Filipino rapper and songwriter Peaceful Gemini teams up with acclaimed artist Waiian on the meditative new single “We Need 2 Talk,” released under Sony Music Entertainment.
The track transforms pain and struggle into a purposeful message, confronting difficult truths about family dysfunction, rape culture, systemic corruption, and social inequality with razor-sharp lyricism.
Produced by Mesklun and built on a Billy Cobham sample, “We Need 2 Talk” delivers a defiant statement from two of the most promising voices in Filipino hip-hop. Peaceful Gemini opens the song with a deeply personal verse, unpacking childhood wounds, substance use, and culture conditioning. Her lyrics pull no punches as it provides a courageous look into the long road of healing and the scars that shaped her identity.
Waiian follows with a verse steeped in weariness, capturing the exhaustion of living in a world where injustice is the norm and survival itself is an act of defiance. Together, their words cut deep, evoking both personal reckoning and a broader call for change.
“The vision really started with choosing the sample,” Peaceful Gemini shares. “The original had this dreamy, melancholic vibe that felt like being taken on an introspective journey. When I started writing to it, I leaned into that feeling. It became a stream of consciousness: unpacking emotions and processing thoughts through the medium of poetry.”
The collaboration, which began in early 2023, blossomed over months of creative exchange and mutual trust. “I’ve always had respect for Waiian’s artistry and pen game,” she says. “I asked if he’d be down to work together on a project that tackles the experience of facing hard truths—especially our tendency to bury them. These are things we need to talk about. They don’t disappear when we ignore them.”
“We Need 2 Talk” does more than articulate pain; it offers a vision of radical justice and healing. “The track became medicine to me,” Peaceful Gemini admits. “Writing this material became an essential part of my shadow work. It’s a process of confronting past traumas and reclaiming my voice. The journey was far from easy, but I remained committed to the challenges of tracing pain back to its roots. This is why I chose healing over bitterness. Today, my intuition is sharper than ever because I honored my truth and held fast to my integrity, even when it felt like the world stood against me.”
Waiian’s contribution brings a scathing critique of corruption, education inequality, and capitalist fatigue. His verse complements Peaceful Gemini’s with unflinching honesty, anchoring the bop in the realities of a broken system and the people who had to endure it.
“Too explicit to mention, but my verse was based on my experiences: these are things that I have seen, I have heard about, and experiences of the working-class Filipino,” Waiian explains.
Record producer Mesklun, on the other hand, made a sonic canvas to match the duality of dream and defiance—two themes that characterize the track’s sense of yin and yang. Mesklun explains, “It started with Billy Cobham’s ambient masterpiece Heather. There’s a section in there I’ve always wanted to chop up and sample. So, when Peaceful Gemini shared that she had discovered Heather and thought it would be great to sample, our shared instinct sealed the direction for this project and I decided to start working on the beat. The plan was to incorporate the somber yet serene mood of the sample, followed by the addition of drums inspired by boom bap. PG had a clear vision for the three-verse arrangement from the beginning. Waiian hops in the second verse, and that’s that.”
The collaboration marks an important timeline in Peaceful Gemini’s evolution as an artist, songwriter, and cultural worker. “This release is a reflection of the transformation and inner healing I’ve done over the past few years. I’m stepping into a new season of life with more hope, healing, and peace.” She adds, “I believe social commentary doesn’t always have to be loud and confrontational. Sometimes, it’s in the vulnerability, in showing up authentically. That in itself is a form of rebellion.”
“We Need 2 Talk” is not just a track; it’s a testimony, a conversation, and a wake-up call. By daring to voice the unspeakable and inviting dialogue across divides, Peaceful Gemini and Waiian remind us that embracing honesty, facing our deepest struggles, and speaking up about our truths can be the key to healing and personal growth. It’s a testament to the power of art as a potent force for transformation.
Peaceful Gemini’s “We Need 2 Talk” (Feat. Waiian) is out now on all digital music platforms worldwide via Sony Music Entertainment. Watch out for the release of the music video on Peaceful Gemini’s official YouTube channel at 8 pm.
