Music

Illest Morena breaks down apl.de.ap, Fana collab 'Wind It'

June 2, 2026 | 5:49pm

BALI, Indonesia — Young local hip-hop artist Illest Morena checked off early on on her bucketlist a dream collaboration with Filipino-American artist and Black Eyed Peas member apl.de.ap.

Both singers teamed up with fellow singer Fana for the summer track "Wind It" which they debuted live at the inaugural Filipino Music Awards last October.

Illest reflected on how the collaboration came about during a recent visit to Philstar.com's office, ecstatic that she got to work with one of her music idols.

The "Faded (Raw)" singer first crossed paths with Apl when they both attended a gig for female artists in Makati. Illest — whose real name is Angelica Pola Layague — wasn't in the lineup but was there to support her industry sisters.

"As I was leaving, nakita ko siya by the stairwell. Sabi ko, 'Oh my God, I need to introduce myself to him,'" Illest said. "So I came in there, shook his hand, sabi ko, 'Hi, ako si Illest Morena' and 'Idol po kita' pero in English."

She was surprised to learn that Apl knew of her, even calling Illest "one of the best female rappers there" which caught her off guard even more.

A few weeks later Apl's team reached out to hers for a collaboration. "Kailangan akong patunayan ang mga rumors. Kailangan kong patunayan ang kanyang mga narinig mula sa ibang tao," Illest quipped.

So the two wrote the song and recorded a demo which Illest described as summery and akin to Afrobeats, a genre she was exploring at the time.

Apl praised Illest's verse on the track but requested she put more Tagalog into it. "Sabi ko, 'Okay, coach, I choose you!'" Illest joked, referencing Apl's time as a mentor on local editions of "The Voice."

The rapper inserted more Tagalog phrases and words into her portion and the final revision even drew more acclaim from Apl, which led to the Filipino Music Awards performance.

"Sobrang laking honor para sa'kin to share the same stage with him. And I'm also sharing the stage with Fana," Illest shared, having collaborated with the latter on Janine Berdin's "Tayo Lang (May Alam)."

Illest reiterated to Philstar.com how much fun she had making "Wind It" and teased the music video they shot for the track.

"Hintayin n'yo! Exciting din yan kasi we danced, we partied, we had so much fun in the set," the artist teased further. "We captured the essence of the Filipino summer experience."

She explained they are taking time to fully release the song and its music video to be ready for the summertime, rather than releasing it during the Christmas season.

"Summer yung vibes. Tsaka we had to perfect everything — the background vocals, the harmonies, everything," Illest also said. "We listened to it a lot of times to make sure na siyempre ibibigay naming music sa mga tao, hindi kami mapapahiya, to make sure it's the best quality."

Apart from "Wind It," "Faded (Raw)," and "Tayo Lang (May Alam)," Illest is also known for her songs "Lagabog," "Slow Burn," "Quickie" and "Pick Up."