By NEIL RAMOS
DON’T look now but Kean Cipriano is well on his way to reinventing himself as his generation’s Ryan Cayabyab.
No, he hasn’t dyed his hair white, nor has he taken on a show dubbed “Kean, Kean Musikahan.”
Cipriano is now into helping underappreciated musical talents break into the mainstream, much like what Cayabyab did with Smokey Mountain, the singing group that birthed the solo careers of Geneva Cruz and Jeffrey Hidalgo, among others; and the Philippine Popular Music Festival or Philpop, which allowed for the likes of Thyro and Yumi to make their mark.
How will he go about it? Well, by creating his very own music label, OC Records.
Though it may seem very P. Diddy and all, according to Cipriano, the venture is special.
“It’s my long time dream,” he said. “Actually, gusto ko lang makatulong. Gusto ko lang mabigyan ng chance ‘yung mga unacknowledged or underappreciated talents na marinig nang mas marami.”
But isn’t he kind of busy with his own career?
Last time we looked, apart from singing duties with Callalily, Cipriano has been juggling movie and TV chores, as with being a newly minted husband and father.
He said, “Well, ako naman kasi gusto ko maraming ginagawa. I really do believe I could manage another responsibility.”
The 31-year-old could have simply opted to introduce newbies to his industry friends but he wants to “nurture and care” for them.
“I’ve been in thi s indus t r y for a long time and I really do believe na ang ar t ist, even the best ones, need nurturing and care and t h a t ’ s w h y we’re here,” he said.
Cipriano insisted OC is unlike other labels in that they are “very artist friendly.”
“Sa amin nasa artist ang power,” he said. “Bakit? Kasi artist din ako and I know the feeling kapag na-i-stifle ang creativity mo.”
“In OC, we won’t change or mold them or anything. We will just be here to make sure their vision, their music gets to be heard. We’re here basically as guide.”
As of the moment, OC has six acts: Earl Generao, Rice Lucido, Frizzle Anne, Bita and the Botflies, Unique, and Kean himself.
“Iba-ibang genre ‘yan,” Cipriano proudly pointed out. “Ayaw naming kasing i-box ang label eh. Gusto naming malawak ang maabot namin. Actually I’m still looking for more acts, like reggae artists, rappers…”
But why the name OC?
“Actually kasi kasama ko rin si Chynna (Ortaleza, his wife) dito. Siya ‘yung aming vice president for production and talent development. So dapat ano ‘yan family name pareho, Ortaleza-Cipriano, but it could mean anything you want din naman.”
Okay.
