YO!

Several months after he was diagnosed with leukemia, the 44 year old King of Rap Francis Magalona died yesterday. He was brought to Medical City Hospital last March 3 due to sepsis or severe bacterial infection of the body.

This is a great tragedy not only to his family but for the whole music industry itself. He pioneered rap in the local music scene at the start of the 90's with serious commentary on pinoy life and culture. Did you know that his first album "Yo!" was my first ever cassette purchase when I was just a kid way back in 1990? I was so completely hooked by his hit singles "Mga Kababayan", "Gotta let you Know" and "Cold Summer Nights". Francis M., was my first ever idol during an identity crisis period of my life and before I encountered the ever great diva Madonna. I was just on my first phase of my hip hop era which spans for an unforgettable exciting 4 years of my youth. He was a great influence on my life that pave way on my love for dance and music. Now he is gone. For the first time, I really cried with the news of the death of a celebrity. A great loss in the music world indeed. He left a large vacuum that cannot be filled for decades to come. He was the only best pinoy rapper of all time.