RA Podcast

"The Budots Three" showcase the thrilling sound of Filipino dance music. If you were on TikTok in the summer of 2024, there is a good chance you heard "Emergency Budots (Paging Doctor Beat)." The DJ Johnrey track spread fast, soundtracking countless dance clips, and just as quickly sparked a wave of corrections. Budots, viewers were told, wasn't new. And most people weren't dancing it right. To understand Budots, DJ Love, DJ Danz and DJ Ericnem are a useful starting point. The three producers have been making Budots music since the early 2000s, developing the genre largely outside formal club infrastructure, and across the trio's RA Mix, the genre's playful character comes into focus. Bouncy like a ball, it's primary elements are clipped vocal samples, pitched-up synth hooks and tightly looped rhythms. Heard in full, RA.1018 plays out as an hour-long joyride, making it difficult to square the music’s buoyancy with Budots' earlier local associations with disorder and crime. DJ Love has been central to re