ROMA GANG, Filipino hip hop for the first time at Hard Rock Cafe Rome

Roma Gang at Hard Rock Cafe. Rome, 17 February 2022

I have already written about RomaGang, a collective or, as Tahjack Tikaz calls it, a “movement”, founded in Piazza Venezia in 2019 to bring together the forces of several Filipino rappers and crews in Rome. It started with just a few and grew to about forty active artists, including video-makers, break-dancers, and tattoo artists.

The occasion was the making of the music video, on September 19 at the Ponte della Musica, for the song “Tena”, which is none other than the surname of Tahjack and his brother Cripsztah (Crips) two years younger than Tahjack, born in 1992, who raps with him.

First, there was the great “Derby – Roma Gang” event in August 2021.

Another very important moment for them was the meeting, in October 2021, with one of the historical characters of Italian Hip Hop, Amir Issa, in his Torpignattara.

For first members like Dabstyle and Tahjack to be able to meet and have the support of a myth like Amir was a great thrill. Amir himself, on my recommendation, was very interested in knowing this Philippine hip hop reality and was the guest of honor in one of their live nights.

However, I certainly never expected to see their name advertised among the live events of Hard Rock Cafe Rome: The Temple of Rock in the Heart of Rome, as their logo says.

Instead, they actually performed in one of the local historian's Thursdays on Via Veneto, on February 17th.

Reanna, Jerdine, Rdio, Allen, Gianmarco, Cheskah, and Dabstyle, took turns singing famous covers in English and rapping their original songs in Italian and Tagalog, presented by Stefano Baltazar.

Under the emotional gaze of Tahjack, who however did not perform.

So, at the end of the concert, the two of us met, outside the club, and I asked him why he didn't sing and how he got to the Hard Rock Cafe.

He too was amazed, “It was the evening of December 24 last year when I get a phone call to meet the Marketing Manager of the venue for a concert.” He tells me with a Christmas miracle implication, knowing how religious Tahjack is.

He tells me very clearly about the fact that he did not perform. The same reason applies to his commitment to reunite this great family of rappers or to share a song with his brother: the sense of belonging and love for each of them.

Tahjack, who plays tough but has a big heart, always carries with him a sense of gratitude for what he has had in the past, performances as the only rapper on the stage of the Philippine Independence Day in front of hundreds of people, almost fifteen years ago. A debt that now pays by pushing the Roman Filipino scene as much as possible to emerge and climb the heights of success.

 

He stays behind. But always present.

 

But the curiosity remains with me. How did they come to him?

This I can find out thanks to the staff of the Cafe, who explain everything to me by phone.

And this story will leave Tahjack even more speechless.

It all stems from a sense of recognition that the place has for the Filipino community, which has always remained linked to the Cafe even during the difficult periods of the pandemic and lockdowns when dozens and dozens of places closed or remained deserted. Fortunately – I add – the Hard Rock Cafe can count on a name that covers its shoulders even in times of crisis, however, the affection remains for the Filipinos who crowd the place every Thursday and on weekends.

Therefore a search for a Filipino hip hop scene in Rome began, given that the restaurant-museum on Via Veneto already hosts performances by the new Rome's rappers. Thanks to one of the Filipino waiters who pointed out Tahjack's name, there was the famous phone call on Christmas Eve to make an appointment and arrange the evening.

In January, Tahjack, Stefano, and Dabstyle met the staff who organize the live programming, setting a date for January. Then, due to covid, it was moved to last night.

But there is one last step, which also concerns me.

After this first meeting, at the Hard Rock Cafe, they started looking for information about Tahjack and the Roma Gang, and they told me that they found my article on Frontiere News, in March 2013: my interview with Tahjack who talked about that hidden world of the Filipino community.

This made me really happy.

Seeing their bright eyes, the anxiety and excitement before they start performing, signing the releases as if they were signing a millionaire deal with a major, seeing Tahjack's touched gaze, and knowing that a very small part has entered into it, also half an article of mine, gives me a nice smile.

Hoping that things will continue to turn in the right direction for them, and also a sincere appreciation for a marketing direction of the place that also looks at the heart of its customers and finds excellent ways to reward them for their affection and loyalty.

 

Italian version