Sunday, March 8, 2009

Master Rapper Francis Magalona passes away at 44

MANILA, Philippines - Master Rapper Francis Magalona, 44, passed away Friday. Vic Sotto confirmed the news over GMA's noontime show "Eat Bulaga" and asked for a minute of prayer for the eternal repose of the singer-composer's soul.


A doctor at the hospital who requested anonymity told reporters that Magalona succumbed to multiple organ failure "secondary to severe sepsis and secondary to pneumonia."

Magalona is survived by his wife Pia Maria Arroyo-Magalona and his eight children, including celebrity Maxine Magalona.


Magalona's battle with the illness was made public last year.


The 44-year-old singer-composer told the Philippine Entertainment Portal in December 2008 that he survived a delicate medical condition days before he was dispatched from a hospital.

"Akala ko kasi magki-Christmas ako sa ospital, e, [I thought I would spend Christmas in the hospital] because I had a very, very, very close brush with death last December 4. I went into septic shock and it was a very scary moment," he said in an earlier interview.

It was announced last year that Magalona was scheduled for a bone marrow transplant.

"My doctor said I'm in remission right now after my third chemo cycle. So, my next move would be to do the bone marrow transplant and I'm very happy to announce that I was able to find a match. One of my sisters from the States we have the same tissue typing so she would be my donor," he added.

Family, friends pour in

In a GMA "Flash Report" Friday, reporter Sandra Aguinaldo said among the first personalities to rush to the Medical City Hospital in Mandaluyong City to condole with the family of Magalona were long-time friends Michael V, singer Ogie Alcasid, and Quezon City Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista.

Also rushing to the hospital was veteran actress Rosa Rosal, who chairs the Philippine National Red Cross Blood Donation program.

Comedian Michael V said Magalona died with his entire family around him.

After spending some time with Magalona’s family inside the hospital, Michael V went outside and told reporters how much the Philippines’ Master Rapper had influenced him in his rap music career.

While expressing grief over the news, Bautista said he would immediately busy himself with arranging for the wake of Magalona. The Magalona family said the Master Rapper’s remains would be brought to the Christ the King Chapel in Green Meadows, Quezon City.

Magalona – a father of eight – was bald but smiling in the last three photos in his last Web log (blog) entry.

The "Mga Kababayan Ko" singer was then very optimistic he would win his bout with cancer.

“Good evening people. I am getting prepared for my 4th Chemotherapy cycle, and I will be admitted tonight at The Medical City. I will be doing some tests tomorrow, wish me luck," Magalona wrote in his blog on Jan. 14.

The “Master Rapper" was wearing his signature “3 stars and a Sun" T-shirt in the pictures.

Online condolences

When Sotto broke the news live on “Eat Bulaga" that Magalona passed away on Friday noon, the singer-songwriter’s Web site was suddenly flooded with words of condolences from fans.

“We will miss you Francis M.... May you Rest in Peace!" wrote “ysel3", the first blogger who sent her condolences to Magalona’s website.

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“We'll pray for you and thanks for being such a wonderful and great example for everyone of us. See you!!! We don't really expect that you will leave us all soon man," Ysel added.

As of 10 a.m. Monday, Magalona’s last blog entry got 3,300 comments, with at least 30 bloggers posting their condolences every minute.

Aside from the usual text comments, other online users posted pictures of the Master Rapper.

“Wartoys" posted his undated photo with Magalona saying: “Sir salamat dito sa ala-ala na yan. Miss you sir [Thank you for this memory. Miss you sir]. "

“Cr4y0n1", on the other hand, embedded an MP3 of Magalona’s “Super Proxy," which the singer sang with Pupil frontman and friend Ely Buendia.

“God bless sir Kiko... [As the song] super proxy [says] there’s no substitute for the real," cr4y0n1 wrote.

Meanwhile, “ceefive" of San Pedro, Laguna, was more poetic with her message, “At noon today you've bid goodbye, God is good, He's heard your cry; He knows what's best for everybody, May comfort be with your family." - Amita O. Legaspi, Mark D. MerueƱas, and Mark Joseph H. Ubalde, GMANews.TV

Francis Magalona

Full Name: Francis Michael Durango Magalona
Nickname: Kiko, Francis M., Francis
A.K.A.: Master Rapper, The Mouth
Born: October 4, 1964
Birthplace: Manila
Died: March 6, 2009

Widow: Pia Arroyo-Magalona
Children: Unna, Nicolo, Maxene, Francis Jr., Isabella, Elmo, Arkin, and Clara

Filmography: Bagets 2 (1984), Ninja Kids (1986), That's Entertainment (original member)
Discography: released seven award-winning full-length albums from 1987 to 2000 including the coveted Record Producer of the Year for the song "Kaleidoscope World": Yo (1990); Rap is FrancisM (1992); Meron Akong Ano! (1993); FreeMan (1995); Happy Battle (1996); the Oddventures of Mr. Cool (1998); Interscholastic (1999); FreeMan 2 (2000)
Awards: chosen as an honoree Legend in Music Award during the 1st Visionary Awards held at Kodak Theater on March 7, 2008; recipient of Generation Award of MTV Pilipinas Video Music Awards in 2006

