V1BE Manila lived up to its promise of being the “Grandest ‘Hip-Pop’ Experience” of the year as it brought together powerhouse artists in one night of an unforgettable concert. 

Last Dec. 3, the SM Mall of Asia Arena was packed with fans for V1BE Manila, which was headlined by Akon together with Gloc-9, Flow G, Ez Mil, Lucas and SB19's Pablo. 

Also performing at the show were DJ Kate, Chocolate Factory and Legit Misfits. 

V1BE Manila was also the Manila leg of Akon’s “The Superfan Tour.” Akon’s famous songs include “Smack That,” which has garnered 1.36 billion views on YouTube and “Lonely,” which has 1.1 billion views. 

During a press conference at the SM Mall of Asia a day before the concert, Akon said his Superfan Tour “is the way of reactivating the base. It's been a while since I've been actively out in the marketplace for a new album. I have a new album that I'm dropping in February. It's called ‘Not Guilty’ so the Superfan tour is actually to kind of open the doors up again for the Akon audience to know that there's new music coming and something to look crazy out for because ultimately it's about putting out a body of work.”

Global artist Akon during a press conference for V1BE Manila on Dec. 2 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena (Jonathan Hicap)

Global artist Akon (center) with Lucas (left) and Ez Mil during a press conference for V1BE Manila on Dec. 2 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena (Jonathan Hicap)

“You know a lot of the dual artists they put out, maybe, one single and constant single,  single single, single. Whereas when I came up we were very easily adapted to a body of work that told a story, that kind of gave an experience so we want to get back to that,” he said. 

On the lineup of fellow artists performing at V1BE Manila, Akon said, “Well, ultimately, you know, when we go to a specific place, we always allow the local artists to really showcase themselves. Now, that one we allow the audience to choose.” 

Before the main show, DJ Kate Jagdon performed a set. This was followed by Chocolate Factory and Legit Misfitz, and capped by a Jag fashion show featuring male and female models. 

DJ Kate

Chocolate Factory (Jonathan Hicap)

Legit Misfitz (Jonathan Hicap)

Jag Fashion show (Jonathan Hicap)

V1BE Manila officially started with the performance by SB19’s Pablo, who opened his set with “Neumun.” He also sang “Don’t Care”, “Tambol,” “Butata,” and “Micha.” 

SB19's Pablo (Jonathan Hicap)

K-pop star Lucas returned to Manila for the concert. He performed his latest hit single, “Renegade” with high-energy choreography. He followed this with “Dip It Low” and “Crushing On You”. His final performance was “Bass Go Boom.”

At the press conference, Lucas revealed that “yes, actually, I've searched for the names of the artists performing in V1BE Manila and also for Ez Mil and Akon and other lineup of artists. I was able to search a lot of them and their content on YouTube.”

About Ez Mil, Lucas said, “In one of the videos that I watched it, he was actually rapping in a radio [show] and you know, when I actually heard him rapping, it was really cool and I was really impressed and I was like, ‘Okay he's so cool in rapping.”

Lucas (Jonathan Hicap)

Ez Mil took the stage after Lucas, performing his original singles “Freeze”, “Idk”, and “Up Down.” The Slim Shady Records artist surprised the crowd by covering hits from global hip-hop superstars, performing Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble” and “They Not Like Us”, A$AP Rocky’s “Praise The Lord”, and Eminem’s “Slim Shady” and “Lose Yourself.”. He closed his set with “Head Honcho” and “Realest.”

In addition, Ez Mil and Pablo performed a mashup of Ez Mil’s “Panalo” and SB19’s “Gento,” marking the first collaboration of the two artists. 

Ez Mil (Jonathan Hicap)

Lucas and Ez Mil (Jonathan Hicap)

Rapper Flow G mesmerized the crowd with “Rapstar,“ “Moon”, “Icon”, “Praning” and “GWolf.”

Hip-hop artist Gloc-9 was next, performing his signature hit “Simpleng Tao,” which garnered loud sing-alongs from the audience. He also sang “Upuan,” “Bagsakan,” “Sumayaw Ka” and “Sirena.” 

Gloc-9 called on Pablo, Ez Mil, and Flow G for yet another iconic performance and covered the beloved “Kaleidoscope World” of Francis Magalona. This, too, marked their first official collaboration.

Flow G (Jonathan Hicap)

Gloc-9 (Jonathan Hicap)

Global superstar Akon became the final act, performing his latest single, “Beautiful Day.” Dressed in all white, Akon followed up with a mashup of hits from “I’m So Paid”, “Ghetto”, to “Soul Survivor”. 

A masked dancer joined Akon on stage, performing along to singles such as “Kush,” “Against The Grain,” and “Sweetest Girl”. 

Akon also sang T-Pain’s global hit “Bartender,” to which he was a featured artist. He followed up with other feature songs in “Body On Me” and “Baby, I’m Back,” “Hypnotized”, and a kinetic performance of “Bananza.”

He also played the bongos on stage before transitioning into “Don’t Matter” which led the audience to the loudest it's ever been all night. “Danza Kuduro” followed with Akon engaging the crowd by asking who came in from other continents. 

Akon also performed “Mama Africa”, “I Tried,” “Sorry, Blame It On Me” and “Lonely.” He continued energizing the crowd with “I Wanna Love You”, and “Smack That”. 

In addition, he charmed the audience with “Angel,” “Right Now (Na Na Na),” “Beautiful” and “Freedom.” 

V1BE Manila was supported by Pony, Jag and Playtime. 

In an interview, Pony Philippines Marketing Officer Harry Marasigan said the company decided to support V1BE Manila  “because it's very, you know, it's their tagline, it's the greatest ‘hip-pop’ experience.” 

“So basically, Pony is known for its rich history regarding with hip-hop in the US. Pony is here in the Philippines since 2001. And then for the US since 1972. So way back then, hip-hop was a culture and tradition in the US. So that's why we're bringing back the heritage here in the Philippines to experience the greatest ‘hip-pop’ for the Philippine community,” he said. 

He said Pony shoes are “known for expressing ourselves. So, you know, show them who you really are. In hip-hop, it’s like there are no steps. There's no dance. It's just expressing who you are. So basically, it varies the characteristics of Pony, Pony shoes to the hip-hop community.”  

For V1BE Manila promoter and organizer L-Squared group, CEO Marco Llado said fans can look forward to bigger shows and events in 2025. 

“We’re definitely cooking up bigger events for 2025 in addition to expanding to hold events across the country. But first things first – our team will celebrate our wins for 2024. We really worked hard this year so it is just right to appreciate and give thanks to our passionate and hardworking team,” he said.

V1BE Manila was presented by L-Squared Productions.