Whether it’s climbing and topping music charts or attaining viral hit status, Filipino hip-hop has been on the steady rise lately.

Aside from undeniable virality on platforms such as Tiktok, Billboard’s Philippines Songs chart alone is concrete proof. From O SIDE MAFIA becoming its first hip-hop toppers to Hev Abi achieving the feat of having the most entries at the same time at 8 tracks, Filipino hip-hop, now, more than ever, is on a whole other level.

With various hitmakers leading the charge, the best of the best are armed and ready to bring our very own brand of hip-hop to the global stage. But the frontlines are only as strong as those backing them up from behind the scenes. These heroes who work in the shadows are the producers. Now, Billboard Philippines is highlighting a few of them who are responsible for some of today’s hottest hip-hop tracks to ever make their mark in OPM history.

“4:AM” by Hellmerry – Produced by Klumcee

Needing little to no introduction, Klumcee is the man behind the young trailblazing HELLMERRY‘s viral hit “4:AM”. A multi-award winning songwriter, Klumcee, whose real name is Lester Vano, has produced for and worked with a plethora of hip-hop artists in the country. This list includes prominent names such as Francis M, Gloc-9, Loonie, Shanti Dope, and more.

Aside from being a producer, he is also the co-founder of Young God Records where he also serves as a composer and as a sound engineer. The hip-hop label houses the likes of the aforementioned HELLMERRY and Shanti Dope as well as Eyy Sling, ZJAY, and more.

Most recently, “4:AM” was performed by HELLMERRY for his debut on Billboard Philippines Soundwave which you can find here.

“SUPER FLY” by Zae – Produced by Mark Beats

You know the challenge. You know his name.

Mark Beats, real name Mark Brogarolas, is the mastermind behind “Super Fly”, an earworm of a track from viral rapper Zae. Alongside being credited with starting the eponymous 24 Bars Mark Beats Challenge, he is the founder and CEO of Rawstarr Records, the independent label Zae is under.

Aside from having also worked with Zae on other tracks like “Serve” and “Filipina Killa”, he has also worked with the likes of Pricetagg, Paul N Ballin, Kris Delano, and more.

Coincidentally, Zae recently did a fiery performance of “Super Fly” for Billboard Philippines Soundwave. Check it out here.

“Sabik” by Illest Morena – Produced by Radicxl

Amassing nearly 2 million hits on Spotify alone, “Sabik” is one of Illest Morena‘s thrilling tracks yet.

Contributing to the young rapper’s revolutionary rise to becoming the most streamed Filipina hip-hop artist yet, “Sabik” was produced by up-and-comer Radicxl. Representing Iloilo, Radicxl, or Brylle Adaniel, is a beatmaker who specializes and focuses on hip-hop and R&B.

Frequently collaborating together, Adaniel has worked with Illest Morena on a couple of the rising rapper’s other tracks such as “Slow Burn”, “Pick Up” and more. He has also collaborated with the likes of Jnske and Yuridope for their track “I Need You” where he served as co-producer.

Most recently, Illest Morena hit the stage by performing “Sabik” for Billboard Philippines Soundwave. Check out her debut performance on the Tiktok-exclusive show here.

“Rapstar” by Flow G – Produced by Jin Chan, Madeindvn, Flip-D

With more than 77 million streams on Spotify alone, Flow G‘s “Rapstar” is an undeniable hit, having also contributed to him becoming the first ever Spotify Kalye Artist Of The Year. And behind all of this is a dream team of three producers who brought this juggernaut of a rap track to life.

Known as the head producer and CEO of Panty Droppaz League, Flip-D or Daniel Tuazon is a veteran producer with a string of hits under his belt that have amassed millions upon millions of streams already. He is a frequent collaborator of Flow G, having also had a hand in crafting the top rapper’s other hot tracks such as “Laya”, “Unli”, “Batugan”, and more. He has also worked with other prominent names in the local hip-hop scene such as Skusta Clee, O.C. Dawgs, Ex Battalion and more.

