This week's reading talked about "colorblidness" which is the racial ideology that posits the best way to end discrimination is by treating individuals as equally as possible, without regard to race, culture or ethnicity. This is relevant to this blog, since the hip hop culture is part of black culture, although nowadays it is argued that hip hop is part of culture worldwide, no matter the race.
I always speak about my native country in this blog, so this post could not be different. In Brazil, there is many attempts to end racism and discrimination against black people. One of the attempts was to create a holiday called "Dia da Conscicencia Negra" which translates to "Black Awareness Day". This holiday is annually celebrated on Novemeber 20th as a day for people to reflect upon the injustices of slavery and to celebrate the contributions to society and to the nation by Brazilian citizens of African descent. It takes place during the Week of Black Awareness.
Another attempt to end discrimination not only against Black Brazilians but also against people from the lower classes, is a law that was passed by the President, in which a certain number of places will always be guaranteed for people who have studied in public schools. A lot of controversies have been raised regarding this issue.
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Hip Hop:
The reading by Jason Rodriguez "Color-Blind Ideology and the Cultural Appropriation of Hip Hop" mentions the fact that "whites do not simply consume African American art forms. They also appropriate those forms for their own purposes." In the hip hop scene, color blind ideology provides the discursive resources for individuals to justify their presence in the scene, but it also provides opportunity for whites to use their racial power to appropriate the culture hip-hop, taking the racially coded meaning out of the music and replacing them with color blind ones.
Here's a little part of a documentary "Blacking Up: Hip Hop's Remix of Race and Identity" about the "wigger" phenomenom (a derogatory word used to describe whites that supposedly want to be black) by Robert Clift. - This is a documentary about influence, appropriation and individuality in Hip Hop
In today's class we talked about Gansga Rap and about how rappers who have committed crimes and have been in jail are not welcomed by society but are welcomed in the hip hop community - and are even glorified for it. As an example we watched Alicia Keys Video Clip - the most important here is not the lyrics but the images. Alicia Keys goes to visit what it appears to be her boyfriend or husband in jail. We were showed this video as an example to how hip hop community embraces these people who are excluded from society because they have committed some type of crime and sentenced to serve jail/prison time. This clip is aired in mainstream media.
Alicia Keys - Fallin'
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I have already spoken about Racionais MCs in this previous post. But I cannot help but talk about them again this time around. As I said, Racionais have used their voices, instead of violence, in a way to protest against oppression, police violence and so on. But all the members have been arrested with the charges of inducing violence. While serving their time in jail, they did not stop writing songs and after they were released they became even more successful than before. This is a perfect example of how hip hop community embraces these people who have served time in jail, while society oppresses them. Even the highest levels of social classes would now listen to Racionais. One good example of how having been arrested and mentioning this in rap's lyrics is embraced by hiphop audiences is the song "Diario de um Detento", (A Prisoner's Diary), which is one of the most successful raps of Racionais and in which its video clip is aired in TV channels such as MTV Brasil.
I have uploaded the video clip below, where you can see the members of Racionais in jail and the reality of jails in Brazil - riots, fiights, people being murdered and what the everyday life in a Brazilian jail is like -and I have translated the song (which is reeeallly loong) below. So please do read the lyrics cuz it took me a long time to translate it and it is well worthy!
We also mentioned in class how these rappers sometimes tend to get attached to religion when they are arrested. Racionais MCs always mentions Bible verses in their song. Here, towards the end, they mention the Bible again. They also compare the situation in Brazilian Jails to the Holocaust and compare the Brazilian government/ politicians to Hitler towards the end of the song.
Racionais MCs - Diario de um Detento
(Please, again, do read the lyrics - it took me a long time to translate it in a way that it makes sense!!! AND it's really interesting- you won't regret it)
Diary of a Detainee
"São Paulo, October 1st, 1992, 8 am.
Here I am, one more day.
Under the gaze of bloodthirsty guards.
You do not know how it is to walk with your head under the target of an HK.
German or Israeli machine gun .
Shreds a thief just like it shreds paper.
On the wall, standing, another citizen Jose
Serving the state, a good policeman.
Starving, posing like Charles Bronson.
He knows what I wish for.
Knows what I think.
The day is rainy. The vibe is tense.
Many tried to escape, I also want to.
But from one to a hundred, my chance is zero.
Does God hear my prayers?
Will the judge accept the appeal?
I send a message there for my brother:
If you are using drugs,u're bad in my hand.
He's still with that girl.
