How Sounds From A Philippine Slum Gave Rise To A Viral Music Genre

It's playful. Effortlessly viral. Deliberately tacky. You've probably heard it before though you might not know what it is - or where it's from. This is budots, a genre of dance music rooted in the slums of the southern Philippine city of Davao. It is shaped by the noise, joy and violence on these streets - and it's delighting people around the world.

The man widely credited as the father of budots goes by DJ Love. His real name is Sherwin Tuna, and he's been mixing music since the 1990s from a corner of his slum, located on Camus Street in Davao.

His music is created to bring reprieve and distraction to the poor and working class, he said. He draws inspiration from the sounds that seep through the plywood walls of his 100-square-foot shelter. And he references, in his beats, both the culture of the tribes indigenous to the southern Philippine islands and the scourge of drug violence.

Budots is distinctly street music, said Jay Rosas, a Filipino filmmaker who produced a documentary on the genre. The beats can be jarring and the samples corny. Unlike some other techno music, it doesn't take itself seriously. In a world racked with crises that demand serious attention, that is precisely its charm, Rosas said.
Already popular across the Philippines, budots is now finding larger, international audiences, following in the footsteps of genres like reggaeton and Afrobeats that have changed the texture of global pop.

The sounds

The pulsating baselines and vibrant synths of budots can appear tailor-made for global audiences. But interwoven into this music is the fabric of Davao.

The Philippines has one of the strongest automotive cultures in Asia, and the streets of Davao are packed with vehicles. Diesel engines roar at the back of open-air vans called jeepneys. Long-haul trucks honk to delight children playing along the street. Metal carts clatter as they try to weave through congestion.

DJ Love's mix titled "Pap Pap Dol” is a reference to the "pap pap” sound made by the honking of passing vehicles.

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More than 3.7 million people in the Philippines live in dense, communal dwellings called barangays, according to the United Nations. Budots music is a reflection of their daily soundtrack.

The hub of social and economic life, markets sustain the poor and the working-class families of Davao. Pushcart vendors ring bells to attract customers. Stall owners blast music from small speakers to pass the time as they work.

The dance moves

Budots is as much a genre of music as it is a genre of dance. People have used budots as the backing track to accompany videos of various trends. A mix of Gloria Estefan's "Dr. Beat” last year became a way for young women on social media to show off different outfits in quick succession.

Often left to fend for themselves while their parents work, children in barangays have higher rates of addiction than elsewhere in the Philippinesand are often seen sniffing bags of cheap glue. Part of the goal of spreading budots, DJ Love said, is to draw youth away from substances and into music and dance. One of the dance moves, which mimics glue-sniffing, is a reminder of that.

Gang violence is endemic in Davao. For over a decade, the city was also ground zero in a bloody war against drugs led by the former president Rodrigo Duterte, who is now facing legal proceedings for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

The finger guns reference the city's violence while the peace signs, DJ Love said, are a reminder to step away from it as much as possible.

Core to budots dancing is grinding and gyrating. These moves are meant to be provocative but not vulgar, DJ Love said. They are meant as a rebellious embrace of the underclass, he added, and men, women, the young and old - everyone is invited to try - as long as they can get low.

"Budots is for everyone,” DJ Love said. "But rich people can't dance like this.”

Two years ago, DJ Love had never left Davao. Today, he plays in packed clubs across Europe and Asia. Budots mixes, by him and others, routinely go viral on TikTok.

"This super niche subgenre is connecting with young people - it doesn't make sense but it's great,” said Derrick Gee, a radio host in Sydney.

Despite his newfound fame, DJ Love said he has no plans to move from Camus Street. The music that he hears in his mind is here, he said. "This is where the budots is. ... This is my forever.”

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