From hashtag to poetry: Gloc-9's Makata Sa Pinas

Rap icon Gloc-9 is re-introducing himself as Aristotle Pollisco, poet.

On March 12, 2026, at the Philippine Book Festival in SM Megamall, Gloc-9, going by his real name Aristotle Pollisco, will be launching seven poetry chapbooks under the omnibus title Makata Sa Pinas — a hashtag he has been using the past decade.

While Gloc-9 previously released the poetry book Akin Lang Naman in 2017 with ABS-CBN Publishing, this new project offers a different approach to presenting his work as poetry. This time, Gloc-9 envisioned a series of slimmer volumes—a concept that became the starting point of the project.

In collaboration with the small press Everything’s Fine, the idea grew into a deeper reexamination of his entire discography. By revisiting the recurring themes and subject matter that consistently surface throughout his music, seven chapbooks were developed, each shaped around these enduring ideas and reflections.

The first three chapbooks are personal. "Pagkatao" tracks his development as a poet, talking about his roots in Binangonan, Rizal, and how this formed him into the rapper that we now know as Gloc-9. "Pangarap" includes all the poems about his dreams of becoming a songwriter and a rapper, reaching those aspirations, and reassessing what that means to him. "Pursigi" talks about the kind of hard work and persistence that reaching one's ambitions demands, the clarity of one's goals, and the importance of holding on to one's values.

From the personal, the next two chapbooks slowly shift to Gloc-9's storytelling through poetry. "Pagibig" speaks of love — from the familial to the romantic, and to the ones that unravel and end painfully. "Komunidad" tells the stories of the people that exist in our local neighborhoods — the people we talk to, the ones we care for, the ones we rarely see.

The final two chapbooks turn to the more political dimensions of Gloc-9’s poetry. “Lipunan” reflects on the kind of society we have collectively—and often unconsciously—built, shaped by who we have become as people and by the hate and compassion we choose to nurture within it. "Bayan" is composed of the stories of our nation that few popular songwriters speak of, from the perspective of the struggling majority who suffer in the hands of the wealthy and powerful few. 

In totality, the seven chapbooks of Makata Sa Pinas capture the 28 years of Aristotle Pollisco as the poet of the nation. It also reminds us of how much more he can continue to do, given where he comes from, who he has become, and the legacy he has continued to build.

Gloc-9 will be at the Makata Sa Pinas book launch on March 12, 2026, 5PM to 7PM, at the Philippine Book Festival 2026, Megatrade Hall, 5th Level, SM Megamall. Admission is free.