Shanti Dope’s “City Girl” music video features background art illustrated by digital artist Kent Jasper Salazar. | Screengrab from Universal Records PH/YouTube
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cozy and moody. These are the vibes of the art style of Cebuano artist Kent Jasper Salazar, 21, that made the Filipino rapper and singer Shanti Dope pick him as one of the background artists for his ‘City Girl’ music video which garnered over 15 million views on YouTube as of this writing.
Salazar said he did not expect to be chosen as a background artist for the music video, saying it was an unexpected message that he received last year.
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Salazar told CDN Digital that the director of Universal Records PH Aaron Maagma contacted him and told him that they needed a background artist for their music video.
“Nag scroll-scroll daw sila’s mga art page pero akoa daw ilang na attract. Like ana sila ‘ang gaganda talaga ng artstyle mo bro,’” said Salazar.
(They scrolled through the art pages but my work was what attracted them. Like they said ‘your artstyle is really good bro.’)
He said that it was Shanti Dope who chose him.
Kent Jasper Salazar at work. | Contributed photo
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“Kasi nagandahan daw sila sa arts ko, sabi nila nakitaan daw nila na cozy and moody yung mga arts ko,” Salazar said.
(Because they liked my art style, they said that they saw in my art style that they were cozy and moody.)
Shanti Dope is a popular Filipino singer and rapper, whose hit songs include the hit single ‘Nadarang,’ which was released in 2017 and tackled the temptations of love and life. The song was also his #1 Spotify hit in the same year.
Moreover, he is also among the singers of ‘Norem,’ a collaboration song by Gloc-9, J. Kris, and Abaddon that circles the story of the war on drugs.
This is one of the scenes of the “City Girl” music video of Shanti Dope where Cebuano artist Kent Jasper Salazar’s background art was used by the popular rapper and singer. | Screengrab from Universal Records PH/YouTube
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Hard work paid off
Meanwhile, Cebuano artist Salazar recalled how happy he was to see his work in the music video.
It was in November 2022 when Salazar was contacted, and he said that he crammed to create the scenes for one week, and upon seeing his name in the music video’s credits, he noted that his hard work had paid off.
He said that he received positive feedback after he submitted his illustrations.
This is the raw illustration of the background that Shanti Dope used in his music video “City Girl. |Kent Jasper Salazar
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There were five background illustrations that Salazar made. They all featured details in any anime series with familiar elements such as cherry blossoms, an alley, and a Japanese room.
The young artist also shared a glimpse of his process in illustrating the scene through a TikTok video with over 293,000 views as of writing.
This is one of the scenes of music video of Shanti Dope’s “City Girl” which features a background of a library created by Cebuano digital artist Kent Jasper Salazar. |Screengrab from Universal Records PH/YouTube
A promising artist from Mandaue
Salazar is a resident in Brgy. Casuntingan in Mandaue City. He graduated in 2022 with a degree in ICT Animation at the University of Cebu Banilad Campus.
However, the journey in drawing of this Cebuano artist began when he was five years old, as he was “addicted to colors.” His family supported him, especially when his mother, sister, and cousins were artists.
His first approach to art was traditional, using only scratch paper and a pencil.
This is the original version of the background art illustrated by digital artist Kent Jasper Salaza, featured in Shanti Dope’s City Girl music video. | Kent Jasper Salazar
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As the technology evolved, this Cebuano artist started learning digital art and found himself determined to reach more heights.
Salazar also shared that when the pandemic hit in 2020, he struggled because he likes to “go outside and draw surroundings for reference,” but he saw a silver lining.
“Mas na enhanced jud akong skills. Kay sa sige’g drawing every day mas na kita nako asa akong mga mistakes nga nabuhat sa una and ako nang gecorrect karun, not like katung wala pay pandemic partially rako makadraw kay naay daghang buhatonon,” the artist said.
(My skills were really enhanced. Because I drew everyday, I can see clearly where I made mistakes that I did in the past and I have already corrected this now, not like when there was no pandemic, where I can only draw partially because I had a lot of work to do.)
After that, he started creating an art page across social media using the name ‘Persal_verse’ to see people’s reactions to his creations.
This is one of the raw illustrations of the background that was used in Shanti Dope’s music video “City Girl.” | Kent Jasper Salazar
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Persal_verse
Salazar said, “Persal_verse, means ‘jasPER SALazar–universe.’ The inspiration behind it is ganahan ko ang mga taw murag mosulod sa akoang art world and makarelate sila sa akong mga stories through art. Like sa theme sa music video ni Shanti Dope, nisulod silas akong art world.”
(Persal_verse, means ‘jasPER SALazar–universe.’ The inspiration behind it is I like people to like enter into my art world and they can relate to my stories through art. Like the theme of the music video of Shanti Dope, they entered my art world.)
Besides the music video, he had already illustrated book covers, and among them is the book entitled “The Most Painful Battle” by the author ‘haveyouseenthisgirl.’
Here’s another scene in Shanti Dope’s music video “City Girl.”
In terms of his art style, he took inspiration from Disney Pixar films.
“Because mao jud na akong ganahan nga mga movies since bata pa ko, and I also love cinematography art style kay it feels like my artwork is moving,” he said.
(Because those are the movies that I like since I was still a child, and I also love cinematography art style because it feels like my artwork is moving.)
This is one of the raw background arts that was used in Shanti Dope’s music video “City Girl.” | Kent Jasper Salazar
Even if a digital artist’s life is sometimes challenging, Salazar believes a successful artist “needs to have enormous business savvy in addition to art skills, ideas, and talent.”
He describes the competition as very stiff, and if the artist wants to venture out of their state and does not have the gallery to deal with all the issues, it gets even more difficult.
Kent Jasper Salazar encourages other artists to dream and believe in their dream because they do come true if you dream and work hard to achieve it. | Contributed photo
His advice to fellow artists?
“My advice is keep exploring new things and enjoy lang sa imong gibuhat. And don’t let critics affect you kay diha ra ka mas mo maayu if madawat na nimo ang mga opinion sa mga tawo. And just like what Walt Disney said, ‘If you can visualize it, if you can dream it, there’s some way to do it,’” he said.
(My advice is (to) keep exploring new things and enjoy what you are doing. And don’t let the critics affect you because it is through that that you can become better if you can accept the opinion of people. And just like what Walt Disney said, ‘If you can visualize it, if you can dream it, there’s some way to do it.) | Niña Mae Oliverio – CDN Digital Intern
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