P-Lo Is The Swaggy Filipino That Rap Has Been Waiting For

    He reps what's probably the "most diverse rap clique of all time," but he's also fly enough to shine on his own.

    Naomi Zeichner
    by Naomi Zeichner

    BuzzFeed Staff

    A quick search of the word "Filipino" on lyrics database Rap Genius mostly turns up guys boasting about the provenance of their one-night stands. P-Lo, the 22-year-old rapper and producer from East Bay suburb Pinole, is an outlier in those search results, waving the flag for himself. "Young Filipino got the game on lock," he bragged last year.

    P-Lo is a founding member of California’s HBK Gang, a crew of rappers, producers, and video directors that has about as many members as a soccer team.

    HBK Gang / Via youtube.com

    IamSu and Sage The Gemini, two other rapper/producers you may have heard of, are also HBK guys.

    Last year, P-Lo released a great solo tape, MBMGC2.

    HBK Gang / Via soundcloud.com

    As a producer, he also made the most-beloved beat on veteran rapper Yo Gotti’s 2013 album. That song, "Act Right," took him right to the bottom of the top: the number 100 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.

    P-Lo’s new video for MBMGC2 opener “Can’t Tell Me Nothin” is debuting today on BuzzFeed.

    It was filmed at his old elementary school in San Pablo, which is now abandoned. Produced by YPonTheBeat, the song features verses by HBK's Skipper and Kool John. The video was directed by HBK’s David Camarena.

    The song “comes on slappin’ out the gate,” P-Lo told BuzzFeed. “I had to do a video for it.”

    HBK Gang

    There it go:

    Watch P-Lo's "They Can't Tell Me Nothin" video:

    View this video on YouTube
    youtube.com

    Hear IamSu's new track with 50 Cent and Jay Ant, "Show You"

    soundcloud.com