VIRAL: The C2 Green vs C2 Red Rap Battle on SoundCloud
We scored an exclusive chat with the artist about his... creative process.
(SPOT.ph) Move over, Kendrick Lamar. Your diss track “Not Like Us” might have won five Grammys, but there’s finally a bigger hater than you in this world—and he can be found right here rapping about his flavored drink bias in the Philippines.
Posted on SoundCloud, the premise of “C2 NA RED!” is as straightforward as it gets: the subject hates C2 Green (Green Tea), tolerates C2 Yellow (Lemon), and swears by C2 Red (Apple).
The climax of the track features a comedic exchange where the subject refuses to buy C2 Green when C2 Red is out of stock at a store: Ayaw ko ‘yung lasa ng C2 na kulay green / Ayos lang naman ‘yung lasa ng kulay dilaw / Nung tinikman ko ‘yung color green / 'Yoko na ulitin / Pag bibili ako sa labas / Alam ko na ‘yung sasabihin / Ate pabili nga po C2 na red / Wala nang red, green nalang / Hindi pwede ‘yan / Ayaw kong uminom niyan!!!
Have a listen yourself:
“C2 NA RED!” was posted on SoundCloud on February 3, but it wasn’t until content creator Dennis Tayag posted a TikTok video with the tune that it blew up. In just two days of posting, the unofficial music video hit eight million views.
@dennis_tayag C2 na green song HAHAHAAHAH! #DennisTayag #fyp #foryou #foryoupage ♬ original sound - Gloinpce but filipino
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What's the deal with C2 tracks on SoundCloud?
The underground artist/rapper behind the track is 21-year-old Nathaniel Puda or zaniel on the internet, who first started doing SoundCloud mixes in 2020.
“Nagsimula ito dahil sa kapwa ko artist din na sina jahfromdabl0ck at yxngtrevon! Gumawa sila ng kanta na tungkol sa pagkain, tulad ng "TOLAK ANGIN" at "PANCIT CANTON" kaya naisipan ko rin gumawa ng akin, pero ‘yung akin is ‘yung karanasan ko nung uminom ako ng C2 Green,” Puda told SPOT.ph.
It’s becoming quite the trend on SoundClound, too. Besides the topic of food, there’s also a diss track on Shopee customers with no money to pay for a cash-on-delivery method by another artist.
“Ilayo ang SoundCloud sa mga Pinoy,” one user joked.
A quick look at Punda’s SoundCloud profile shows a total of 68 tracks so far, most of which are highly influenced or inspired by Filipino culture. His sound is what the knowledgeable might call Pluggnb—a musical sub-genre of trap music that, according to Splice.com, “combines plug beats with the melodic and harmonic sensibilities of R&B.”
But this is the first time that Puda has gone viral.
“Masaya at masarap sa pakiramdam, kasi first time ko makakita ng ginagawan ng TikTok ‘yung sarili kong kanta tapos ‘yung iba kinakabisado pa talaga nila ‘yung lyrics,” Punda said.
As of writing, over 23,400 users have made a skit/animation/lip sync video out of “C2 NA RED!”—and it’s only been 11 days since the track was released. Over at Spotify, over 112,000 users have streamed the music.
But defenders of C2 Classic Green Tea have come to the flavor’s rescue, like this counter-track from pattyslit that was posted four days later on February 7.
C2 Cool and Clean was introduced in 2004 by Universal Robina Corporation (URC) as the first ready-to-drink tea, providing a much healthier alternative to soft drinks at that time. Flavors like Green Tea, Apple, Lemon have become staples in Filipino schools and households, before the likes of Dalandan, Melon, and Red Tea Raspberry were added to the selection later on.