“Elevate” by Jeff Grecia

Information readily on Jeff Grecia is quite scant. He currently boasts a Facebook following of 4,000 and a little over 1,000 Instagram subscribers.

What is ascertainable though is that he’s from the Philippines. And why do we say so? This is because half of the lyrics of this song are rendered in Filipino. And speaking of “Elevate”, which was released on 23 December 2022, this is obviously his breakthrough track. For instance, as of this writing it has over a million streams on Spotify. Additionally, he did celebrate its success on his aforenoted Facebook account.

With that being noted, “Elevate” is a piece that Grecia wrote himself. The track’s producer is an artist known as Prod.Koii.

THE LYRICS OF “ELEVATE”

We are relying on a Google translation for this analysis. And whereas this song was definitely influenced by American hip-hop, keep in mind that its artist is from a culture on the other side of the world. That’s our way of saying that the lyrics, as translated, aren’t particularly comprehensive. Furthermore, what’s being put forth may differ from current US-based ideologies.

For example Chris Rock, a prominent figure in American culture who is also in tune with the US’s hip-hop community, recently dropped a comedy special, Selective Outrage (2023). In this special, Chris pretty much admitted being a coc*ine user and used that fact to even generate a joke or two. 

You’re not likely to come across any entertainers like that in the Philippines, where the powers that be are dangerously tight-assed, even beyond the likes of Singapore, when it comes enforcing drug laws. And both coke and marijuana, which are referenced in this song, are considered illicit in the Philippines.

So that may explain why “Elevate” reads sorta like an anti-drug, though one that plays both sides of the field, if you will. For instance, in the chorus, Grecia goes about mocking the addressee for apparently being so dependent on “smoke” and “dope” that he ended “broke” for ‘not behaving’. 

But in terms of what he means relatedly when he says “choked then elevated”, that latter term, at least in places like the United States, is one that can be used as a synonym for getting high but even more generally has a positive connotation.

“Dami ng smoke, nag-load, nag-toke
Na-choke tapos nag-elevate
Malamang dope, nag-coke, na-broke
Kasi hindi ka nag-behave
Dami ng smoke, nag-load, nag-toke
Na-choke tapos nag-elevate
Malamang dope, nag-coke, na-broke
Kasi hindi ka nag-behave”

It would also appear that in the first verse, the vocalist alludes to himself having once been a weed smoker. But more to the point obviously is him depicting such a lifestyle as one that can get a user in serious trouble.

It should be noted that despite the Philippines’ draconian drug laws, apparently such substances are available and patronized, at a considerable clip, nonetheless. In fact circa the blowing up of this track, the Filipino government have resumed talks along the lines of decriminalizing marijuana. 

So yes, it may sound a bit extreme to us outsiders that Jeff is seemingly equating the risks associated with smoking ganja to those of living a hardcore criminal lifestyle. But again, in his country possessing the herb is considered by law as an act that can even result in the death penalty.

The second verse is actually the part of this song that is most confusing. But what is easily detectable is Jeff using the latter part of the passage to lambast “fake” people, such as hypocrites. And we are presuming that said stance has something to do with what was put forth earlier.

IN CONCLUSION

Conclusively, “Elevate” can be taken primarily as an anti-drug song. Furthermore, it appears to be one of those along the lines of the vocalist using his own personal experiences and observations to advise others not to partake of such substances.

But hip-hop, no matter what part of the world it’s being practiced, idealizes being in tune with the streets and also keeping it real. Honestly it isn’t common that we come across a rapper from any country dropping an anti-drug song. 

Yes, Southeast Asia may be the part of the world with the strictest drug always. But accordingly there appears to be some mixed feelings, in a manner of speaking, present on this track.