paolo tiongson AKA poor taste
When Paulo Tiongson walks into a room, there’s no chance in hell you won’t notice.
In true millennial fashion, some Instagram stalking has to be done in order to get a glimpse of aulo Tiongson’s life n social media, people know him as oor Taste a party going, ucci wearing guy who lives life one adventure or misadventure at a time ne look at his carelessly curated mix of photographs and you might assume he’s the proverbial cool guy that’s up to no good ut if you’re ever lucky enough to spend at least 10 minutes of your life with the guy, you’ll quickly realize that the only kind of person he is is the kind that will probably prove you wrong nd in this case, that’s not a bad thing at all
oor Taste, it turns out, is exactly what his Instagram bio tells you: more than meets the eye ith a name that is both a sarcastic way of implying he has great taste and a subtle way of reminding himself that he spits verses for the kids on the street that have no ghting chance, oor Taste is a man on a mission hat his photos don’t tell you is that he is a rapper and a music producer who is currently collaborating with local artists such as the currently embattled Curtismith, and of course, his good friend, multimedia star and man-of-the-moment James Reid s Reid’s music producer, he is heavily involved in his rebranding, insisting that there is no better time than now to change the face—or the sound—of as we know it
I’m not saying I don’t like as it is there’s always a place for that, aulo says ut I’m really sick of the system restricting it to be only that ecause no one in the industry is brave enough to take a stand, and [to] like, just put something good out there
aulo believes it’s nally time to challenge the way the traditionalist culture has in uenced the way Filipinos consume music, and to allow Reid to release material that’s true to his sound and to his vision [ eople here] listen to to Justin ieber and rake and ryson Tiller and The eeknd—all these things that James Reid actually has always wanted and has always sounded like deep inside, he continues I just helped the boy unlock what was always there tanding rm in his convictions, he’s set his sights on a dream and will stop at nothing until he sees it through
Like a kid in a candy store, his eyes light up any time the conversation shifts to matters of music Citing anye est and Jimi endrix as his main in uences, he looks up to artists whom he believes are deserving of being called precisely that: artists I like people that change everything about the world, he says I love people who are really down to say ‘I’m different’ and are unapologetic [about it] They’re like, ‘I believe in my difference and I believe it represents something bigger than me, and I’m willing to take as many bullets and as many punches as it takes until these people understand [me]
For aulo, music is much more than just stringing words and melody together, and putting it out there for other people to enjoy usic is art aking music is telling your own story and being fearless enough to share it with people that might not understand Respect creative people and the world will be a better place [ anye] just yells all the time and stuff, but his message is good nd now that people are starting to get it, we’re growing e’re becoming more cohesive and universal
At the end of the day, despite all the challenges he is up against, his objective is simple: to make music, and to make it count
aulo Tiongson in Australia might wake up in the morning, catch a one-hour train to the city to go work eight to 12 hours at a retail job, um, you know, selling clothes… being a sales assistant, he says of his life down under
The more aulo talks about his life in Australia, the harder it is to believe that he is the same guy called poor taste on social media hile days in elbourne typically end with him heading home after a day of work or him heading out for a beautiful night and a couple of deep conversations, his time in Manila is spent working hard and playing even harder I was saying to people in Australia, ‘ eah, I’m a little bit known in Manila,’ and stuff like that, ’cause I thought, you know, I’ve made a little bit of a name for myself here I’ve worked a lot, I’ve met a lot of people, et cetera,’ he explains
pending a day in aulo Tiongson’s shoes here in Manila means nding yourself hitting the studio—and by studio, I really just mean a room with a laptop and some luetooth speakers in the third oor of James Reid’s house—in the morning and working on some game-changing tracks, and then spending the rest of the day with fellow creatives either at a photo shoot or a gig And then, of course, you end the day with your tight-knit crew, partying until the wee hours of the night, almost forgetting that a new work day awaits hatever each day’s activities may be, one thing’s for sure: aulo will always see it as a source of fun and creativity
At this point in his life, aulo has moved around enough to know that home isn’t about where you are it’s de ned by all the reasons that make you want to stay there At 22, he has already lived on three different continents, and despite having spent most of his life in the and in Australia, he still believes that the hilippines is where he should be, at least for the next few years This is home I have something important to do here, aulo explains Although he believes he will eventually nd himself back in America to make waves in the music scene, there is an overwhelming sense of meaning and purpose that he gets from being in Manila The goal, ultimately, is to see the day when local talent is nally recognized on a global scale, and to be one of the people who helped turn this dream into reality e gotta go play on the world stage and [we] don’t just have to play, we gotta go win ot that life’s about winning, but [it’s] about doing your best e don’t realize how well we can do if we just get our [selves] together, he adds
To say that aulo Tiongson has been there and done that would be an understatement I put three and a half years of my life on the line I dropped out of college, I went against everyone— my mom, my dad, my friends [There were] so many people who doubted me, but I went after this dream that might not even materialize, he shares
The journey that led to where he is now was far from ideal, but he does not regret a second of it ow with plans of studying again via a cloud campus, a well-thought-out decision that would allow him to study from anywhere in the world while he continues to work on his music, it seems aulo has everything gured out hen asked if he had a nugget of wisdom he’d want to pass on to the aulo from 10 years ago, he has this to say: Just do it on’t even quit I would tell myself, ‘I know you already know this, but you’re gonna do just ne ou’re gonna do something great Just keep your feet on the ground and don’t ever lose touch with what’s really important ’
ut what about all the other young ones out there hat could aulo Tiongson possibly impart to them? “If you have to ask, you already know If you’re asking yourself whether you like somebody, whether you want to pursue a certain career, whether you want to make this decision with your clothes, your hair color, your identity, or whatever… ou already know, he says when asked about the most important thing life has taught him “If you go to your deepest instincts and your deepest passions, you’re able to achieve things much greater than what you could naturally contrive o go deep because it will make you and others way happier than you could imagine Love deeply, he adds
It looks like they were right after all— this oor Taste kid is bad news hile he’s busy dropping beats and f-bombs, he’s also challenging so much of what we believe in, and ghting to change so much of what we’re accustomed to ut maybe, just maybe, in a world where people move in patterns and music begins to fade into the background, this daring, devil-may-care disruption is precisely what we need
o could oor Taste be the next big thing? If you have to ask, you already know