Hours before O Side Mafia's performance on a mainstream network's weekend variety show, I sat beside the three-member group in a conference room doubling as their holding area. They chatted with their producer, manager, and a handful of friends who came by to support them, all while listening to local and foreign hip-hop songs.
The group oozed self-confidence like they'd been performing on television regularly, even though this was only the third time.
Funnily enough, the office setup of their holding area, a conference room littered with office chairs and a long table, seemed out of place to these big characters wearing streetwear. As soon as they went onstage to perform their new single Shake, everything fell smoothly into place. Their confidence wasn't a facade; their swagger wasn't for show. O Side Mafia boomed with their music, bringing the ‘hood to the stage with them.
O Side Mafia is made up of Costa Cashman, Gee Exclsv, and Madman Stan. Together with their producer BRGR, they told Young STAR how their music is inextricably rooted in their experiences growing up in the urban slums of Maria Orosa Street — where the name “O Side” comes from — in Malate, Manila. Even though they projected a cool exterior, there was a softness in these boys as they spoke, evoking their humility and gratefulness for what they have achieved thus far.
The group started releasing music in 2018 when they were still teenagers. They recounted recording their songs in the cusp of danger. “Sa (bahay na) dati naming pinagrerekordan, may tsansa na mahuli ka kasi may mga ilegales ‘don,” said the most vocal member of the group, Costa Cashman. “Sumusugal kami sa ganoong lugar, makapag-record lang kami. Baon namin, tubig at yosi lang.”
They released songs over the years without expecting mainstream success, as they were satisfied with their small but loyal following. “Nung una, nadama na namin na sa underground scene, kilala na talaga kami. ‘Don pa lang, okay na kami,” said Madman Stan, the more reserved member who always has something insightful to say. “May mga fans kami na palagi talagang nandoon kada gig; makikita mo mga pagmumukha nila sa moshpit.”
“Tsaka ‘yung mga dating soundtrip namin, kami (na) ‘yung soundtrip nila. Okay na kami ‘don,” added Cashman.
O Side Mafia soon found mass acclaim with Freestyle and 20 Deep, garnering 12 million and 22 million views on YouTube respectively. Cashman wrote 20 Deep just three days after he met their producer BRGR for the first time, who handed him only beats to work with. This shows that even without formal training, Cashman has been musically talented growing up, as shown by the group.
The trio started with friends Cashman and Gee Exclsv, with Madman Stan soon joining the fray. Their introduction to producer BRGR proved serendipitous, as he would remain a constant collaborator and important beat-maker for the group.
BRGR told the story of how a random group of around 20 people came into his studio one day and he was fussed by their noise and rowdiness. Among them was O Side Mafia, and thus their partnership was formed. BRGR has since produced their songs and performed with the group on live shows and music videos.
Cashman arranges the lyrics while BRGR produces the beats. Gee and Stan write their own verses. Cashman and BRGR, taking pride in the authenticity and rawness of their music, constantly go back and forth regarding their songs’ vision. They’d usually know a song is a banger based on gut feel.
“Sa music kasi para siyang may magic eh,” Cashman elaborated. “Kunwari, ‘pag magsusulat ako ng lyrics, tahimik lang ako. Tapos kapag makakasulat ako ng isang verse na maganda, para akong bata na tuwang-tuwa na nakakuha ng laruan. Kung ga’non ‘yung feeling niya, banger na ‘yun.”
“Tsaka ‘di kami bumabase sa sumikat na kanta… Kumbaga ginagawa lang namin ‘yung gusto namin,” Cashman said regarding the group’s musical identity. “Pwede ngayon maglabas kami ng pasigaw-sigaw, next maglalabas naman kami ng pang-club. Parang roller coaster yung O Side Mafia eh. ‘Di mo malalaman kung ano ‘yung ibabagsak namin.”
Moving up the ladder
O Side Mafia considers rapping to be their lifestyle and full-time job. Gee Exclsv, the group’s most voracious consumer of hip-hop music and the member who really grew up rapping, recounted his daily routine. It includes doing chores, working at his hobbies, free from the cares of mounting bills and necessary expenses. In between, he always finds time to rap. This is true of the little time I spent with him: he was the one who arrived first and instantly glued himself to his tablet, blasting hip-hop music without pause.
Of his day-to-day life, he said, “Ang sarap sa pakiramdam (na) wala kang hinahabol na oras. Ineenjoy namin itong pagkakataong ito.” The other members echoed this sentiment.
Hustling and grinding nonetheless remain ingrained in the group’s routine, even with their fame and prosperity today. And because connections and opportunities often sprout during downtime, the group’s time for play and work overlap. It's a setup not enjoyed by many.
When asked if they ever expected to perform on national television, the group would only laugh in delighted disbelief. They never thought their type of music would be featured on such a mainstream platform.
Never did this success also become a slight for the group’s vision of who they are. A platform that demands more family-friendly content would only warrant a few word changes here and there; nothing drastic. To them, self-censorship was never in the picture. They’d still write songs with explicit language, not for its own sake, but because it evokes their truth.
“Kung ano ‘yung nira-rap namin, ‘yun kasi yung nararanasan din namin talaga. Nung nagbago buhay namin, nag-evolve din ‘yung music namin,” shared Stan. “Ngayong up na kami, may mga kaya nang gawin, may mga kaya nang bilin, nagbabago yung pananaw namin sa buhay.”
This truth is also reflected in the group’s collaborators. They do not look at artists’ skill or fame, but rather at the truthfulness of their craft and their synergy with the group. This is evident in their collaboration with Al James in Kunan Mong Pic, their verses flowing smoothly between each other.
O Side Mafia shared that 2024 was a turning point in their lives. The Al James collab, which was just a dream for the group in the past, was just one of their many wins. Their song Get Low marked the first time a Filipino hip-hop song topped Billboard’s Philippine charts back in January last year. But with all these achievements, they consider moving out of the slums and having places of their own the most significant one.
“Dalawa lang ang pupuntahan namin kapag nag-stay kami ‘don: either kulungan or libingan,” Cashman emphasized. “Thankful din kami na nabigay sa’min itong chance na ito para makaalis kami.”
They would chalk up the environment they grew up in as an unfortunate reality they had to face. But even with their exodus out of Malate, Gee assured that through their music, “Lagi’t-lagi, bumabalik kami sa ‘hood.”
Back at the network variety show, when O Side Mafia performed their segment, I felt the energy ramping up in the studio. There’s an aura they carry that unmistakably comes from talent and the grind. They said when they performed pro bono sets in the past, it was through their beats and passion that they could fill a room, hype up a crowd. They’re like a magnet for attention. It’s not hard to imagine that this is even truer now.
Throughout the interview, O Side Mafia repeated how their past shaped their music. It’s a point of pride for them, in fact. “Totoo rin kasi ‘yung mga sinasabi namin. Kaya ‘pag pineperform namin, ramdam na ramdam namin siya kasi experience namin kung ano sinasabi namin,” Gee reiterated.
These days, the group is focused on recording their first album, “Metro Malate.” Cashman, also hands-on with a Southeast Asian label, hopes for it to be released later this year. The international market is an arena the group, especially Gee, is very excited to dive into. And between these career strokes are stability and the betterment of their personal lives which a married man like Stan is intent on pursuing.
When I left the holding room, O Side Madia remained. The glass dividers served as a window between two worlds. There was me, in the quiet lonesome hallway. Then there was them, chattering after their performance, talking excitedly about the next one. These boys will go to bigger places. And they wouldn’t be there without “O Side.”
Story by Joker Manio
Photos by Andrea Panaligan
Special thanks to Sony Music Philippines