KZ says Gloc-9’s on-the-spot verse pushed her to rework ‘Luha ng Buwaya’

From personal anger to a shared Filipino anthem, learn how Gloc-9 transformed KZ’s latest track.

KZ Tandingan recalled that it was raining and flooding outside when she and rap icon Gloc-9 began working on her latest single, “Luha ng Buwaya.”

Gloc-9 walked into the studio without anything pre-written. He paced with his phone, typed a few words, returned to the conversation, and then typed away again.

“When I finally asked him if he wanted to just try something, he absolutely killed it! Every, single, line! It gave everyone in the studio goosebumps,” KZ said.

“My arranger and I literally got teary-eyed,” she added. “It was incredible watching him create these lines just minutes before recording them.”

One line, in particular, hit KZ hard: “‘Sinusunog pa rin nila kahit na puro abo na lamang ang naiwan at natira sa amin dito…’ And hearing him deliver it made it hit even harder.”

“Sir Gloc, lodi kong tunay!” she added.

Gloc-9 said he was eager to work with KZ because she pushes him to raise his game, too.

“Always excited dahil si KZ ay isang artist that helps me elevate my being an artist; ‘pag hindi mo gagalingan, matatabunan ka niya. That, I always welcome,” he said.

His contribution did more than add another verse to the song. It made KZ rethink the song itself.

“In the beginning, it honestly felt like an impossible task,” she said. “But when Sir Gloc-9 came into the studio, wrote and recorded his verse, it completely blew our minds!”

The experience got KZ’s creative juices flowing. She turned to arranger Jem Florendo and said, “I’m going to rearrange the whole song.”

“And that’s exactly what we did,” she said, explaining that she restructured and reworked it.

The result was a “beautiful, free-flowing exchange of ideas and ideals.”

Gloc-9 also credited KZ’s passion for making the collaboration special.

“Nag-enjoy ako dahil kitang kita ko ang passion ni KZ sa craft niya lalo na sa pagbuo namin ng track na ito,” he said. “Higit sa lahat I’m very thankful dahil sa edad kong ito sa industriya madalang na akong ma-inspire; pero with KZ she never fails to do so.”

KZ had been “1000% sure” she wanted Gloc-9 involved, having long looked up to him as both an artist and a person.

As he says in his verse, “Paulit-ulit na kwento, iba lang ang pamagat.” KZ said his storytelling is “raw, honest, and uncompromising.”

But ‘Luha ng Buwaya’ ultimately came from a personal place for KZ.

“At first, I was just writing from a place of frustration,” she said. As the songwriting progressed, however, “It became a song about the collective experience of Filipinos, the things we see, the questions we carry and the frustrations we share.”

“I want my kababayan to know that they’re not alone in what they’re feeling and that somehow through this song, we can remind each other that we’re going through it together.”

Gloc-9 hopes listeners will say, “oo nga no” after hearing the song.

KZ’s takeaway: “Hope and courage.”

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