Remembering DJ Arthug...

Emcee, DJ, producer, meme expert, toy maker, friend, and brother. That’s how we knew DJ Arthug. For those who don’t know, he has been active in the scene for more than two decades now. He started out in the mid 2000s, representing legendary crews such as Apocalypse Records, Mischievouz Entertainment, Tuesday Troopz, and Unknown Critics. Despite being an underground artist, his music, which features hard-hitting bars and production, gained a strong following within the local hip-hop community. He became well-known as one of the first to popularize “crunk” in the Philippines.

Arthug continued to represent his unique brand of hardcore hip-hop up to the mid-2010s by releasing more independent projects. He also collaborated with various artists, even producing all of the songs on KJah’s very first EP. He then focused on being a DJ and became part of the Uprising Records roster in 2018. He provided scratches to several tracks of his label mates and released a few instrumental singles. In 2019, he and producer KMG became official members of Teknika Brutal. They released an EP entitled “Puro” on the 31st of October 2020. Arthug proceeded to work on another solo project, an instrumental album titled “Underground Beat Tape Volume One”. It came out on cassette on the 12th of December 2023. In mid-2022, he, Moki McFly, and Batas formed the group Gramofön. They dropped their album “G.R.A.M.”, another instrumental album, on April 21, 2024. This is Arthug’s final project.

To DJ Arthug, our brother, rest in power and thank you for all of the special moments we shared. Aside from being a great musician, you showed your impeccable inventiveness through your humorous Facebook memes and your Authentic Bootleg toys. Thank you for always bringing positive energy wherever we go and for inspiring us to be even more creative. We love you and we promise to keep your legacy alive! Here are the details of his wake for those who want to visit. Note that public viewing is from June 7 to 8, 9:00 AM-10:00 PM.