  • son of the late Pancho Magalona and Tita Duran, '50s-'60s love team in reel and real life
  • pioneer in Pinoy rap
  • joined showbiz on April 10, 1984
  • joined Eat Bulaga in 1997
  • rapper/actor/TV host/professional VJ (for MTV Asia, from 1996 to 2000, and Ch. [V])/record producer/composer/songwriter
  • hit songs include "Mga Kababayan," "Halalan," "Meron Akong Ano!" etc.
  • established the clothing business FrancisM Clothing Co. (3 Stars & a Sun store, named after his single)
  • on Aug. 8, 2008, Francis was diagnosed with leukemia (Acute Myelogenous Leukemia with Mixed Lineage)

'Slumdog Millionaire' Dominates Oscars

Slumdog Millionaire was the big winner at the film industry's Academy Awards, Sunday evening, as the rags-to-riches tale set in India earned eight industry honors, known as Oscars, including best movie. Kate Winslet and Sean Penn earned top acting awards.

Slumdog Millionaire was expected to win big. And, it did, earning Oscars for its cinematography, film editing, sound mixing, and bringing two of the golden statuettes to composer A.R. Rahman for his score and an original song.


Steven Spielberg announced the top award of the evening.

"And, the Oscar goes to Slumdog Millionaire, Christian Colson, producer."

The man behind the movie, Danny Boyle, was named best director.

Slumdog Millionaire was a collaboration between the British filmmaker, an Indian cast and crew and a Hollywood distributor. Backstage, Boyle said joint efforts like this will become more common.

"There's all sorts of people that are going to work there. These things are going to come together," Boyle said. "The world's shrinking a bit in a wonderful way and it will benefit from it because, in culture, fusion is a wonderful thing."

The film is set in slums of Mumbai and features two professional actors with a cast of unknown youngsters from the Mumbai slums. Young cast members came to Hollywood for the Oscars.

The story revolv
es around a teenager who hopes to win riches on a quiz show. Writer Simon Beaufoy, who won the Oscar for his adapted screenplay, says the story is appropriate in a recession.

"A film comes out that is ostensibly about being a millionaire, and actually what
it's about, it's a film that says there are more important things than money," Beaufoy explained. "There's love and faith and your family, and that struck a chord with people, I think, right now."

Kate Winlset was named best actress for her role as a former death camp guard in the Holocaust-themed drama The Reader. This was her sixth nomination and her first Oscar win.

"I mean, you just don't think that these dreams that seem so silly and so impossible could ever really come true, and having been here before and lost, to be here and win, I've got to tell you, winning is really a lot better than losing, really a lot better," Winslet said.

Sean Penn was named best actor for his starring
role in Milk, the story of San Francisco gay activist Harvey Milk. As Penn accepted the award and in remarks backstage, he said the story of the activist inspired him.

"That means a lot to myself and to everybody involved not only in the movie, but to anybody who believes in equal rights for other human beings. It's pretty simple," Penn said.



The late actor Heath Ledger won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for his role as the villainous Joker in the Batman film The Dark Knight. Ledger died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, 13 months ago, and is only the second actor to win a posthumous Oscar. The first was Peter Finch for the 1976 film Network.

Ledger's family accepted the award, and his father, Kim, spoke of what the Oscar would have meant to his son.

"This award tonight would have humbly validated Heath's quiet determination to
be truly accepted by you all here, his peers, within an industry he so loved," Ledger said.

Penelope Cruz was named best supporting actress for her role in the Woody Allen film Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Accepting the Oscar, she addressed the people of her native Spain.

Backstage, she translated her comments into English.

"I said that I want to dedicate it to all the actors of my country and that I wanted to dedicate it to all the people that are now watching there at home, and that are feeling that this also belongs to them," Cruz said.

The Japanese drama Departures was named best foreign language film, beating out the favored Israeli film Waltz With Bashir.

Comedian Jerry Lewis, 82, received a special Oscar for his humanitarian work.

The Oscars are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This year's event was hosted by the actor, singer and dancer Hugh Jackman, who picked up the pace of the broadcast in response to flagging ratings in previous years.

81st Annual Academy Awards (Oscars)

List of Complete Winners:

Best Picture – Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actor – Sean Penn, Milk

Best Actress – Kate Winslet, The Reader

Best Supporting Actor – Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Best Supporting Actress – Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Director – Danny Boyle, Slumdo Millionaire

Best Foreign Language Film – Departures

Best Music (Song) – Slumdog Millionaire

Best Music Score – Slumdog Millionaire

Best Film Editing – Slumdog Millionaire

Best Sound Mixing – Slumdog Millionaire

Best Sound Editing – The Dark Knight

Best Visual Effects – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Documentary Short – Smile Pinki

Best Documentary Feature – Man on Wire

Best Short Film (Live Action) – Spielzeugland (Toyland)

Best Cinematography – Slumdog Millionaire

Best Make up – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Costume Design – The Duchess

Best Art Direction – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Short Film (Animated) – La Maison En Petits Cubes

Best Animated Feature Film – Wall-E

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) – Slumdog Millionaire

Best Wrinting (Original Screenplay) - Milk