Believe me, the kid is cool
I took a day less or one more day, I dunno ...
Whatever, the days are the same.
I light a cigarette and watch the day go by.
I kill the time for the time not to kill me.
Man is man, woman is woman.
Rapist is different, right?
Gets punched all the time, kneels and kisses the feet,
and bleeds to death on 10th Street.
Each detainee a mother, a belief.
Each crime a sentence.
Each sentence a reason, a story of tears,
blood, lives and glories, abandonment, misery, hate,
Wailing in the hallway, in the cell, in the courtyard.
Around the field, in every corner.
But I know the system, my brother, uh ...
Here there is no saint.
Rátátátá ... must avoid
what a bastard to make my mother cry.
My word of honor protects me
to live in the country of beige pants.
Tic, tac, is still 9:40 a.m..
The jail clock goes by in slow motion.
Ratatatá another train passes by.
Filled with good people, hasty, Catholics.
Reading newspaper, satisfied hypocrites.
With rage inside, on the way to the Center.
Looking this way, curious, of course.
No, it is not, is not the zoo
My life has not as much value
as your phone, your computer.
Today, it's difficult, the sun did not come up.
Today there is no visit, no football.
Some fellows have their mind weaker.
They can not stand boredom, and they get into fights
Thanks to God and the Virgin Mary.
Missing just one year, three months and a few days.
There's a closed cell upstairs.
Since Tuesday nobody has opened it for anything.
Just the smell of death and disinfectant
An inmate hanged himself with a bed sheet.
What was that? Who knows? It does not count.
Would take another six from end to end (...)
Nothing makes a man more ill
than the abandonment of relatives.
Here kid, let me know: then what do you want?
The job's there waiting for you.
Get all your imported things .
Your resumee in crime and clean your ass
The thug life is hopeless.
Your face turns white on this side of the wall.
Have you ever heard of Lucifer?
He came from hell with morals
One day ... in Carandiru, no ... he is just one more.
Eating rotten meals with pneumonia ...
Here there are niggas from Osasco, Garden D'April, Parelheiros,
Mogi, Brazil Garden, Bela Vista, Jardim Angela,
Heliopolis, Itapevi, Paraisópolis.
Nice thieves have good moral in the hood.
But for the state is just a number, nothing more.
Nine pavilions, seven thousand men.
That cost each three hundred dollars per month.
On the last visit, my nigga came around.
He brought some fruit, Marlboro, Free ...
Told be that a mo'fo from the area is back
With a red Kadett and plate from Salvador.
Posing like a big cat, he swears, he abuses
with a nine mm beneath the blouse.
Brown: "Here nigga, come here, and where are the homies at?
Remember this cururu who tried to kill me? "
Blue: "That goose sleazy mo'fo cuckold.
He would get fucked up and leave the girl alone
The girl was a virgin and was still a minor.
Now she gives blowjobs in exchange for powder! "
Brown: "These conversations bother me.
If I'm on the street then it's fucked up ... "
Blue: "Yes, the world goes around, he can come here."
Brown: "No, now, now, my time to get out is coming
I want to change, I want to get out.
If I bump into this guy, theres has no 'pa', there's no 'pum'
And I'll have to sign the an "121. "
The morning is sunny, two of October.
Everything working, cleaning, jumbo.
At dawn I felt a chill.
It was not the wind, it was not cold.
Settling almost everyday
There's another soon, I knew.
Loyalty is what every prisoner tries.
Achieving peace in a violent manner.
If a scoundrel screws over someone ,
Gets pointed at their face like Frankenstein
Smoke in the window, there's fire in the cell.
Fuck! It went further, maybe there's a hostage.
Most of them allowed themselves to get involved
for five or six who have nothing to lose.
Two respected robbers started discussing .
But had no idea what was coming.
Traffickers, murderers, embezzlers.
A majority of primary brat.
It was the breach that the system wanted.
Notify the medical institute, the big day arrived.
It all depends on the yes or no of one single man.
Who prefers to be neutral on the phone.
Ratatatá, caviar and champagne.
Fleury left to have lunch, they dont give a fuck about my mother!
Dog killers, tear gas ...
whoever kills the most thieves wins a prize!
The human being is disposable in Brazil.
Just like a used pad or a sanitary napkin
Jail? Of course the system didn't want it
It hides what the soup operas do not mention.
Ratatatá! Blood flows like water.
Ear, nose and mouth.
The Lord is my shepherd ...
forgive what his son did.
