A Sari-Sari Story: Gloc-9 On Challenging Himself After Over 25 Years In The Rap Game

For many, Gloc-9 is more than just another Filipino rapper. He is a bona fide storyteller.

Over the years, Gloc-9 — real name Aristotle Pollisco — has become known to not only be a master of stitching the fastest verses or the most tasteful rhymes together, but also as a storyteller of the highest order. Whether it’s the exploration of one’s gender identity in “Sirena” or the experience of childhood love being consumed by the darkest corners of the night in “Magda,” Gloc-9 is, ultimately, a weaver of some of the most intricate stories in the history of Filipino music.

Since his beginnings in the ’90s, the rap icon has, time and time again, crafted tales that have stuck with Filipinos of different generations, elevated by a unique and evolving take on hip-hop that he continues to refine to this day. And even with more than 25 years in his career, Gloc-9 is far from finished with telling the stories that capture his never-ending curiosity as a writer.

Enter his latest effort: the ten-track full-length Sari-Sari Story. Much like its title suggests, the album is an assortment of stories from the veteran rapper as he fully leans into a more mellow hip-hop sound throughout its entirety. “Kaya Sari-Sari Story ay pinagsama-samang kwento [siya] na narinig ko or pwedeng experiences ko din (It’s called Sari-Sari Story because it’s a compilation of stories I’ve heard or could be taken from my own experiences),” he explains to Billboard Philippines, highlighting how the album covers topics that are a bit “sensitive” or even “out of the box.”

Ultimately, Sari-Sari Story was born from a single desire of Gloc-9 to test his artistic capabilities: challenging himself to see, even after more than 25 years, if he could still write a full album from scratch.

Released last June 21, Sari-Sari Story closely follows Gloc-9’s previous full-length record Pilak — a body of work he put together to commemorate his silver anniversary, released last October. “Ang Pilak kasi pinagsama-samang releases namin sa mga previous months (Pilak is a compilation of our releases in the previous months),” he explains when asked what inspired the decision to release the two albums only months apart. “Ito kasi[ng] si Sari-Sari Story very interesting for me kasi ngayon na lang kasi ako naupo para sumulat ng sampung kanta nang isang bugso [Sari-Sari Story is very interesting for me because it was only for this record that I sat down to write ten songs in one go].”

Hand in hand with Gloc-9 at the lyrical helm, dear friend and fellow veteran musician Raymund Marasigan — a member of notable Filipino acts like Sandwich, Pedicab, Party Pace, and more — produced the album. “Marami na kaming times nagkasama ni Kuya [Raymund] (I’ve worked together with Raymund many times),” Gloc-9 recalls, noting how accommodating Marasigan was when it comes to making songs together. 

With Marasigan’s help, what resulted is an album chock full of both vivid and mysterious tales rooted in reality and fiction, including the heartfelt yet dark “Yakap” — which explores the fringes of depression — and the horror-inspired love story of “Tinda Ni Linda,” which Gloc-9 states is probably his favorite of the bunch. Ultimately, each song manages to stand out from one another — a feat not easily achievable, especially for a release composed of ten outstanding tracks.

How was this possible? Well, it was because Marasigan positively challenged the famed rapper while working on the album, becoming his first collaborator to extensively do so in a long time, as Gloc-9 recalls. “Na-appreciate ko ‘yung kanyang honesty pagdating sa pagtatrabaho sa album na ‘to (I appreciated his honesty when it came to working on this album),” he states, noting how joining forces with Marasigan gave him more options while writing Sari-Sari Story. “Na-appreciate ko kasi medyo matagal na rin na nasanay ako na parang walang nagsasabi sa akin na, ‘Bakit hindi mo i-try ‘to?’ or ‘Parang mas OK yata ‘to (I appreciated it because it’s been a while that I’ve become used to no one telling me, ‘Why don’t you try this?’ or ‘This might be better’).”

In line with this much-needed experience of being positively challenged, Gloc-9 looked back on his beginnings, recalling the valuable lessons he has learned over the years that led him to where he is today. “Sulitin mo lahat ng opportunities na makukuha mo. ‘Wag mong sasayangin kahit ‘yung pinakamaliit [Maximize all the opportunities you can get. Don’t waste even the smallest ones],” he imparts when asked what advice he would give to his younger self, as well as to the aspiring artists of today. “Ingatan mo ‘yung apoy [ng] passion mo kasi, sa ayaw at sa gusto mo, mababawasan ‘yan or even mawawala ‘yan [Protect the fire of your passion, because whether you like it or not, it will burn out or even fade away],” he adds, stating the importance of balancing music with relaxing from time to time and simply enjoying the overall experience.

With the release of Sari-Sari Story, Gloc-9’s vision of his future has never been clearer, expressing that his goal is to simply continue being the writer that he is, always on the lookout for any interesting stories he can tell or messages he can convey. A musician for over 25 years and counting, Gloc-9 has proven that he is still up to the challenge as he aims to write more songs that can be as — if not more — impactful as the ones he has written before, armed with the valuable insights he gains with every passing year.

Listen to Gloc-9’s Sari-Sari Story below: