WATCH: Cebu street kids perform rap with powerful message

Jeepney rapper kids perform for commuters near the University of San Carlos, Talamban Campus. (Screen grab from Jamil Faisal Saro Adiong post)

In Cebu City, street children who knock on windows of cars or beg for money from commuters aren’t a new sight.

But Jamil Faisal Adiong, a student at the University of San Carlos, spotted two children who had a unique way to ask for help.

Near the Talamban campus, he saw two boys named Arjay and Mar, who identified themselves as ‘street kids.’ They call themselves “the jeepney rappers.”

“I’ve heard about them in the past, but this was my first time stopping to listen. I just thought to take out my phone and record them,” he told Cebu Daily News.

“I heard they rapped. But I was stunned by these two,” Adiong said. “I just found the message so powerful,” he added.

“Kalisud sa kinabuhi, dungagan pa’g problema. Daghan na’g mga bata mogamit na og droga. Magsinumbagay sa ilang mga barkada. Magdinumtamay, halos di na ka-eskwela,” the rap opened with these powerful lines in Bisaya.

(Life is already difficult, yet we make it even harder. Too many kids on drugs, getting in fist fights with their friends. They focus so much on grudges, they can’t even study properly)

The other child says: “Sa atoang nasud, grabe kalisud. Daghan mga tawo, halos di makabakud. Daghan nasakitan nga atong nakit-an ngano dili nato sila tabangan? Mga bata sa karsada nanagan na. Gigutom, giuhaw kay wala’y pamilya. Magkahiusa, tabangan nato sila. Atong ipakita ang gugma sa ila.”

(How difficult it is in our country. So many people who can’t rise. We see so many people hurt. Why can’t we help them? Kids in the street running wild. Hungry, thirsty and no family. Let’s unite and help them. Let’s show them love)

At the end of the video, the kids clarify that they’re not there to rob and steal, but simply to ask for help.

See the full video of the “Jeepney rappers” here: Jeepney rappers