“Wala naman dapat pag-awayan kung di lang kayo sakim/ Karagatan at lupain pilit na inaangkin/ Di pa kayang tanggapin sadyang makitid lang ang utak/ Filipino ang tatak kailanma’y di pasisindak.”  

Morobeats rapper Dizzy Caday performed before a crowd of journalists on Monday morning, chanting in dynamic rhyme about the Philippines’ fight for sovereign rights over land and waters, pushing back against the greed of others. And it was enough to electrify the launch of Atin Ito’s search for an original Filipino rap composition on the West Philippine Sea.

A collaboration between Atin Ito, a broad civil-society coalition, and the acclaimed Filipino rap collective Morobeats, the “Teritoryo: West Philippine Sea Rap Challenge” seeks Filipino artists here and abroad who can compose and perform rap verses in Filipino or English.

The idea is to amplify public awareness of the plight of Filipino fishers and other frontliners who are facing increased Chinese aggression at sea, and to inspire youth education and civic action on the sea dispute.

“The objective is plain: Let our call for sovereignty be the melody of our nation for the rights of our fisherfolk and the future of our country,” Rafaela David, Atin Ito co-convenor and Akbayan party president, said at the launch in Quezon City.

While the search hews to the theme of the defense of Philippine territory against Chinese incursions, it also celebrates Filipino artistry along with the traditional celebration of the national language during the month of August, the “Buwan ng Wika.” 

It comes less than three months after Atin Ito mounted a concert in the waters off Pag-asa Island in the disputed Spratlys, the third iteration of its civilian-led mission to waters within the country’s exclusive economic zone.  

Pag-asa, the only Philippine-inhabited feature in the Kalayaan Island Group, is home to a population of 400 and serves as the seat of the Kalayaan municipal government.

The “rap challenge” is open to all Filipinos of all ages.

But there’s a catch in the minute-long rap: It must be set to the instrumental version of Morobeats’ hit track, “Teritoryo,” a commentary on the dominance of Chinese rings’ scam farms called Philippine offshore gaming operations.

For Morobeats, the idea of a “rap challenge” had been percolating for some time. But after joining Atin Ito’s concert near Pag-asa in late May, where they heard the stories of fishers and coast guard personnel about Chinese harassment firsthand, they became “more emboldened” to do it.    

“The decision was firmed up during the six days that we spent at sea,” Morobeats founder Mohammed Bansil told CoverStory. “We can’t be all content creators. This is one way of keeping this issue in the national conversation. We can sit down and talk peace, and we don’t have to go to war.”

In the next 30 days, all entries must be posted on TikTok, Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels, or YouTube Shorts, and must include the hashtags #TeritoryoRapChallenge, #WPSAtinIto, and tag @Morebeats and @AtinIto.  

The entries will be judged according to lyrical content and message, originality and creativity, performance and delivery, and audience engagement.

Prizes of ₱100,000, ₱50,000 and ₱25,000 await the top three winners. There is a ₱10,000 “bonus” award for the most viewed entry.

Read more: Atin Ito Coalition announces ‘jamming’ for peace and solidarity in West Philippine Sea