Francis Magalona

Francis Magalona, known to the Philippines as Francis M, is a figure I deeply admire. Born to actor parents in Manila, he turned breakdancing into a launchpad and became a foundational force in Pinoy hip hop. His range floors me, rapper, songwriter, producer and actor, all delivered with real results, capped by a Presidential Medal of Merit. Losing him in 2009 at just 44 was a genuine cultural blow. Pioneers who give a nation its own musical voice deserve outsized respect, and nearly every younger Filipino rapper has learned from his example. I hold artists like him in the highest regard.

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Name (English)

Francis Magalona

Name (Japanese)

フランシス・マガロナ

Reading

ふらんしす・まがろな

Born

October 4, 1964 – March 6, 2009

Origin

Manila, Philippines

Occupation

rapper / singer / songwriter / record producer / actor

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Libra / Dragon

University

San Beda University

Awards & achievements

• Presidential Medal of Merit

• Official sitehttp://www.magalona.com
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis%20Magalona
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%95%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B7%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BB%E3%83%9E%E3%82%AC%E3%83%AD%E3%83%8A
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2483200

Tags

• rapper
• singer
• songwriter

Last updated

November 2, 2026

Only publicly available facts are listed; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Base data was compiled from Wikidata from June 2026 onward; ages are recalculated daily and deaths are checked against Wikidata on an ongoing basis. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.