BEING TRUE TO HERSELF IS ILLEST MORENA'S STRONGEST TRAIT

"I'm a songwriter and a rapper." That was Pinoy artist Illest Morena talking and describing herself in a recent virtual chat with The STAR.

- By JERRY DONATO

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.