NEIL FELIPP x KELVIN MORALES earrings, J MÄKITALO pearl necklaces and Conch Shell necklace worn as a bracelet, ANTONINA top, RANDOLF trousers, and BALENCIAGA boots. Photographed by Renzo Navarro for the May 2024 Issue of Vogue Philippines.
“I’m just being myself. There are things natural to me that may seem different to other people, but I know who I am. I like to take risks, and I like to raise the stakes.”
In the way Felip moves his body, there is a gracefulness to his hands as he transitions from one pose to another. He knows how to shift within a frame, making interesting shapes, without strain or awkwardness. He is confident in his skin, assured in his stance, and occupies space with a presence that is felt even in silence.
Felip takes pride in calling himself a music artist. He writes lyrics in English, Bisaya, and Tagalog, sometimes all three languages in one song. “Music speaks to your soul,” he says. “You don’t need to try so hard to understand music as much as you need to feel it. I have come to accept that I will not understand every bit of it because there is no exact, all-encompassing theory that can explain music.”
As a child who grew up going to church, Felip spent countless Sundays watching his uncle go into a trance-like state while leading praise and worship. “Whenever I asked him about what was happening, he would simply tell me it was something I can only understand through experience,” he shares.
From listening to Hillsong and Don Moen, Felip expanded his musical library when he discovered songs through TV shows and listened to bands like FM Static and Secondhand Serenade, Slipknot and Metallica. He sang and danced through years of grade school events until puberty. Then, his voice started to crack while singing songs that used to be within his range. It became a flashpoint of insecurity, and he decided to focus on dancing instead.
When he was asked why he was the best candidate to fill the last spot in SB19’s debut lineup, he replied, “I’m the best one you’ve got here,” he said without a hint of hesitation. “I’m a better dancer than everyone here, and I think you need me.”
Looking back, Felip now recognizes his arrogance as desperation. He needed to debut because there was no other option for him. He had already walked away from college twice, and put countless hours of work into becoming the artist he knew he could be. Back then, he says only his grandmother believed in his dreams despite the odds.
“I get it, I do. It is important to be in school, and pursuing a career outside of it meant the fear of expectations not being met,” he says. “But I am also pursuing music with absolutely no plans of disappointing my family, which is why I always give my 100 percent. The support I have now, especially from my family and fans, has become my motivation to do my best in everything.”
Among the members of P-pop group SB19, Felip was the first to officially release a solo project. His work serves a study in contrasts.
Titled “Palayo,” the sultry R&B song starts with his dark baritone drawling through vowels in Bisaya, singing “dagan ko palayo na sa imo” in a tone that belies any intention to run away. Felip shifts his voice to a lower register as he begins to rap an accounting of faults, anchored by trap beats giving way to love that is weighed down by regret and exhaustion.
“It’s just natural for me to use Bisaya,” Felip shares. It was the language he grew up with in Zamboanga del Sur, and it has become a key that opens up spaces to express himself in ways that are true to his own experiences.
“Right now, I think most of my audience get to hear and experience songs written in Bisaya by a Bisaya artist through my work,” Felip explains. “That’s also why I started to explore collaborations in hopes of sharing space with other Bisaya artists in a scene where the language is hardly heard.”
But language and access to spaces does not mean the 27-year-old gets to express the fullness of his feelings. “The things I express in my songs are not even half the anger and sadness that I feel every time I write,” he shares.
“If you can accept the fullness of who you are, the insecurities just fade away. There is no desperation to be acknowledged or recognized,” Felip says. However, he is also aware that being true to himself does not necessarily translate to being accepted or loved. “If you are true to yourself and you show who you truly are, not everyone would be happy to see it. Sometimes people will either just hate you or support you.”
Apart from his music, his approach to fashion is a testament to his sense of identity, and distilled through self-reflection. “I just want to look good, to present myself confidently,” he shares. “I am particular about the quality of the clothes I wear because if I don’t feel confident in them, I end up just feeling shy and conscious.”
It came as no surprise when Felip launched his clothing line soon after releasing his first solo song. The brand name, Superior Son, is a reminder of his roots as someone raised in a Christian household. Derived from a Bible verse where Jesus is described as a son superior among the angels, it also highlighted his family name, Suson. The brand’s first drop was sold out within a day.
Felip has been dropping hints about new releases throughout the past couple of months, including voice recordings where he sings about having faith in what is worth saving, wounds, and finding the light. He has just dropped “Fake Faces,” the first track out of a new album yet to be released. He has also uploaded a picture of him wearing a leather jacket bearing the Superior Son branding on its sleeve. The anticipation for anything Felip makes continues to build, but releasing them is an entirely different story.
“Right now, I am doing what I want and I am happy doing the things that I’m doing, the things that I did”
“It’s not easy to, for example, design clothes,” he confesses. “Just because you have the design, it does not mean you can manufacture them immediately.” Felip takes pride in being part of his clothing brand’s production process, from designing to releasing every item. The fullness of his involvement in the brand is not surprising, especially since he has a similar approach to his music.
“I have a lot of songs that I have yet to finish,” he admits. “Sometimes, I would see a coat and feel compelled to write something. I have a lot of notes on my phone that are like that. Some I go back to when I feel like it; I just live in the moment. I tend to be honest about these things, and I don’t force things because I don’t want to release something half-baked.”
Felip says bringing more representation to the scene is natural to him. “I didn’t plan any of it; sometimes it’s just who I am,” he emphasizes. “Sometimes I’m surprised people notice things about me that I never really thought too deeply about.
“I’m just being myself. There are things natural to me that may seem different to other people, but I know who I am. I like to take risks, and I like to raise the stakes,” he says.
If given the opportunity to talk to his younger self, Felip insists, without hesitation, that he won’t say anything. “He just needs to do whatever he wants,” the artist continues. “Right now, I am doing what I want and I am happy doing the things that I’m doing, the things that I did. Do you. Do all of it.”
By MARRIAN CHING. Photographs by RENZO NAVARRO. Editor: DANYL GENECIRAN. Makeup: Mac Igarta. Hair: Mark Familara. Talent: Ken Suson. Producer: Anz Hizon. Photographer’s Assistants: Alexis Wang, Pat Ong. Stylist’s Assistant: Neil De Guzman, Ticia Almazan.
