It may have been more than 15 years since he passed, but the legacy of the late Francis Magalona, most popularly known as “Francis M” and “"The King of Pinoy Rap,” continues to live on not just through his iconic hit songs but also through his children and grandchildren.
The OPM rap icon was known for songs like “Mga Kababayan,” “Kaleidoscope World,” and “Three Stars And A Sun,” just to name a few.
Last October 5, Francis’s second daughter Saab, shared a video reel of a special performance in honor of her late father’s birthday held at 19 East Bar in Muntinlupa City. In the clip, Francis’s son, actor and singer Elmo Magalona had Saab’s six-year-old son Vito join him on stage to perform the late Master Rapper’s most memorable songs.
In her Instagram post, Saab wrote, “To celebrate my dad’s birthday yesterday, we went to the vinyl record launch party of his album FreeMan!! It came out THIRTY YEARS AGO and it’s so surreal to watch the BABY ON THE ALBUM COVER @elmomagalona perform our dad’s songs together with HIS ORIGINAL BAND Hardware Syndrome and HIS YOUNGEST GRANDCHILD!!!😭
Image Credit: francismclothingco IG
Image Credit: francismclothingco IG
“I know papa is so happy ❤️ And I’m over the moon that my mom got to witness this. I pointed to @piamagalona watching Elmo with so much pride and I told Jim, ‘that’s me’ because my heart was also exploding as I watched Vito on stage You can get the FreeMan shirt over at @francismclothingco.”
Two days following her father’s birthday, Saab shared an appreciate post for her mom Pia Magalona, who turned 61 last October 6. The couple were married for two decades before Francis succumbed to leukemia in 2009 at the age of 44.
Saab wrote in her post, “October 6 is my mama’s birthday and it’s also World Cerebral Palsy Day. I found myself crying last February when I saw @wakeupwithjimandsaab’s longtime partner beneficiary @cefasgph post about my mom and her rotary club donating adaptive wheelchairs to kids with cerebral palsy.
“That’s just how my mom is — no fuss, no big deal, she does SO MUCH out of love and without any demand for recognition. She deserves so much and I want to recognize her big, beautiful heart. Sometimes I wonder how I can still be so happy despite all my heartbreaks. Then I look at my mom and I see where I get it. Thank you, mama. Happy birthday! I love you so much . @piamagalona”
Francis and Pia have six children together, Maxene, Frank, Saab, Elmo, Arkin, and Clara, plus two children, Unna and Nicolo, from Pia’s previous relationship.