Having found his voice in “fliptop” rap battles with his friends, Sean Patrick Ramos—better known as Shanti Dope—quickly cemented his status in Filipino hip-hop when he scored with his 2017 debut EP, Materyal. The emcee represents his roots by rapping in Tagalog and uses his platform to delve into the worldview of Manila’s youth. With rapid-fire rhyme schemes, he navigates temptation in “Nadarang” and unpacks attitudes to the nation’s war on drugs in “Amatz”. Colloquial yet clear-cut in his socio-political stance, Shanti Dope is here to take the mic.