This is an excerpt from the Women in Focus feature in MEGA’s November 2025
It’s not a secret to the world that Filipinos are great singers and musicians. But usually, it’s the balladeers and P-pop singers that are gaining attention globally and even locally. There’s a burgeoning hiphop scene that seems to remain underground but that doesn’t mean they’re any less talented. In fact, in an industry where authenticity often gets buried under manufactured personas, this community stands out. Morobeats from Mindanao is one such indie hiphop label making its mark and presence known in the Philippines, with their hard truth-hitting verses that hit close to home to the experiences of the Filipino people.
And within Morobeats collective are the femcees Miss A and Fateeha—also known as the Morobeats Sisters. These young women are leading the charge and standing as fierce guardians of truth. These sisters didn’t just stumble into hip-hop. They discovered each other through it, creating a bond that transcends music and speaks to the very essence of what it means to find your tribe.
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THE ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERY
Picture this: two sisters, both secretly pursuing the same passion, both hiding it from their father—the legendary Morobeats founder DJ Medmessiah, both performing at the same underground venue without knowing the other existed. “We both had no clue whatsoever that we were both rapping,” Miss A recalls with a laugh. “And what was so crazy about this part was we were hiding it from our dad and ourselves.”
The revelation came during an event where Miss A, then 18, spotted her younger sister Fateeha holding a mic. “I see my sister in the corner holding a mic. I’m like, ‘What the f*** is going on?’”
“I’m like,” Fateeha interjects, “‘Hold on. Wait. I know her. That’s my sister.’”
Their reasons for secrecy were deeply personal yet universally relatable. Miss A wanted to establish her credibility independently, while Fateeha feared the pressure of living up to their father’s legacy. “I didn’t want him to find out because I knew he’s kind of like a mentor for a lot of people,” Fateeha explains. “I wasn’t ready for that kind of judgment and that kind of critique and pressure.”
BUILDING THEIR UNCONQUERED IDENTITY
What makes the Morobeats Sisters extraordinary isn’t just their musical talent. It’s their unwavering commitment to representing Mindanao culture and the resilience of the Moro people. “Moro people have always been against everything… they’re being conquered with. We’re a tribe that is unconquered and we have that name for a reason,” Miss A declares with fierce pride.
This unconquered spirit permeates everything they do. In an industry where many artists adopt borrowed styles, the sisters refuse to compromise their authentic voice. “It feels very insulting but at the same time that’s how we can differentiate ourselves from all of the rest because we don’t also have that kind of conquered mindset where we need to start copying other people,” Miss A explains.
Their community serves as the foundational soil from which their artistry grows. “As an emcee you have to be aware of your environment,” Fateeha notes. “Awareness adds a big factor to how you’re going to write songs and project your feelings and your emotions.”
THE WEIGHT OF REPRESENTATION
Being among the few female emcees (or femcees) addressing political and social issues in the Philippines comes with immense responsibility. “We are the only femcees that do it in the Philippines like this,” Miss A acknowledges. “We don’t have a lot of femcees talking about the political issues and the social issues.”
This responsibility extends beyond their immediate community. They draw inspiration from Filipino-American artists like Miss Rocky Rivera and Ruby Ibarra, who paved the way for politically conscious female rap. “Those women have basically been doing it before we did… they knew the responsibility of being a Filipina and how to use that voice and we’re just here to carry that responsibility to younger generations.”
The impact of their music reaches far beyond what they initially imagined. Miss A shares a particularly moving example: “There was this one specific artist, a graffiti artist who’s from Berlin and he made a mural of my face…on one of the biggest walls in Berlin.” The significance wasn’t lost on her—in graffiti culture, murals typically honor the deceased, making this living tribute all the more powerful.
CHALLENGING THE “MALE-DOMINATED” NARRATIV E
One of their most passionate stances involves rejecting the persistent narrative that hip-hop remains male-dominated. Miss A despises this notion since she knows there are so many good femcees out there. She says that it’s another form of patriarchy and that they do not need to be put beside a male MC and be compared to them just to have value.
They point to hip-hop’s roots, citing Lauryn Hill’s triple-platinum album and the influential female artists of the ‘90s, saying that in that era, it was almost equal and not really male dominated. Fateeha believes that hip-hop has always been about speaking out about things that are happening around you and there is no gender when it comes to political awareness.
Read more and get to know Miss A and Fateeha in MEGA’s November 2025 issue now available on Readly, Magzter, Press Reader and Zinio.
Photographed by JERICK SANCHEZ. Art Direction TROY NONATO. Sittings Editor STEF JUAN. Producer THESSMAR LECTURA. Fashion Assistant KRISSIE TERUEL. Stylist CHA FRONTE. Makeup ARIA ORTEGA and KATHY ORAN. Hair MAT T LEDESMA. Shot on location COSMIC POBLACION.
Special thanks to MIKE MALLINGER and DHANVAN and VIKTORIA SALAZAR.