He died face down in Psalm 23,
no priest, no reporter.
unarmed, helpless.
HIV infection in the dog's mouth.
Corpses at the wells in the courtyard.
Adolf Hitler smiles in hell!
The government super hero is cold, does not feel sorry.
Only hatred and laughs like a hyena.
Ratatatá, Fleury and his gang
go swimming in a pool of blood.
But who will believe in my statement?
October 3, Diary of a prisoner/detainee. "
**Racionais MCs are amazing at what they do. Their lyrics are always touching and that's why they are so successful in Brazil!! They are my favorite rappers of all time!!! One last thing that I NEED TO SHARE WITH YALL. Today we had to work in pairs and I was paired up with my friend Lior who introduced to me an AMAZING website to help you find out the meaning of rap music the website is called rapgenius.com and you can go to it by clicking here ! Thanks LIOR!!! Hope you enjoyed today's blog -- see u next week**
In today's class we started watching the movie The Art of Rap which is a documentary by Ice-T where he interviews different American Rappers and talks about the art of writing and performing rap verses. My favorite part of the movie so far was when he interviewed Eminem! He is one of my favorite rappers and as Ice-T said "who would have thought that one of the greatest rappers of all time would be white?" Whitey Mighty! I love Eminem.
Eminem has struggled a lot for being a white rapper. This in itself is going out of the norms so in my opinion he follows the history of hip hop always going out of social norms. Usually we connect rap to black culture and most of hip hop artists are black, but Eminem is white and one of the best rappers out there.
Here's the part where he is interviewed in the documentary:
"Rap is everything to me, my world, it's what I do...it gives me a voice and strength" (Eminem)
Eminem- Superman (My favorite song by him)
The Real Slim Shady (one of his most famous raps)
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Brazilian HipHop: In Brazil Rappers are also mainly black as it is part of black cultures worldwide. But just like Eminem, one of the most well-known rappers in Brazil is white! I already spoke about him a few weeks ago, in this post here. His name is Gabriel O Pensador (Gabriel the Thinker) and he has been around since the 90's and he is not only known for his music but also for his knowledge and his rhymes.
Gabriel O Pensador
Gabriel o Pensador 2345678
Cachimbo da Paz (Peace Pipe) - Gabriel O Pensador
This lyrics talk about an Indian who was arrested for smoking weed and doesn't understand how he can put in jail for a Peace Pipe when there's so much violence going on everywhere
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A more recent artist that is very famous in Brasil, well known for his Rap and will also participate at Lolapalooza (a music festival that happens in different parts of the world which includes many artist) is Criolo. Criolo is also a white rapper who goes out of the norms. He has a different style of rapping and his music mixes rap and soul. He has gained best revealing artist award in Brazil and his fan base is growing each day.
Criolo
Criolo - Subirusdoistiozin
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To finalize today's post, I present you guys EMICIDA - he is considered a master at rapping in Brazil. Since the documentary we watched today talks about the art of writing and performing rap verses, I could not leave him out of the post. Emicida is a combination of the words MC and homicide because of his frequent victories in the battles of improvisations, and his friends would call him a 'killer' because he 'kills' his opponents through rhymes.
Emicida
Emicida battleling against Gil - you might not understand it because it is in Portuguese, but you can hear the audience cheering
Emicida rapping in UK - Brazilian Rappers going International ____**____
A couple of weeks ago I spoke about songs that include elements of Carnival and using vulgarity in a humanistic way, in this post here . Today I will continue talking about this topic and elaborate it some more.
Carnival is a party which occurs usually in February and it typically involves a public parade celebration combining elements of circus, mask and public street parties. It is a time when people go out of their ordinary lives and leave out of social norms through humor and chaos. The parade represents the power of the people This is a time where oppressed individuals come together to show their power.
How is that related to HipHop?
- The costumes wore in Carnival resemble the Rapper or Hip Hop fashion style: Baggy pants, big shirts, baseball hats all represent a way to oppose the social norm in the same way that carnival costumes do.
- Vulgarity in hiphop lyrics and the naked bodies in Carnival are also a way to oppose the social norms
- Exaggeration and excessiveness - appear in hip hop music and in carnival and serve to undermine power by mocking it.
Missy Elliot - Work it - Vulgarity in Lyrics as a way to oppose social norms
This is my post for last week's class! We talked about different genres such as blues, soul, r&b, skat,Disco, Funk, montown, Gospel and Jazz and how rap combines all of these genres.
