The upcoming MTV Music Evolution, held right in the heart of Manila, serves more than just a music festival — perched on a worldwide platform, the people behind MTV are using this festival banner as a means to demonstrate and educate the very music genres they love. Starting off with the universally-loved and equally controversial style of hip-hop, MTV has presented a line-up of six established acts to illustrate the genre's growth through the years, along with its global reach that has shifted its position from a powerful tool for African-American artists to an international phenomenon.

Like we've talked about previously, Singapore's hip-hop scene is still in the process of finding itself while steadily earning strength in numbers. Thus, it was a sound decision of MTV to host the first edition of the festival in Manila — a city that has wholeheartedly embraced rapping and beat-making, resulting in a scene brimming with veteran wordsmiths and emerging talent. MTV has recognized this by adding two of the city's beloved talent, along with a certain "Black Eyed Pea" whose ties with the country runs deep (and who's also appearing on Singapore's anniversary concert Sing50, for reasons unknown).

So before the festival starts this Sunday on May 17, along with its broadcast on MTV Asia itself, let's get to know a little bit about who we'll be watching — from the Golden Age hip-hop stylings of Naughty by Nature to the emerging West Coast beatmaker DJ Mustard.

One listen to Gloc-9's myriad of singles on YouTube and you know already, even if you know not a word of Tagalog, that this guy shows a respectable amount of versatility — instrumentally, there's the unabashed aggression of rock on one track and slick R&B beats on the other. Forgoing the usual party anthems that permeate a lot of modern hip-hop, he flexes a worldly and sagacious knowledge of politics and national issues within catchy songwriting, earning him as one of the Philippines' most respected rappers in a long time — an intelligent, socially-conscious rapper who never loses sight of accessibility to reach out to the masses.

Alongside the veteran Gloc-9 representing their homeland is Abra, an up-and-coming rapper who clearly has the aspirations of genre greats like Eminem — thoughtful lyricism with a flow that balances between a laid-back demeanour and a ferocious wordsmith, out for blood. He's no slouch with popularity either, garnering over 30 million views for his acclaimed single 'Gayuma'.

The West Coast still has its hometown heroes, alongside Kendrick Lamar who made hip-hop history with To Pimp a Butterfly, who continue to forge the scene's distinctive identity. One of them is DJ Mustard, the producer responsible behind some of the region's biggest party anthems. A man who's been approached by artists as wide as Jennifer Lopez and Ludacris, he famously coined for the "ratchet" sound which has since been wholly embraced by the West Coast and beyond — a sound endearingly influenced by 90s hip-hop production but remaining as modern as ever. Expect a set full of hard-as-f**k bangers, served fresh out of California.

With special guest appearances by Drake, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj and K Dot himself, YG has been stamped and approved by his peers as a bona-fide storyteller and distinctive personality. While he hasn't made his mark in the worldwide charts just yet, his live shows have gotten a lot of positive reception for his unstoppable energy and interaction with the crowd. We can only hope everything will be elevated on the big MTV stage.

Skip to 3:27 for the song but the whole video exemplifies YG's ambitions as a cinematic chronicler of Compton life.

That record spawned hit after hit but none, even until now, could beat 'Hip Hop Hooray', with its chorus of "hey...ho...hey...ho" remaining a permanent part of hip-hop's consciousness. Looking forward to chanting that again and again... and again (not that we're complaining).