Jano’s new single, “Ilusyon ni Juan,” is a song that could have not come at a better time. The song, which is out now on all music streaming platforms, talks about something which the rapper says we all need to think about. “There are many things in this world that we merely accept especially when money is involved,” he told us in Filipino, “and we normalize things even though we know deep down in our souls that it is just so wrong.” Jano made the track with the help of one of his brothers in the Domihough Music, Drey, and Kerwin Rosete.
Jano says that the medium of hip-hop fits like a glove for what he wants to do, even though he has been listening to lots of music in different genres. “I chose to do hip-hop because it is the right genre for me,” he says, “It has its rawness, I can be blunt, and I can show my emotions and recount many of my life’s experiences in one song.” The lyrics of “Ilusyon ni Juan” are a good example of what Jano wants to achieve, connecting a story we hear and often take for granted with a reflection on the wider state of things and how we got there.
Jano hopes that this track will show those who are like him who come from the same background that he sees what they see, even if we all see the world from our own lenses. One may also add that if art lets those who encounter it step into someone else’s shoes, songs like his are ways listeners can see the world differently. Where it will lead the listener is a challenge only the listener can respond to.
Can we still love “ang bayan ni Juan”? That is the question we are left to wonder about at the end of Jano’s newest single, and as we face the future, our response will matter to the one whose story he tells.