Shanti Dope’s “Amatz” debuts in “Falcon and The Winter Soldier”

Shanti Dope’s “Amatz” debuts in “Falcon and The Winter Soldier”
(Screengrab from YouTube: Universal Records Philippines)

When Shanti Dope sang “malakas ang amatz ko,” we didn’t imagine it would be strong enough to reach Hollywood.

On Friday, news shared by local rapper Shanti Dope (real name Sean Patrick Ramos) on Facebook reveals that his controversial song “Amatz” was featured in a recent episode of the Disney+ exclusive series, Falcon and The Winter Soldier

https://www.facebook.com/shantidope/posts/297366638421889

Posted by Thea Pollisco, Ramos’ manager, the now-viral Facebook post shows a text from a music supervisor at Marvel Studios hoping to acquire a license to use Ramos’ song, as well as a short clip of the episode where Amatz played.

One of the song’s writers, Lester Vaño, also confirmed the news by posting a screengrab of the episode’s credits.:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10225064447100291&set=a.10202132769222676&type=3

(Spoilers ahead!)

The song blared during a scene where Barnes and Wilson went to Madripoor, a lawless island in Indonesia, to stage a prison coup to help Baron Zemo escape. Here’s a longer clip to better relish the lyrics:

Released in 2019, the song stirred controversy after the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) pushed to ban the song from the airwaves due to supposedly promoting the illegal use of marijuana. 

Shanti Dope camp didn’t buckle, though, and clarified that “being high” was used as a metaphor for the euphoria one experiences when listening to his music. They also argued that PDEA’s proposal to ban the song is “a brazen use of power” that sets a dangerous precedent for creative freedom in the country. 

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, which just premiered exclusively on the Disney+ streaming platform, follows Sam Wilson (Falcon) and Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier) in the events following 2019’s Avengers: Endgame

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