On 19 July, at The Frazzled Cook on Tomas Morato Avenue, Star Magic’s new artist Rafi officially launched her debut EP titled Before Me.

Rafi is a 20-year-old singer-songwriter who is currently a student at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Her musical journey began at the age of five with musical theater workshops at Repertory Philippines.

“I started my vocal studies at the music school of Ryan Cayabyab at age 11. And after that, I think I just did a lot of different shows in school, outside school, and it was in high school that I started to write music; I found the love for songwriting through that. It was more of something that I did really for myself, just to process my emotions and because I love music. Music is my lifeline, basically,” Rafi shared.

Before Me is a collaborative project created alongside her friends and schoolmates from Berklee: Toby Dorfman on bass, Jacob Singson on drums, Edward Bjorkman on guitar, and Ameer Corro on keys, who also co-wrote and co-produced the EP.

The four-track EP features the songs “I Stay Silent,” “Unpaid Debt” (the lead single), “Fine Wine,” and “Anything for You.” The EP is now available on all streaming platforms, such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, and more.

She shared her experience in terms of making her own music, “I think, as a songwriter, it is important to know that there is no correct way to go about things. There isn’t one way to write a song. Sometimes the melody will come first, sometimes the lyrics will come first. In terms of personal experience, yes po, I go through things and a lot of the time it takes a lot of time for me to process everything.”

The EP delves into Rafi’s personal experiences, exploring the complexities of romantic relationships and self-discovery. She wrote these songs from the perspective of her past self before she found her sense of identity, which inspired the title Before Me.

“This EP is basically a time capsule for me, of how I was and how I perceived romantic relationships. And also, more importantly, my relationship with myself before this era of finding myself and figuring out who I am,” Rafi said. 

Apart from her music, Rafi is a TikTok creator who shares lifestyle and relatable videos. Her engaging content has earned her a substantial following of 275,000. She has also begun creating vlogs on YouTube even before she joined Star Magic. 

There’s much more ahead for this promising singer-composer as she looks forward to collaborating with the industry’s finest.

“Belle Mariano is one person that I really — I really do like her voice. And I think some other artists locally that I look up to are AC Bonifacio, Darren, Kyle Echarri... [With] Star Magic artists in general, I’ve been speaking to someone that I’ve met through a workshop, Anji Salvacion. And I really wanna try writing different kinds of music so maybe BINI,” she said.

Rafi has always described music as her lifeline and is dedicated to sharing this gift with her listeners. With her passion and dedication, there is much to look forward to from Rafi — she is definitely someone to watch out for.

“I get messages from people saying I helped them through a tough time, that’s so much more than I could ask for because making this music is helping myself. Therapeutic is an understatement, I think. I really want to make people feel less alone with my music and to know that these hardships are normal. Everybody has ups-and-downs in life and music is one way to feel a little bit better about these hardships,” Rafi shared.