Ruby Ibarra, a Filipino-American from the Bay Area, made her debut on NPR’s Tiny Desk. She’s known for her potent storytelling. She was born in Tacloban and raised in San Francisco, music has always been a part of her life as her family was into music.
Ruby is a rapper, producer, director, and spoken word artist, among the 7,500 independent artists that submitted their entries for NPR’s annual contest. Her track “Bakunawa” stood out from the rest. The song was inspired by Philippine mythology and the birth of her first child. Winning the annual NPR contest entails a Tiny Desk Concert, in which she performed other than her song “Bakunawa” she also performed “7000 miles,” which tells the story of her and her family’s struggles as immigrants, and for her last song, she sang “Someday.” featured an all-Filipino band featuring Ouida (vocals), June Millington (guitar, vocals), Anna Macan (guitar, background vocals), Camille Ramirez (bass, flute, background vocals), Angelo “LASI” Macaraeg (keys, guitar), JoJo Gajardo Ramirez (drums), and Charito Soriano (background vocals). In between songs, she expressed that “Being human is not illegal” and “This immigrant is here.”
In an interview, she recalls that her influence in music had always been from her family. After moving to San Francisco’s East Bay, she was influenced by hip-hop’s Golden Age from Tupac to Wu-Tang Clan. This influence was evident as she weaves storytelling and narrative into a relentless blend of Tagalog and English in her lyrics. Aside from being a rapper, she also co-founded Bolo Music Group in 2023. Alongside her is producer Angelo “LASI” Macaraeg. She also collaborated with FOX to compose songs for the hit show “The Cleaning Lady”. In 2022, she starred alongside Filipina Vanessa Hudgens and Ezra Miller in the movie “Asking for It”.
During the pandemic, she served as a nurse and at the same time she established “Pinays Rising Scholarship” that aims to promote the continuation of higher education while excelling in the areas of arts, community service, and activism. | via Dann Miranda | Photo Screengrab from NPR Music YT
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