P-pop powerhouse BINI’s new single, “Shagidi,” brings some much-needed energy.
8-member girl group BINI has had a rollercoaster year. In 2024, BINI’s back-to-back smash hits, “Pantropiko” and “Salamin,” marked the end of their early years of stagnation. They’re breaking records left and right.
But fame is a double-edged sword. Since their sharp ascent to stardom, the girls have been scrutinized for every little thing. One of the naysayers’ favorite claims is that the group is losing their authenticity as a Filipino pop act.
The release of “Cherry on Top” in July kicked off the rollout for their all-English album, Biniverse. The discourse has only gotten more intense. Rolling Stone Philippines even published an article about it.
BINI’s latest tour single, “Shagidi,” has not escaped the discourse. The Filipino children’s chant, Shagidi Shapopo, heavily influenced the song’s partly Tagalog lyrics. Still, many continue to say that the group has lost their Filipino flavor.
One can only hope that these silly debates die down so we can focus on the music. In particular, “Shagidi” is BINI’s best song since the impeccably produced “Cherry on Top.”
The BINI girls added their group name to the graffiti in London, which inspired the art for “Shagidi.”
Also Read: BINI to Make History at Aurora Music Festival 2025
A beloved BINI hit’s cooler cousin
Most media outlets call BINI a “bubblegum pop” group. It’s more of a branding thing than anything else. As a genre, “bubblegum pop” has extremely vague definitions.
The group has always incorporated a wide range of genres in their discography. Some of their best songs lean into some other genre besides pure pop. For instance, “Lagi” is one of their most iconic sleeper hits.
The song’s associated visuals consist of candy and the color pink. Super pink MV, super pink stage outfits, pink pink pink everything. Thus, outlets usually just brand it as “bubblegum pop.”
But do you hear the hard-hitting percussion sitting really high in the mix? Most people can’t see past the song’s hyper-girly presentation, not realizing that “Lagi” is one of the Philippines’ greatest pop-rock hits in the past few years.
You might also find this surprising. Despite “Shagidi”‘s cool, graffiti-inspired artwork, its musical DNA is most similar to “Pantropiko.”
Remember the memes about “Pantropiko”‘s instrumental sounding like Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You”? That’s because they’re both in the “tropical house” genre. Trop house is heavily indebted to dancehall, a Jamaican genre with roots in reggae.
In fact, some people don’t consider tropical house to be a real genre of its own, but simply whitewashed or repackaged dancehall.
As a trop house song, though, “Pantropiko” does have some major differences from “Shagidi.” For one, “Pantropiko”‘s beat has the classic 4/4 time signature that defines house music.
The drums are also a lot softer in “Pantropiko”; the song is more languorous.
Still, both “Pantropiko” and “Shagidi” contain the off-kilter, staccato drum patterns of reggae. But “Shagidi”‘s instrumentation is bolder and punchier than “Pantropiko”‘s.
Whether intentional or not, “Shagidi” reminds me of grime, a genre of electronic music originating from Black communities in London, with prominent dancehall and hip-hop influences. That makes the song’s London-inspired artwork all the more fitting.
Other brash sonic elements like “disco laser” synths help keep the song interesting. The layering on the chanted chorus stops it from sounding silly and grating, instead giving it an addictively delirious, anthemic energy.
The fast and the curious
“Shagidi” is somewhat experimental. For one, it’s the first BINI song with no real singing whatsoever.
It doesn’t have any of BINI’s usual soaring notes or complex runs that I love. I recently saw them live in London, and those girls can really sing the house down. Although not quite rapping, most of “Shagidi” is delivered in a speak-singing style.
My disappointment at the lack of singing quickly subsided. This song is proof that the BINI members can provide charismatic performances in other ways, singing prowess aside.
Experimental songs are hit-and-miss, but the brisk, vigorous pace of “Shagidi” helps put it in the “hit” category. Many of BINI’s newer songs suffer from a sluggish pace. This includes Tagalog songs like “Top,” so it’s not due to language or the nationality of their producers.
It’s funny that many netizens love to blame “Blink Twice”‘s lack of flavor on its English lyrics or foreign producers. Indeed, the true issue with that song lies in its slow, tepid topline.
Those songs are still decent and competently produced. For better or for worse, they’re entirely inoffensive: too glossy to be bad, but too smooth around the edges to make a lasting impression.
“Shagidi”‘s songwriters understand that cool beats aren’t enough to make a song. They’ve put effort into the strong, lively topline. BINI Stacey shines in the memorable bridge too, her rap sounding perfect over the 808 bass.
Unpacking the “authenticity” debate
Two of the writers on “Shagidi,” from left to right: American producer Tommy Brown; Filipino singer Angela Ken
One of the most frustrating talking points about BINI is the insistence that a Filipino’s authenticity is inherently tied to Tagalog (also known as “Filipino”).
The Philippines boasts more than 180 languages. For half of the group, Tagalog isn’t even their mother tongue. BINI Colet pointed out in the group’s documentary that Tagalog is essentially a foreign language to Visayans like her, for example.
Neither Tagalog nor English will be fully authentic for BINI’s non-Tagalog members. But their songs and music videos can still feature cultural details or themes that resonate with Filipinos, regardless of what language they use.
Insisting that their newer songs sound too Western is similarly absurd. All Filipino mainstream music has roots in other cultures’ music. All Filipino mainstream music is Westernized in some way.
As I explained above, “Pantropiko” and “Shagidi” have a lot in common musically. Both singles have roots in Black genres (particularly dancehall). Most music that Filipinos claim as “pure” Pinoy owes its existence to Black Americans, like R&B, rock and roll, and hip-hop.
In fact, “Shagidi” is probably one of BINI’s most authentic songs. The idol industry loves Black music but often fails to credit Black creatives. Meanwhile, the credits for “Shagidi” acknowledge the multiple Black creatives who co-wrote and produced the song, such as Tommy Brown and Courtlin Jabrae Edwards.
Fun fact: Filipinos didn’t harmonize before Spanish churches introduced two-part harmonies to us. The Thomasites of the USA later introduced four-part harmonies. Does that mean that every Filipino song with harmonies is too Western to be authentic?
Or… maybe a song’s Filipino-ness simply doesn’t depend on a single language or faulty standards of cultural purity. In fact, in modern, post-colonial Philippines, we live in a constant state of cultural exchange.
The song materialized after a group of Filipinos, including “Shagidi” co-writer Angela Ken, introduced the game to the producers. If that’s not an expression of culture, what is?
Our verdict
“Shagidi” is punchy, energetic, and fast-paced, one of BINI’s best releases in the past year. It deserves to be appreciated, beyond tiresome debates about BINI’s perceived authenticity.
Photo credits: @BINI_ph (X), @bini_jhoanna, Spotify for Artists (Tommy Brown photo), @anqelaken (Instagram)
