Last updated: 1 day ago

His name is Al James, and he just rapped his way into a McDonald’s commercial. It’s a peculiar choice for a fast-food giant to tap into a relative unknown (at least when it concerns the realm of mainstream artists). It’s certainly odd for this writer’s group of friends, whose mention of the name “Al James,” quite frankly, doesn’t ring a bell. Yet a few seconds into his track, Pahinga, which one later fires up on Spotify, it’s a completely different story.

That’s the magic of James, an unlikely crossover hip-hop artist who’s managed to rack up 20 million hits on YouTube, and then some. Chances are, you’ve heard the slow bop somewhere, but can’t quite place a finger on it: whether blared over secondhand speakers on the chaotic sidewalks of EDSA, or reverberated in the shadow-filled corners of Black Market.

Monthly Listeners

3.9 million

Followers

3.4 million

Total Streams

1.6 billion

Top Cities

464,893 listeners
367,060 listeners
222,172 listeners
214,286 listeners
214,679 listeners

Links

Popular Tracks

44 tracks
1
Pa-umaga

Pa-umaga

Oct 22, 2018

242.6 million

streams

2
Gusto feat. Al James

Gusto feat. Al James

May 26, 2023

204.4 million

streams

3
PSG

PSG

Jan 13, 2022

163.1 million

streams

4
Ngayong Gabi

Ngayong Gabi

Aug 14, 2017

142.0 million

streams

5
Repeat

Repeat

Jan 24, 2020

141.2 million

streams

6
Atin-Atin Lang

Atin-Atin Lang

Aug 18, 2023

118.9 million

streams

7
LATINA

LATINA

Jul 19, 2019

95.0 million

streams

8
Tequila Rose

Tequila Rose

Mar 9, 2024

92.8 million

streams

9
Pahinga

Pahinga

Jan 27, 2017

82.7 million

streams

10
Kunan Mong Pic

Kunan Mong Pic

May 16, 2024

71.6 million

streams