In today's blog I will talk about a different genre in Brazilian Music that has a lot of similarities to and that originated from Rap: Funk Carioca (Funk from Rio).
Funk(or Funky how it's pronounced in Portuguese): dont get it confused with the funk genre that originated in the US. Brazilian Funk originated in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 70s when DJs were seeking new rhythms of black music to implement to their black, soul, shaft and funk parties. Funk Carioca (or funk from Rio) has a direct influence of Mimi Bass and Freestyle (associated also with rap). The term funk is used to refer to parties or nightclubs that play funk or to the musical genre.
In the beggining, jsut like in Rap music, Funk songs discussed topics such as poverty, human dignity, racial pride of black people, violence and social injustice. Some believe that Funk is a genuine expression od the severe social issues falling on the poor and black people in Rio
Eu So Quero E Ser Feliz (I Just Want to Be Happy) Cidinho & Doca
This song talks about how people in Favelas just want to be happy and be able to calmly walk around the favelas without being subjected to violence.
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Together with the nationalization of funk came the Baile Funk, which is a party where DJs come to play and perform on the streets of favelas and rival teams battle for who has the most powerful equipment, the most faithful group and the best DJ and singer.
The more nationalized it got, the more artists recorded new songs and the more mainstream Funk became.
It also became more vulgar and the rappers showed in the lyrics their favor for drug traffic, weapons- these songs are called PROIBIDAO, which refers to songs that are prohibited airplay by order of the Brazilian courts due to alleged crime apology.
The song RAP DAS ARMAS or Weapons Rap is an example of a Proibidao- it had great success in the 90s and it is still very popular nowadays, specially after it was a soundtrack of a popular Brazilian Film The Elite Squad (Tropa de Elite).
The song became even more popular after a remixed Dutch version of the song became popular in Europe and even reached #1 in some countries. (From Margins to Mainstream just like RAP)
Rap das Armas (Weapons Rap) Cidinho & Doca
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With the increase in success, Funk started more and more vulgarity in its lyrics and the Baile funk is now a place where girls come wearing the shortest shorts/skirts possible or even thongs bathing suits and battle for who has the biggest ass or who dances till the floor better. The lyrics are filled with vulgarity. Not only men are the singers now speaking about women's bodies but also women now Funk/Rap about men's body parts and their own.
Videos Below: Baile Funk in RIO
MC Creu - Competition who shakes their asses fastest.
Tati Quebra Barraco e Bola de Fogo - To ficando Atoladinha (Women Funk)
Brazilian Girls Dancing Funk on Copacabana Beach
Tati Quebra Barraco -Boladona (Women Funk)
__________**_________ Regardless of the Funk songs content, this genre is now in mainstream media and people from all social classes enjoy its beats and the fun and humor in its lyrics (although a lot of people also hate it). But even the haters can't stand still when funk is playing at a party!!!! And to finalize, here's a picture of me and my sister when we were in RIO at a BAILE FUNK Castelo Das Pedras (Castle of the Rocks) in a Favela - "The Best Baile in Town". We had a great time seeing people dancing crazy and we laughed all night
In this weeks class we talked about the different characteristics of rap music - such as Rhyme, Flow, Metaphors, Subliminal messages, Slang, Bragging, exaggeration, Story-telling, Rhyming battle,Collage, Recycling ,Indirection, etc - in which we focused on two Humor and Vulgarity
"Humor relieves tension - when in a bad situation, the only thing that remains is to
laugh: it liberates yourself from powers that oppress you because you laugh about
it.
This phrase made me think about a video I watched once of two of my favorite graffiti artists: Os Gemeos - I mentioned them on my last post. Os Gemeos are these Brazilian twin brother who are famous worldwide. They make graffiti paintings in the most unexpected places around the world, such as castles and financial districts. They bring color and humor to people's ordinary's lives, not by music, but by their drawing. People forget about their daily routines and their problems when they see a colorful piece made by them in an unexpected location. Their characters are humoristic and put a smile in people's faces :)
Graffiti in Boston's Financial District
The Graffiti Project on Kelburn Castle
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Humor in Music - Gabriel O Pensador (Gabriel, the thinker) is a Brazilian rapper, compositor and writer. In his musical style rap prevails with influences from pop, hip hop, rock, funk, samba and even reggae. He often uses satire, irony, humor, metaphorsand even paradoxes in his songs. Some of his themes are social inequality, corruption, freedom, religion, poverty, violence and racism. His work criticizes behavioral concepts that have become accepted standards of adult behavior. Its main "targets" are stereotypes of "playboys", which are kids from the upper middle class who depend on money from their parents to live and who make no attempt to achieve something on their own; he also talks about "dumb blondes", who are very attractive and are successful in life because of their appearance.
