Ex Battalion

Ex Battalion
Ex Battalion perform in July 2017; from left to right: Flow-G, Emcee Rhenn, JRoa, Bosx1ne and Skusta Clee
Background information
Origin	Manila, Philippines
Genres	Pinoy hip hop trap
Years active	2016–present
Labels	Ex Battalion Music (2016-present)
Associated acts	John Roa (previously known as JRoa), O.C. Dawgs, Ai-Ai delas Alas, Panty Droppaz League
Members	Bosx1ne Flow-G Skusta Clee Brando Emcee Rhenn King Badger
Past members	JRoa

Ex Battalion, normally shortened to Ex B, is a Filipino hip hop collective formed in Manila, Philippines known for the hit singles "Hayaan Mo Sila" (#2 Billboard Philippine Top 20)^[1] and "No Games" (#10). The collective was originally formed as a musical group by Bosx1ne, who mostly writes the hooks of each of their songs and Flow-G. Later members included JRoa, Jon Guttierez (who used 'King Badger' as his stage name), Emcee Rhenn, Brando, KentMNL, Bullet-D and Mckoy. The collective gained prominence nationwide after releasing several hit songs. Nowadays, they are dubbed as the most successful mainstream hip-hop collective in the country with a total of over 250 million music video hits on YouTube.^[2]

History

On 2012, Ex Battalion was firstly formed and founded by Bosx1ne and rap battle emcees Jekkpot and Cent as a rap battle group, they had joined several barangay rap battles before being into music.^[3] On February 2016, the group was formed into a musical group and as a hip hop collective and released their first album entitled "X" on digital platforms. They eventually recruited several artists to join their group after the release. The first three members are former reality talent show participant JRoa, Flow-G and their founder Bosx1ne. JRoa's vocals was featured in the hook of their first single that became their first hit entitled "Kakaiba" that was released on the same month. Rapper Skusta Clee has been associated with the group ever since and has collaborated in most of their singles.^[4]

On September 25, 2016, three months after the smash of their first single, they released another single called "No Games".^[5] The track's music video was immediately uploaded on YouTube and subsequently became viral.

On December 6, 2016, they released "Tell Me" as their another single featuring social media personality and gravure model Toni Fowler in the track's music video.

On January 2017, the collective scored their first Billboard Philippine Top 20 hit entitled "No Games" which entered the local chart and peaked at number 10 after several weeks.^[1]

On November 7, 2017, JRoa announced his intent to leave the group to focus on his solo musical career after releasing just one album in the label and appearing in several songs with the collective. Roa said that the group will still be the same "with or without him". Other members like Flow-G accepted Roa's decision and pledged to support him on his future plans. On the same day, Ex Battalion released another single entitled "Hayaan Mo Sila" (lit. Leave Them Be) along with its official video on YouTube. The track was inspired by DJ Khaled's "I'm the One", and it immediately debuted in the Philippine Top 20 chart at number 5, their second hit single appearing on the chart.^[1]

On January 3, 2018, the official music video of "Hayaan Mo Sila" was taken down by YouTube after hitting almost twenty million views due to a copyright claim by the producer of the beat, Diamond Style, who claims that Ex Battalion only purchased a $25 lease which covers up to 2,000 streams and up to 250,000 views only. After the event, speculations swirled online regarding the alleged use of the beat without permission; Ex Battalion explained and admitted that they haven't purchased the exclusive rights of the beat which they only got from the producer's YouTube channel.^[6][7] After a few days, it was also removed from streaming services and digital stores. It was eventually restored in the stores including the music video on YouTube, after the issue was resolved two weeks later. Due to the massive attention, the track also rose up the charts, peaking at number 2 on the Philippine Top 20 and at number 10 on the Philippine Hot 100 in just one week. However, Billboard Philippines then ceased from publishing weekly charts.^[1]

On March 12, 2018, the collective released their new single entitled "SouthBoys" on YouTube in another collaboration with O.C. Dawgs. The video became the number one trend in the Youtube PH platform several hours after the upload.^[8] On March 13, 2018, it is announced that the collective will be handled and managed by Filipino comedian Ai-Ai Delas Alas, who they previously collaborated with in the Delas Alas' track entitled "Walang Pinipili" (lit. Choosing Nobody), after signing a management contract.^[9]

Members

Discography

References