best pessimist

And y'all cannot contest

Praises don't excite me, not the faintest

Gossip won't budge this Everest 

PABLO's rap is the perfect portrayal of SB19's collective personality. They accept criticism, suggestions, and even insults because for them, those are important for them to grow and learn. They take hurtful words with grace, but the most iconic thing about them is that they still do what they want. It's easy for them to create music that the general public would easily like, but that's not the SB19 way. They are not called Sound Break 19 for nothing. Intelligently confident people listen to even the dumbest of insults with a smile. They are talented in making their detractors feel like their words hurt them, but the truth is, they're already ten steps ahead.

Para sa'n pa 'yung mga paa

Kung 'di naman kaya tumayong mag-isa?

Pa'no hahawakan ang pangarap

Kung maduduwag ka lang sa pahamak?

Heto na, heto na, kailangan mong maniwala

Pa'no mo wawakasan ang 'di sinimulan?

Mananatili kang walang alam sa pakiramdam

Independence and bravery—two words that have been hugely misinterpreted by many. A lot of us think that fighting every battle in front of you is bravery, and they take independence as simply making decisions for yourself. What they don't understand is true independence comes from owning your actions and decisions, and bravery comes from knowing the danger or difficulty of your situation and still have the courage to push through. When you say standing on your own two feet, it means taking charge and that includes owning up to your mistakes and shortcomings. When push comes to shove, you will shove. No matter how hard it must be, or how difficult things get, you will hold your ground whatever comes next. If you remain in the safe zone, inside your comfortable bubble, you will never know the true meaning of freedom, independence, bravery, and valor.

Simula at Wakas is the culmination of everything they've learned through the years. The fruit of all the experiences they've acquired as a group and as solo artists. DAM is a proof that every decision they made in the past, even their solo endeavors were well thought of and planned according to what they wanted to achieve, they're ultimate goal. In this era, we are about to witness the power of five individuals who had been through many ups and downs and learned many valuable lessons in life. This is the end of one chapter and the beginning of another—a more powerful, impactful, and expectation-defying era for SB19. As Mahalima said in their interview, they're ambitious and they always aim to surpass their previous achievements, whatever the cost may be.