introducing itha¢a: tacloban's transplant rap star [⭐️ insider interview ]

📍 tacloban, philippines

Aug 19, 2023

What makes a place feel like home? If you changed overnight, will anyone remember you?

Bruce Evardone is Itha¢a — a Filipino American rapper formerly known as Shotgun Wang. Although his latest drops are few and far between, he maintains a steady base of 19.1K followers on Soundcloud, especially from his pre-Itha¢a days. Since his exodus across the ocean to Tacloban (coincidentally my parents’ hometown) at age 19, the now-23 year old lyricist reflects on the beauty of change. I sat down with him to dissect the harbingers of happiness that influenced his current sound - like moving countries, falling in love, powerlifting - and how he views the future for his music.

“Ithaca is a specific model of shotgun. I wanted to change the way I made my music, so I changed my name, too.“

Bruce and I met up virtually on a Sunday, our conversation sailing over timezones with 8,700ish miles between us. It was 8 AM in my Louisianan hotel, and 9 PM in his room from the Philippines.

ITHA¢A: You seem to move around a lot.
LIL BIBINGKA: It’s true.

I had texted him requesting this interview while working in Atlanta, followed up a week later as I boarded a Chicago-bound plane, and was taking the call in New Orleans the weekend after. But he was no stranger to the pack-and-go lifestyle, either.

New York-born but ultimately a SoCal kid, Bruce and his mom went westward early on in his childhood. He cited San Diego as his hometown, but even after crossing the country, he still never stopped moving.

ITHA¢A: We started in El Cajon, then we moved to National City, and then places like Lakeside, even North Park for a bit. But there was never a [specific] place [in San Diego] that I could say, ‘that’s where I grew up!’ … But ever since I moved to the Philippines a few years ago, this feels like the only place I could truly call home. It feels like that more than it ever did [when I was living] back in the States.

But his rap career is born and bred Californian. Bruce started rapping at 16 originally as Shotgun Wang, citing his main word-smithing influence from a certain rapper hailing from the Golden State.

LIL BIB: Who or what has inspired your music? I notice that Frank Ocean is an obvious influence, sampling the tune of Self Control in your song groundhog day, and remixing Close to You.
ITHA¢A: So I didn’t actually like rap music until high school…I was actually way more into show tunes, like musicals.
LIL BIB: Well, which one was your favorite?
ITHA¢A: Les Miserables! My mom used to have the CD and would play it every time she drove me to school. It was the only thing I listened to. *laughs*
But yeah, I played this video game called Saints Row 3, and like in Grand Theft Auto, you can drive a car around, and in the car you can listen to the radio. The station that played was called ”Adult Swim Radio”, and one of the first rap songs I genuinely liked was by MF DOOM! Fuck, I forgot the name*, but that song was on an album that DOOM and Adult Swim collaborated on just for the game. Then I discovered Soundcloud from friends in high school, and I’d just listen to the random radios on there.

*I found the song.

But I definitely try to rap like Kendrick Lamar. I think “To Pimp a Butterfly” is the greatest album of all time. I try to put my words together like him. As for incorporating singing in my latest music, I think of Dijon. I remember first hearing him after my ex cheated on me and that shit hit.
LIL BIB: And how did you come up with the name, Itha¢a? Because when I think of Ithaca, I think of that college town where Cornell is in, like upstate New York…one of my close friends went there so that’s the only reason why I know that.
ITHA¢A: *laughs* So [an] ithaca is a specific model of shotgun. I wanted to change the way I made my music, so I changed my name, too.

He also briefly mentioned that he had retired a lot of his older songs from Soundcloud, ultimately pulling them off his account.

ITHA¢A: Back when I was starting out, I only had Soundcloud. And I don’t know, I have this habit of mine where I make music and after a month or two, I start to hate it. I hate the song. Like ‘oh man, this sucks, I could’ve done this part better’. So I had a lot of songs like that with this one [unnamed] producer, and then I don’t know - I guess I just grew out of that sound. But I like everything that’s on my Spotify right now.
LIL BIB: So how would you say your music has changed over the years to now?
ITHA¢A: I mean, yeah it changed - I would say in terms of improvements, not necessarily style. I never thought I had a style to begin with, actually. I’m so erratic when it comes to making music, I usually just hear an instrumental and start writing to it. But I started rapping as a joke, you know? Like how a lot of other people who make rap music began. But I ended up being pretty good, I guess.

So I would say my [current] music fluctuates by [reflecting] how my life is at the current time. When I was young, like a teen, I was pretty angry. So you would get songs like baysikinsink, evyhans … I was 17-18 when I made those. Just mindless, angry stuff. But hey, as I grew older, I started uh, being in love with people and stuff. So I started writing songs like both hands and groundhog day.

But despite his evolvement, the legacy of Shotgun Wang still lives on in Soundcloud anyway. A handful of anonymous accounts had posted playlists fully dedicated to the deleted discography, and there are fans out there who are still wondering if that type of music will make a comeback - or any kind of new music, at all.

So….will it?

ITHA¢A: I actually have 3 songs that are done and ready to post, but I just haven’t gotten around to it. I was thinking maybe I can make 3 more so that I can have an EP. But I really don’t know - normally I’ll just drop when I want with no announcement.
LIL BIB: And generally speaking, do you have any long term goals in the future for your music?
ITHA¢A: So I’m going back to university this September to be a radio tech, and that’s probably what I’ll be doing for the rest of my life. Honestly, there was a point in my life where all I wanted to do was make music, probably up until I was 20 years old. And I didn’t have much else to do as a kid but sit around, I was pretty fat *laughs*. I’d love to keep making music on the side, but I found other things that make me feel more content.
LIL BIB: Like powerlifting?
ITHA¢A: Yeah! I started in 2020, but didn’t get properly coached until 2021. Been doing meets and stuff ever since. Honestly, the way that powerlifting is to me now was how music felt to me when I was younger. It brings me the same happiness as when I found out I’m good at making songs. I’m not like the best at it, but it makes me happier than anything else. I’m at a pretty good place in life now. ⭐️