It was in 2018 when the hip-hop group ALLMO$T released one of their first-ever singles, “Bagay Tayo.” The song was as catchy as it could get — a straightforward modern anthem song that tells someone: Hey, I like you. We’d look good together.
You probably wouldn’t think that ALLMO$T’s members were thousands of miles apart when they were working on the song. But Russell and Crakky were living in Olongapo then, Jom in Canada, and Clien all the way in Italy.
When there’s that much distance between you, forming a music group would probably be the last thing on your mind. But not for these boys.
It was a Facebook group chat that started it all. There, underground Filipino artists would share their own songs, and eventually, the four boys got to know each other. Each of them were solo artists then, until Crakky sent a message to the group chat one day asking if anyone was down for a collaboration.
Hours had passed, and one of the members, Jom, finally replied, “Tara (let’s go).”
That one-word reply would signal the formation of ALLMO$T, and transcend the borders that separated them all — all in the name of hip-hop.
Heading home
ALLMO$T was slowly beginning to make a name for themselves at that time. There was one last obvious thing left to do: Jom and Clien needed to head back to the Philippines to really make things work.
Jom was in high school then, working two jobs cleaning cars and cooking teriyaki at a Japanese fast food restaurant. His story was straight out of a movie. On the clock, he’d always have his earphones on, until it became difficult for him to ignore his growing passion for music.
“Nai-inlove talaga ako sa music. Mas lalong nagiging deep yung connection ko sa music, hangga’t sa gumawa ako nang gumawa ng music, nakilala ko [sina Clien, Crakky, at Russell], tapos nung nararamdaman ko na medyo may napapala kami sa paggawa ng music. Nagpaalam ako sa magulang ko na umuwi sa Pilipinas. Hindi naging madali ‘yan pero napilit ko naman sila kahit papaano,” he said.
(I was really falling in love with music. My connection with it was getting deeper, until I kept making my own music, got to know Clien, Crakky, and Russell, and felt that we were starting to get something out of making music. I asked my parents if I could go home to the Philippines. It wasn’t easy but I convinced them somehow.)
Clien, meanwhile, was initially hesitant to leave Italy. He was also juggling school with working at a fast food chain, and naturally had to consider if music was worth uprooting the only life he had known in Italy. In the end, it was a sure yes for him.
“Nagdududa pa ako, pero wala e, passion is passion. Thank you din sa mga magulang ko kasi sinusuportahan nila ako. Kung hindi dahil sa kanila, ‘di rin ako makakauwi. Dahil, ‘yung mga araw na nagdududa ako, may one-way ticket papuntang Pinas,” Clien recalled.
(I was still having doubts, but passion is passion. I’m thankful for my parents because they supported me. If not for them, I wouldn’t have been able to fly back to the Philippines. The days when I was still considering everything, I already had a one-way ticket to the Philippines all along.)
A taste of gradual success
Now together in the Philippines, Jom, Clien, Crakky, and Russell would release their first breakthrough hit in 2018: “Dalaga.” But the success was anything but instant. It had taken nearly a year for the song to take off and birth a viral TikTok challenge. Thousands of people had begun to playfully tuck strands of their hair behind their ears, make exaggerated, seductive facial expressions, and throw up Korean finger hearts with “Dalaga” playing in the background.
That was it — people had finally begun to take notice of ALLMO$T, and the boys saw it as a sign to release even more music to introduce themselves as everyone’s favorite newcomers.
“We want our audiences to feel what we’re expressing in our music. We make music to convey the other side of the story. But we also want them to have fun when they listen to us,” Russell said in Filipino.
Against all the pressure weighing down on them, there was one thing ALLMO$T could rely on: the edge they had to their game. They were equipped with both singers and rappers, which meant that they could create a unique blend of vocals, lyrics, and bars that were conceived in different ways, but always managed to produce magic in the end.
“Yung kinaganda lang sa meron kami, ‘pag pinag-combine mo ‘yung idea [ng lahat], iba rin ‘yung mangyayari. Kaya bilang apat kami, open kami sa lahat ng suggestion namin sa isa’t isa. Kaya mas lalo kami nag-click pagdating sa studio session namin. Doon kami minsan mas nagiging bata pa eh. Kasi lumalabas ‘yung kulit namin lahat eh kapag doon eh. Minsan, napapatalon kami. Headbang,” Crakky explained.
