Biographical Context

Liham at Lihim (lit. 'Letter and Secret') is the seventh album by Aristotle Condenuevo Pollisco, known professionally as Gloc-9, is a Filipino rapper, singer, and songwriter. The album is released on October 26, 2013 with the song "Magda" featuring Rico Blanco as its first single. It has 12 tracks under the Universal label.

At the heart of Gloc-9’s icon is the fact of his creativity. This is a rapper who dares writes songs from nation, trailing an eye on the things we fail to see, listening to words no one else hears. Gloc-9 believes there’s a compelling reason behind every wrong decision that one makes, and that each person, despite his seemingly questionable life, has a story that deserves to be heard. For instance, he said, his new single “Magda” is about a woman who sleeps during the day, and works at night in a dimly-lit room filled with tables and hollering drunks.

The song, Gloc-9 related, was a product of his musings about what kind of adversity it would take to force a woman to resort to the filthy and unforgiving world of prostitution. “I have 9-year-old twins—a boy and a girl. My wife would always tell me that I seem much closer to my daughter. I can’t fathom how a girl who has a loving father and family ends up in such a job and getting trapped there,” he told when asked what fueled “Magda.”

The subject isn’t new; the controversial folk singer and music icon Freddie Aguilar most famously sang about it in “Magdalena”—a song that Gloc-9 enjoyed listening to growing up. He related, “I was a fan of Ka Freddie’s song; it was really ahead of its time. I heard it on the radio recently while driving, and I was suddenly reminded of my childhood. I wanted my own version.”

Since the song wasn’t about someone,he actually knew, the best he could do was put himself in the position of Magda. He said he didn’t write the song to romanticize the life and travails of a prostitute. “[I usually] write about what I see. How the listeners interpret the song is entirely up to them. A single song cam affect every one of us differently.”

With regards to the story, Gloc-9 has once again poured out his thoughts and emotions in his album with the main track entitled “Magda.” He added that he exerted equal effort for every song under his album lineup. In fact, it took him about 6-7 months to complete the album because aside from other commitments, he no longer come up with something good; he struggled working on it that’s why the album including the main track “Magda” was a challenged for him but he never gave up. Perhaps, there’s no need for him to prove his dedication towards work anymore because he literally lost his hair. Gloc-9 suffered from hair loss or Alopecia, a reason why he decided to shaved the sides of his head. Indeed, he was devoted more time composing “Magda.”

Furthermore, Gloc-9 doesn’t take on the persona of Magda; instead he speaks as Ernesto, telling the story of Magda – the little of it that he knows. For another, Magda’s story doesn’t unfold easily, where many things are left unsaid, and much of what is truth happens in a letter. This is also why Gloc-9 thinks “Magda” the best choice for a carrier single, given the CD’s title.