Being true to herself is Illest Morena’s strongest trait

That was Pinoy artist Illest Morena talking and describing herself in a recent virtual chat with The STAR. She belongs to that group of talents who take advantage of new media and streaming platforms to keep the Original Pilipino Music (OPM) alive, relevant and thriving.

“And I sing, too, sometimes. Bata pa lang po kasi talaga ako mahilig na akong kumanta (I’ve been into singing when I was young),” added she, whose interest in it developed in family birthday parties where everyone was encouraged to sing with the karaoke. The encouragement from her grandparents also factored in.

“Lagi akong pinu-push ng lola ko at ng lolo ko na laging sumali sa mga singing contests, sa mga barangayan (they would push me to join singing competitions in the barangays),” recalled she. “But I had stage fright then. So, I couldn’t perform before a crowd, especially kasi alam ko din na yung range ko bilang bata pa lang ako (especially I know my range). Hindi ako biritera tulad ng ibang mga singers na hinahanap natin noon, di ba? (I’m not a biritera, a singer who hits high notes and does vocal calisthenics that people would look for or were accustomed to watching in the past).”

With that, Illest put aside singing and focused on writing poetry and essays as well as public speaking that comprised her extracurricular activities in school. She learned the ropes of these newfound interests and somehow prepared her for what she could dabble in further during the pandemic times.

“Napansin ko na naglalabasan sa social media yung mga rappers, yung mga producers and yung mga writers (I noticed that rappers, producers and songwriters were sprouting on social media and putting their works out there at that particular time),” said she. “Sabi ko, ‘Why not i-try ko din?’ kasi kaya ko naman mag-rap. Kaya ko din kumanta. Kaya kong magsulat. Sabi ko, ‘Why not?’ Try ko lang, kahit isang beses (having seen that trend, I told myself, ‘Why not also give it a try?’ I can also rap, sing and write a song. Why not? I should give it a try, even for just once).”

Initially, she would upload her freestyles on Facebook and TikTok and Illest was surprised that a lot of netizens or people appreciated her thoughts and content on her kind of rap. “And then after that, dun ko na-realize na sabi ko baka para dito talaga ako (I realized maybe I was meant to write rap songs) and I decided to continue on. Then, ayun ginawa kong branding si Illest Morena, yung naging alter ego ko nung high school kasi (then, I used Illest Morena as a brand, who was my alter ego in high school) feel ko nag-re-resonate ako the most dun sa name na yun (I feel that I resonate most with that name).”

Illest Morena is the artist’s screen name. Her real name is Angelica Pola Layague, who got bullied because of her skin color — her brownness or for her being morena. Some still hold on to the white skin color as beauty standards.

Instead of sulking in such a reality and being defined by what others say, Illest embraced her being a morena as an asset. So, she created the alter ego Illest Morena to discover her potential and prove her worth, as one may put it.

“I feel like it represents my branding the most, you know, going out of the norm, challenging the beauty standards, challenging din yung standards na ‘pag babae ka, dapat biritera ka lang (challenging the notion that if you’re a female singer, you have to be a singer who hits high notes), you know. Pwede ding mag-angas, pwedeng maging rapper katulad ko (she could also be tough or courageous, and she could also be a rapper like me),” said she, who differentiates rapping from singing by saying that the former is “like talking, but in rhythm.”

Illest’s strongest trait and secret to her success is being true to herself — her authenticity of who she is and what she can offer as a young artist.

As for her niche audience, Illest said that women and “girlies,” as in gays, make up most of it. “I also have plenty of listeners, who are male kasi in our country medyo onti pa lang po kaming female rappers (there are only a few female rappers). So, the male listeners that are lovers of hip-hop, they listen to me, too. But mostly talaga mga listeners ko are girls. Gusto ng princess treatment kasi ganun yung mga themes ng kanta. Yung mga fantasy nila, noh, siyempre, na tratuhin sila ng maayos ng mga boyfriends nila (they are those who want a princess treatment because it’s the theme of my songs). I feel that they feel and sense that through my songs.”

Aside from that, there’s also self-love as a theme.

“I feel, like, you wouldn’t really find the right love for you if you don’t love yourself first,” shared Illest. “And I make that a priority to show my fans na ganun dapat, na mahalin mo muna yung sarili mo (I prioritize showing to my fans that they should love themselves first). You wouldn’t really know what real love is if you don’t show it to yourself.”

Last year, she released the debut album titled Morenita with 15 tracks in it. Stinkalink, shared by her publicity team, is “a crowd favorite track.” Her hits include Pick Up and Faded (Raw), while the artist’s genres are hip-hop and R&B.

From the pandemic times she forayed into creating her music, Illest has about over 30 songs, including the ones in her drafts. It’s safe to say that she’s kinda prolific.

“I just really love writing,” said she. “Yun talaga yung first love ko aside from singing, aside from the performance itself. I really love writing. I take time to gather all my experiences and my feelings and the life that I’m living to put it (the collective combination of all these) on paper and record it in a music booth.”

So, her kind of songs, also available on Spotify and YouTube, is autobiographical.

Give Illest music a listen and get to know her more by visiting her Instagram, Facebook and TikTok accounts. — Jerry Donato