"Gayuma" () is a song by Filipino rapper Abra featuring Thyro Alfaro and Jeriko Aguilar, son of

Freddie Aguilar Ferdinand "Freddie" Pascual Aguilar (; February 5, 1953 – May 27, 2025), also known by his Muslim name Abdul Farid, was a Filipino musician regarded as one of the pillars and icons of Original Pilipino Music (OPM). He was best known for his i ...

. The song is about a man in love with an ugly woman, implied as a

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

woman in the lyrics and shown literally in the music video, who learns he'd been given a love potion and takes an antidote.

Background

The song was written as a metaphor for deception to show that "love is blind, love is shallow." It is not a reflection of the rapper's personal experience on love but rather his interpretation of love based on stories he has heard from peers, movies he has seen and things in the newspaper he has read.

Music video

The music video shows Abra and his partner enjoying time together, despite friends and other people being against their relationship. Later on in the video, Abra realizes that the person he loves is in fact transgender or "bakla" after his former girlfriend (played by Kat Alano) revealed that the partner had used a potion to attract Abra. He later meets a pretty girl in a bar, and the pair start dating. After the girl goes to lean on his shoulder, his former transgender love interest suddenly appears to be the one at his side. At the end of the video, it depicts fellow rapper Loonie as having watched the "movie" on DVD.

Reception

The music video was released on September 30, 2012 on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. In its second week on YouTube, the video had already reached 2 million views, and by December 25, 2013, the video had reached 26 million views, the most viewed OPM music video of all time on YouTube until April 2018, when

Ex Battalion Ex Battalion (mononymously referred to as ExB; also stylized in all caps) is a Filipino hip hop collective from Muntinlupa City, Philippines, primarily known for their hit single "Hayaan Mo Sila" that went #2 on the Billboard Philippine Top 2 ...

's "Hayaan Mo Sila" overtook "Gayuma". Aside from this, the music video became popular because of the cameo appearance of Janica Buhain as a coconut juice vendor. Hence, she became popularly known as "Buko Girl" throughout the Internet especially in social media sites. The song "Kakaibabe" by

Donnalyn Bartolome Donnalyn Bartolome (born July 9, 1994) is a Filipino singer-songwriter, rapper, model, vlogger, and actress. Personal life Bartolome was born in Manila, Philippines to Tonylyn "Alex" Jereos, a businesswoman and adopted by Reynaldo Mulawin, a ...

mentions the song, as well she mentions

Shehyee Christopher John Rosales Ongkiko (born February 13, 1992), who records under his stage name Shehyee, is a Filipino rapper, songwriter and internet personality best known for his 2013 hit single, Trip Lang, and his participation in the popular F ...

's ''

Trip Lang ''Trip Lang'' (English: Just For Fun) is a song by Filipino rapper and songwriter Shehyee from his 2013 eponymous album, and his first released single from the album. The song features Filipina actress and entertainer Sam Pinto singing the hook. ...

'' and

Daniel Padilla Daniel John Elago Ford (born April 26, 1995), known professionally as Daniel Padilla, is a Filipino actor and singer. He is a recipient of multiple accolades across television, film, and music, including the FAMAS Award for Best Actor and PMP ...

's ''Na Sa 'Yo Na Ang Lahat''.

Awards and recognition

On March 20, 2013, the song won Favorite Music Video and Favorite Urban Video at the

Myx Music Awards 2013 Myx Music Awards 2013 is the 8th Myx music awards since it started in 2006. Rapper Gloc-9 has the most number of nominations with 8 from 7 different categories. Availing of nominees happened on the February 18, 2013, while awards night shall happ ...

Live performances

In November 2012, Abra performed the song live on '' Gandang Gabi Vice''. On February 24, 2013, a duet with

Zia Quizon Zia Denise Marie Padilla Quizon (born September 23, 1991), known by her stage name Zia Quizon, is a Filipino singer and songwriter. She began her career after being signed to PolyEast Records and releasing her self-titled debut album in 2011. ...

singing parts of the chorus was performed live during the opening ceremony for the

Himig Handog Himig Handog (Eng: Musical Offering) is a multimedia songwriting and music video competition in the Philippines based in Quezon City. The competition is operated by ABS-CBN Corporation and its music subsidiary Star Music. The contest ran from 20 ...

P-Pop Love Songs finals night. He also performed this live at the Myx Music Awards 2013 with Quest, and on ''

Eat Bulaga! ''Eat !'' (; stylized as ''Eat... Bulaga!'') is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine television variety show broadcast by Radio Philippines Network, ABS-CBN, GMA Network and TV5 (Philippine TV network), TV5. Originally hosted by Tito S ...

'', ''

The Ryzza Mae Show ''The Ryzza Mae Show'' is a Philippine television talk show broadcast by GMA Network. Hosted by Ryzza Mae Dizon, it premiered on April 8, 2013 on the network's afternoon line up. The show concluded on September 18, 2015 with a total of 636 epi ...

'', ''

Party Pilipinas ''Party '' () is a Philippine television variety show broadcast by GMA Network. Hosted by Regine Velasquez, Ogie Alcasid, Jaya and Janno Gibbs, it premiered on March 28, 2010. The show concluded on May 19, 2013, with a total of 160 episodes. ...

'' (with

Julie Anne San Jose Julie Anne Peñaflorida San Jose (born May 17, 1994) is a Filipino singer and actress. She rose to prominence after competing in the reality singing competition '' Popstar Kids'' in 2005. San Jose is one of the best-selling recording artists ...

), ''

Kris TV ''Kris TV'' is a Philippine television talk show broadcast by ABS-CBN. Hosted by Kris Aquino, it aired on June 27, 2011 the network's Umaganda line up. The show concluded on April 15, 2016 and it was replaced by ''Magandang Buhay''. The show w ...

'' and ''

Wowowillie ''Wowowillie'' is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine television variety show broadcast by TV5 (Philippine TV network), TV5. Hosted by Willie Revillame, it aired from January 26 to October 12, 2013. The show earned the distinction of be ...

''.

Controversy

The music video was viewed as

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

by some but the rapper denies it and declares that it was not meant to be a diss towards the queer community but rather as a conversation topic for meaningful discussion.

References

External links

Totoo ba ang Gayuma

{{authority control 2012 singles LGBTQ-related songs Philippine hip-hop songs 2012 songs Songs in Tagalog