(What’s nice about what we have is that when you combine everyone’s ideas, you get a different outcome. Because we’re four, we’re always open to each other’s suggestions. That’s why we click even more during our studio sessions. That’s when we become more like kids, because our childlike wonder comes out when everyone’s there. Sometimes, we can’t help but jump or headbang.)
There’s no doubt about ALLMO$T’s harmony. Even when we sat down to talk about their story as a group, the members would take turns answering and weighing in on each other’s thoughts, and whenever someone finished speaking, someone else would calmly say, “Approve” — eliciting giggles from their fellow members.
That level of closeness doesn’t come out of nowhere, and unfortunately, it’s not always guaranteed in music groups. It’s more common than you think for band members to secretly hate each other — but that’s not even close to how the members of ALLMO$T are. They’re a group of brothers bound by music, and it’s clear that they’ve wholeheartedly embraced that.
Each transitioning from solo backgrounds to now having to do everything as a group, honesty is key for ALLMO$T.
“From writing chorus to verses, talagang lahat kami nakatutok diyan. Pero open kami sa criticism, sa suggestions. At ang pinakamaganda sa aming apat ay hindi kami ‘yung taliwas. Lahat kinoconsider na, ‘Sige try natin. Kung hindi, e ‘di wag,’” said Jom.
(From writing chorus to verses, we’re all involved. But we’re open to criticism and suggestions. And what’s nice about us four is that we don’t oppose things right away. We consider everything and try them out. If it doesn’t work, then it doesn’t.)
For Crakky, meanwhile, it’s through their different backgrounds that they thrive. They vary in age and personality, and that’s what he thinks allows them to balance each other out so well.
“Kung pare-parehas kaming age, siguro kung ano ‘yung gusto ng isa, sige, go na ‘yan. E kung iba-iba kami ng age, iba-iba kami ng style. Kaya mas lalo kami siguro nag-click (If we were all the same age, we’d probably always immediately go with what one person wants. But since we’re all different ages, our styles are different, too. That’s probably why we clicked),” he said.
Set for greater heights
More than anything, though, they’ve all got their eyes on the same prize.
“[To become] one of the icons here in the Philippines,” Russell said almost immediately when Rappler asked what they wanted to achieve as a group.
“[Gusto namin na] ma-represent din namin ‘yung Philippines sa ibang bansa na, ‘Mayroon kaming ganitong tunog. Pakinggan ‘nyo kami,” Crakky declared.
(We want to represent the Philippines in different countries and show them that we have this sound and they should listen to us.)
“Gusto naming mag-iwan ng legacy para sa bagong generation. Gusto namin mainspire ‘yung mga bagong musician through our music (We want to leave a legacy for the new generation. We want to inspire the new musicians through our music),” added Jom.
Beyond their fellow musicians, it’s their listeners ALLMO$T looks to continue serving as anchors to.
“Natutuwa kami kasi minsan may mga nag-cha-chat sa amin na, ‘Thank you kasi ‘yung mga kanta ‘nyo, sinave ako.’ Sobrang appreciate namin ‘yung mga gano’ng chat, kaya thank you talaga (We’re happy because sometimes people send us messages to express gratitude because our songs saved them. We really appreciate those messages),” Clien shared.
Years into their careers, they’ve been named among Spotify Philippines’ RADAR artists for 2025, and ALLMO$T plans to make good use out of this new title.
“Gusto naming mas lumawak pa ‘yung audience namin and mas ma-explore pa ng tao ‘yung discography ng ALLMO$T. Marinig nila yung iba’t ibang tunog namin and malaman nila ‘yung mga characteristic [at specialties] namin bilang Russell, bilang Crakky, bilang Jom, bilang Clien,” Russell said.
(We want our audience to get bigger and we want people to explore our discography. We want them to hear our different sounds and know our characteristics and specialties as Russell, Crakky, Jom, and Clien.) – Rappler.com
Content shared from www.rappler.com.