Welcome to Songs You Need to Know, our weekly rundown of the best music right now. The Rolling Stone Philippines team is constantly sharing things to listen to, and each week, we compile a ragtag playlist of songs that we believe every music fan today needs to know. Whether it’s the hottest new single or an old track that captures the state of the present, our hope is that you discover something for your musical canon.
The week’s songs are packed with references to the past, tongue-in-cheek trap music, and intimate trip-hop anthems for the summer. Songs include Sandwich’s highly requested “Young Stunna” single where it acts as a callback to the bygone era of rock and roll, Cup of Joe doubles down on the syrupy melodies in “Isang Daan,” Smerz’ dreamy and intimate electronic-pop “Spring summer” where it leaves listeners mesmerized, and Hotdog serving the classic Manila Sound in “Ikaw Ang Miss Universe ng Buhay Ko.”
Sandwich goes back in time to look back on their childhood. Frontman Raymund Marasigan namechecks bands, catchphrases, and the defining year of 1986, where he recalls walking from FEU Morayta to Recto in Manila. He then time-skips to the infamous rock and hip-hop fans’ beef at SM Megamall in 1994, where he sings, “Bawal sa Megamall mga hiphopers / Bagsak ang pantalon.”
Sandwich offers their own take on “young stunna” — a subculture popularized by rappers like Dexter1ne&Only, Sica, and Skusta Clee in their own songs — that’s reminiscent of the themes in their previous track “Betamax.” The track offers a more candid and detailed account of living the life in the late 80s to the early 90s as a “young stunna.” The band has succinctly referenced youth culture in under three minutes. —Elijah Pareño
A sugar rush of pop-rock injected into your bloodstream
In Cup of Joe’s latest EP, Sandali, vocalists Gian and Rapha maximize their harmonies in one of the project’s biggest highlights, “Isang Daan.” Both vocalists go back and forth like two separate thoughts, helping the listener choose which path to take in life. For a band that sounds this expansive and cinematic, it takes not just one unified voice but two distinct singers leading listeners toward a climactic finish that feels straight out of a fantasy movie.
Cup of Joe have mastered combining rock elements like guitar solos with synth-pop’s glittering synth lines, where both instruments act as devices pushing the storytelling forward. Rapha sings one direction while Gian suggests another, both vocalists operating with different perspectives, and it becomes even more satisfying through a pair of stereo headphones. The track stands as another example of the band’s increasingly adventurous pop sound. —Elijah Pareño
Bright trap instrumentals and raging dark lyrics
Experimental hip-hop rapper Edward Skeletrix isn’t pulling any publicity stunt at your local art exhibit. His latest release, “Turn Off the Light,” dives into rage trap with dreamlike production that accentuates Skeletrix’s lethargic rap delivery. He even coughs between verses on top of the charismatic slant rhyming. As part of his latest project, Body of Work, Skeletrix pushes the hazy atmosphere several notches higher.
“Turn Off the Light” ties together an overarching narrative in which Skeletrix treats audiences as “experiments” inside his ongoing exhibit. Whether listeners like it or not, it’s hard to turn down an obnoxiously loud instrumental paired with a catchy hook, and that’s exactly what Edward Skeletrix has managed to master over time. —Elijah Pareño
A hip-hop cult favorite takes a rock detour
“Blackberry Marmalade” is the lead single and track from rapper Vince Staples’ upcoming album Cry Baby, the album cover of which features an illustration of a rubicund infant crying in a diaper fashioned from the American flag. Staples has never been one to shy away from politics, from his music touching on the themes of race and class, to telling Ziwe in an interview that Black people should have their own January 6 riot.
But in “Blackberry Marmalade,” Staples takes a drastic sonic departure from his usual hip-hop. Just like A$AP Rocky in “PUNK ROCKY,” Staples raps over a rock beat and electric guitars: “Promise me you won’t gun me down.” He does, in fact, get gunned down in the song’s riveting first-person shooter-style music video. And so, while this new Vince Staples sounds different, one can expect the same, unabashed political commentary from him anyway. —Pie Gonzaga
Uncomplicated and breezy, just like the title says
Norwegian artists Catharina Stoltenberg and Henriette Motzfeldt, who form the electronic-pop duo Smerz, have been making waves with the viral hit “You got time and I got money,” after the release of their second studio album Big city life in May 2025. Ahead of their upcoming EP Easy, the two dropped “Spring summer,” which sounds just like the title suggests. The track features Stoltenberg’s deadpan, unembellished vocals over stripped-back synths and a relaxed R&B beat that’s light-handed with the hi-hats but heavy on the snares. If you need a light and breezy song to usher in hotter weather, “Spring summer” is it. —Pie Gonzaga
A Manila Sound classic for the times
Miss Universe Philippines just crowned its new queen, Bea Millan-Windorski, last Saturday, May 2. Coincidentally, I’ve also been listening to a lot of Manila Sound essentials, from VST and APO Hiking Society to Hotdog, the band best known for the party favorite “Bongga Ka Day.” One of the tracks off their debut album, 1974’s Unang Kagat, is the hit “Ikaw Ang Miss Universe ng Buhay Ko.” Unlike the lively disco groove and irresistible “Hala!” hook of “Bongga Ka Day,” Unang Kagat’s leading track is more of a slow rock serenade. While it’s been covered by everyone from Andrew E. to Ebe Dancel and Blaster Silonga, Hotdog’s debut song deserves just as much love now as it did when it first came out. —Pie Gonzaga
