Following his controversial song that allegedly “twisted” an event from Philippine history involving local hero Lapu-Lapu, Filipino-American rapper Ez Mil might soon be banned from entering Lapu-Lapu City as the mayor recommended that he be declared “persona non grata.”
Ez Mil quickly gained the ire of Filipinos when he released a rap track titled “Panalo (Trap Cariñosa)” that contained the lyrics “pinugutan si Lapu sa Mactan (Lapu-Lapu was beheaded in Mactan).” The single was part of his album “Act 1” which was released in 2020.
“That whole why I chose the term, ‘pinugutan si Lapu sa Mactan,’ it’s like — because, in terms of the rhyming pattern, I always go to this dilemma or doubt in my head in terms of when I’m closing out a song. Am I gonna close it out with absolute truth or am I gonna make people talk about it? That’s like me weighing the options,” he said in an ABS-CBN News report.
A report by The Freeman stated that Mayor Junard Chen asked the city council to declare Ez Mil unwelcome in the city of Cebu due to his song. As translated by PhilStar, he said, “I’m angry, I’m outraged. He’s making up stories. What is he doing? He doesn’t care if it’s wrong as long as it makes him famous? He’s making a big mockery of our hero who should be respected, not ridiculed.”
The mayor is also considering pressing charges against the young rapper.
Ez Mil has already apologized for the line and clarified that he knew Lapu-Lapu was actually not beheaded during the Battle of Mactan in 1521 but had written that lyric anyway so that he could gain the attention of Filipinos.
“I’m sorry to anybody who was offended with the fact that me putting inaccurate sources in our history as Filipinos. That’s why the song is what it is right now,” he said. “The way I wrote that got people talking. I got people agreeing to it. I got people disagreeing. I got people in the in-betweens. I had to check that all out. The way it is now, people are talking about it. I got to be smart about it.”
Ez Mil grew up in the Philippines and moved to the US where he has now been staying for four years. It was last December 29, 2020, when he performed “Panalo” at the Wish Bus USA. You can watch it below:
(ALSO READ: Fil-Am Rapper Ez Mil Explains Why He Allegedly ‘Twisted’ PH History in Viral Song)
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