Rap in Rio: City of Rock vibrates to the rhythms of hip hop, electronic acts
Rio de Janeiro, Sep 3 (EFE).- Rap acts highlighting Brazil’s minority voices and electronic shows vibrated the City of Rock on the second day of Rock in Rio Saturday.
Racism, inequality and indigenous rights were highlighted through the voices of Brazilian artists such as hip-hop group Racionais MCs, rappers Criolo and Xama and the country’s first Indigenous rap group, Bro MCs.
The day closed with Post Malone, but the electronic acts of local DJ Alok and the American DJ Marshmello also shone.
The rain did not dilute the show of Post Malone, who debuted in the City of Rock with several of his greatest hits and where “Sunflower” and “Congratulations” were joined by the voices of the crowd.
With his almost 80 tattoos, the American artist, who the previous night joined the audience wearing a Brazil team shirt to watch Iron Maiden, demonstrated on stage why he has topped charts, with nine singles in the Top 20 Billboard Hot 100 charts simultaneously, surpassing even The Beatles.
The main stage was complemented by Alok and Mashmello, and the American singer Jason Derulo, who was applauded for his voice and show full of dancing and pyrotechnics.
The voice of protest began early with the fight against discrimination highlighted by the Brazilian Racionais MCs, a group born on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, and which paid tribute to the Black victims of racist violence in the country.
In its debut at Rock in Rio, the biggest rap band in Brazil recalled the brutal murder of a young Congolese refugee on a beach in Rio, beaten to death after asking for his salary at a stall where he worked.
Although they were not as widespread as the first day, protests against Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who aspires to be re-elected on Oct. 2 and is known for misogynistic and racist comments, were heard again in the audience.
Xama, a rapper who began writing his music to sell sweets on buses, recalled the importance of supporting favela artists who, like him, grew up amid violence and deprivation.
His show had as guests L7nnon and the Bro MCs, the former from the outskirts of Rio and the latter from the Guaraní-Kaiowá ethnic group, the main indigenous people in southern Brazil.
L7nnon came to rap thanks to skateboarding. His career began in Barcelona when, after listening to his work, his fellow competitors suggested he dedicate himself to music and leave his hobby behind.
Bro Mcs’ Bruno Veron, Tio Creb, CH and Kevin Mbarete began writing rap rhymes to “show what it is to be an indigenous people and what it means to be in the struggle and in the resistance,” its creator and leader Veron told EFE.
Rock in Rio, considered the largest music and entertainment event in the world, has offered 21 editions in Rio, Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas in 37 years, attended by more than 10 million spectators.
The current event, which takes place again in the city where it was born in 1985, will have five additional days (Sep. 4, 8-11) in which artists such as Coldplay, Green Day, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato, Gilberto Gil, Dua Lipa, Fall Out Boy, Camila Cabello and Avril Lavigne will take the stage. EFE
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