While Jin Chan — who is also known as Miguel Chan — is a multifaceted talent hailing from Davao City. Aside from being a producer, he is also known for being a singer and a songwriter. Alongside also previously working with Flow G on his track “Business Talk”, he has also done work for other artists within and outside hip-hop such as Denise Julia, John Roa, Sarah Geronimo, Alamat, and more.

Joining him is a fellow member of Waybettr, an up-and-coming record label and production house, Madeindvn. Also known as Don Rios, he is another seasoned producer on this list who has collaborated with Jin Chan in the past. Aside from Flow G, he has worked with other artists such as Denise Julia, Skusta Clee, YuriDope, and more.

O Side Mafia x BRGR – GET LOW – Produced by BRGR

The first hip-hop track to ever top Billboard’s Philippines Songs chart, “GET LOW” is produced by and co-performed with BRGR. Known for being a longtime collaborator of the O SIDE MAFIA trio, BRGR is also well-known for working on many of their other hits such as “20 DEEP” and “Crashing”.

Always on that beat, he has also worked on tracks for other prominent hip-hop artists such as “Gawin” by 1096Gang, “Everyday” by Jae K, and “BLING” by Alex Bruce and O SIDE MAFIA member Costa Cashman.

Recently, BRGR and the trio debuted on the Billboard Philippines Soundwave stage, performing the chart-topping hit which has amassed more than 61 million streams on Spotify alone. Check out their performance here.

“Elevate” by Jeff Grecia – Produced by Køii

Another up-and-comer on this list is Mark Arganda, also known as Koii (stylized Køii), a member of G-Code Records.

With over 80 million hits and rising on Spotify, Koii, is the producer behind the meteoric rise of “Elevate”. It has led to rapper Jeff Grecia winning the award for Spotify Kalye Song of the Year at the 9th Wish Music Awards earlier this year in January.

Aside from “Elevate”, he has also produced a couple of other tracks from Grecia, such as “DOPEMAN”, “LOWKEY”, and more.

“Yoko Na” by JOSH CULLEN and Al James – Produced by JOSH CULLEN and Brian Lotho

With more than 1 million hits on Spotify less than a month since its release, “Yoko Na” not only features JOSH CULLEN —teaming up with rap icon Al James — but also sees the SB19 member co-producing alongside someone the undeniable Kings of P-pop have worked with before.

Besides this track, veteran producer Brian Lotho is no stranger to working with SB19. He has previously produced for the P-pop icons on “ILAW” and “LIHAM”, both from the group’s hit 2023 EP PAGTATAG!. He co-produced these tracks alongside Len Calvo and RADKIDZ (consisting of SB19 leader PABLO and his brother Josue). As a producer, he has also worked with the likes of Alex Bruce, dwta, syd hartha, and more.

For JOSH CULLEN, this isn’t his first time dabbling with producing, having also self-produced his solo tracks “Pakiusap Lang” and his debut hit “WILD TONIGHT”. Both have already accumulated a combination of nearly 10 million streams on Spotify alone.

Hev Abi – Walang Alam – Produced by NJ

One of the hottest hip-hop hits in the Philippines right now, the man on the track for Hev Abi‘s “Walang Alam” is NJ.

Real name Neil John Subong, NJ is widely known for dual wielding duties as both a music producer and an audio engineer. He currently serves as the Head of Music & Audio for TMP Industries. He also co-founded his own record label 314 Studios in 2023, alongside singer-songwriter esseca, one of his frequent collaborators.

Aside from “Walang Alam”, he also solely produced many of the other tracks on Hev Abi’s breakthrough album Kung Alam Mo Lang, such as “Sumugal”, “Kulay Downtown”, “Antagonista”, and more. Along with this, he has also worked with the likes, DENȲ, Jae K, DEMI, and more.

What about you? What are your current favorite Filipino hip-hop tracks and who produced them? Let us know.