Ruby Ibarra wins immigrant award for ‘creative promise in music’

The hip-hop and spoken word artist. Photo courtesy of Ruby Ibarra & Donna Ibarra/Vilcek Foundation

Ruby Ibarra is one of three recipients of 2023 Vilcek Foundation Prize for Creative Promise in Music.

She receives the Vilcek Prize for her hip-hop and spoken word performances that center her experience as a Filipina American woman, and for her powerful lyrics that address colonialism, immigration, colorism, and misogyny.

Born in Tacloban City in the Philippines, some of Ibarra’s earliest memories include seeing her family members sing, play guitar, and perform at local festivals. At the age of 5, Ibarra and her family immigrated to the United States, arriving at San Francisco International Airport in 1991. She describes that moment as a turning point in her young life, and a basis for her identity as an activist, artist, and musician.

Ibarra receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Music for her personal and evocative hip-hop and spoken word performances that center her experiences as a Filipina American woman, and as an immigrant growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and for her powerful lyrics that address colonialism, immigration, colorism, and misogyny.

Photo: Vilcek Foundation

As an adolescent, Ibarra was transfixed by hip-hop, drawn in by the percussive nature of the artists’ vocals and the poetry of their lyrics. “This is a genre and a platform for the people who feel voiceless in society. Being an immigrant, I gravitated towards that,” says Ibarra. “Here was this soundtrack where these artists were able to encapsulate things similar to what I was experiencing in terms of trying to find a place for themselves in society.”

Ibarra released her mixtape, “Lost in Translation,” in 2012. The mixtape garnered airplay across major networks, including Eminem’s Sirius XM Radio channel. In 2017, she released her debut album, CIRCA91. The album’s hit single, “Us,” struck a chord with Filipino and Pacific Islander audiences with its compelling hook, “Island women rise, walang makakatigil”—Tagalog for “nothing can stop.”

In 2018 Ibarra cofounded the Pinays Rising Scholarship program with Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales. Inspired by Ibarra’s song “Us,” the program provides scholarships of $500 to empower Filipina and Filipinx youth pursuing higher education. Since its establishment, Pinays Rising has awarded more than 30 scholarships each year to young students and activists.

The Vilcek Foundation raises awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and fosters appreciation for the arts and sciences. The foundation was established in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia. Since 2000, the foundation has awarded over $7 million in prizes to foreign-born individuals and has supported organizations with over $5.8 million in grants. Visit vilcek.org.

© The FilAm 2022



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