Gabriel O Pensador- LoraBurra (Dumb Blonde)
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Purpose of vulgarity – Rappers use vulgarity many times in a humanistic way. It is a way of opposing society. Same concept as in humor: a carnavalistic context!
In Brazil we have one of the most popular Carnavals in the world. People work all year long to have 4 days of fun and forget about their problems. They dress up in costumes and a lot of times, they don't even dress up at all and go out naked to the streets and to the Parades. But somehow, this is not considered vulgar. It is a way to liberate yourself and move out of the ordinary everyday life. Just like in rap, they use "vulgarity" in a humanistic way. In a way to have fun.
Carnaval Sao Paulo, Brazil - 2012
Nicki Minaj in a Carnavalistic Context
This Nicki Minaj song includes elements from Carnaval - uses vulgarity but in a humoristic way.
In this week's class we talked about the Cross Bronx Expressway construction wcich helped Manhattan become the financial hub that it is today. A lot of the Bronx was destroyed because of the construction and Jewish people from middle and working classes that used to live there moved out to better neighborhoods. The Bronx became a metaphor for war zone, destruction and decay.
New residents of the bronx were now from the lowest social classes. The sense of neglect, lack of authority and resources created fights, violence and gangs. But this was soon to change. In the 70's Hip-Hop gave the opportunity for this people to battle for who's the best dancer, raper and artist and no longer which gang is the most violent. There was a shift into art-war!
It is said that destruction, changing conditions, feeling of being neglected all bring the creativity out of people and ways of expressing themselves in art. This is what happened in the Bronx in the 70's. But not only in the Bronx......
Brazilis one of the world's major hip hop scenes, with active rap, break dance and graffitiscenes especially in Sao Paulo, where groups tend to have a more international style
Os Gemeos: "The Twins" - two of the most famous Brazilian graffiti artist in the world
Capoeira - which is huge in Brazil - contains similarities in their footwork, groundwork and upside-down movememnt, leading some to theorize that capoeira gave birth to breakdancing
Breakdance - very popular specially in Sao Paulo
In the future I will post more about each of these hip-hop elements.
But right now I would like to talk about how violence can shift towards art...
The clash of different social classes in Brazil is very visible to anyone's eyes. The slums, known as the Favelas, are home for 6% of the Brazilian population(about 11,4 million of people)
Brazilian Rappers like Racionais MC's (one of the major., popular Rap groups in Brazil) focus on criticizing the city's unequal wealth distribution, the lack of opportunity for people living in Slams and Sao Pualo state's corrupt government. The Favelas are mentioned in songs and so are local and national issues.
This song, called "Chapter 4, Verse 3" starts by giving the following facts regarding reality in Brazil:
- 60%of young people living in periphery without criminal records have suffered police violence;
- For every four people killed by the police, three are black;
- In Brazilian universities, only 2%of students are black;
- Every four hours a young black man dies violently in Sao Paulo;
- "Here is Cousin Black, another survivor."
Racionaismemebers all come from the favela. They all share a common feeling of neglect, of destruction, of being left out and forgotten. Many of the people residing in favelas very often become part of the Drug Traffic. Many die, many spend their lives in jail, many kill in order to survive. They form gangs who are constantly in war against the police and generate a tremendous violence. Racionaisare different though. They chose artand hip hop as a way to express themselves They are unanimously regarded as the voice of the suburbs. Their lyrics talk about discrimination against black people, the mistreatment by the police, the lack of education for kids, drug addiction and how people involved with the drug traffic either end up dead or in jail. Instead of forming gangs and acting violently, they chose to use their music to reach young people with low income and protest using their voices against the oppression of the marginalized population in Favelas. Regardless of using their music to protest against the oppression and not using violence, still all the members of Racionais have been arrested by the police while performing in their shows, over charges of inciting violence - police violence is a frequent theme in the group's lyrics. But did this not keep them from writing more lyrics and having their voices heard - this just increased the group's popularity and success. The group sold over their career about 1 million albums, all the band members are still alive, are free and are making money, while many of the people they grew up with are involved with the drug traffic, arrested or dead...... Here I finish for today, sending a positive message out: Art is many times the answer! Cheers, T
