OSGEMEOS: SEGREDOS - Ep. 3 - Hip Hop: a história continua

The following series was recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic. All the safety protocols were applied and the guests and crew were tested. Hip Hop was actually born with four foundations: peace, love, togetherness and having fun.

We have fun within the culture the way with what the elements it offers you: the DJ, rap, breasking or doing graffiti. But the message is it's to say that Hip Hop taught us this union. It's nice that the story isn't made from one point of view, there are many accounts, and from various elements.

And it's also cool that we're here united as four elements. SECRETS <i>Our history blends with Hip Hop culture and its four elements. </i> <i>Formed by different generations of artists who came from the street.

</i> <i>And nothing builds itself. </i> <i>And this union is what fortifies and keeps Hip Hop alive. </i> HIP HOP THE STORY CONTINUES Graffiti started on trains.

In New York in the late 60's, early 70's folks were already writing on the trains. Long before the existence of hip hop, break, rap. In the 70's they started using New York trains as a support for writing their names.

When did you paint your first train? {\an8}It's something that I've always wanted to, {\an8}I kept bothering my friends to take me along. {\an8}Then they said, "It's a little risky.

" {\an8}So, for me, it was like a challenge too, {\an8}If I had to run, I wanted to run, {\an8}If had to jump walls, I wanted to do that. {\an8}Obviously I'm shorter than most guys {\an8}in question of speed, strenght, etc {\an8}so I started to work, this was something new for me. {\an8}Was Gueto who took you for the first time?

{\an8}Gueto, Son and Sol. I see it as a personal challenge, I can't explain it, it's like a magical moment. And then, at the moment that you're painting, you have to forget everything that's happening to make the job quick, well done, control the adrenaline, and do my best because I don't want to do a piece and later on, look at the photo: "Nah, I don't like it.

" {\an8}For me it's not just anything, {\an8}I'm going there just to do it. {\an8}No, I do it because it matters to me. {\an8}I care extremely about the quality of what I'm doing {\an8}and I'm extremely self-critical with that {\an8}and I study a lot the shapes, my letters, {\an8}I study colors, I like, for example, of a cleaner style.

{\an8}The quality of the work, and the style {\an8}are the things most important for me to enjoy a piece. I don't feel like a vandal doing graffiti, understand? I know that under the law that man created, it's written that this is vandalism, that this is a misdemeanor - people are like that.

. . - To you, what's vandalism?

Vandalism is what our politicians does to the population. What's happening now in the country I think it is vandalism. The genocide that is taking place now is much greater vandalism.

And that's just one point, there are several things, several issues, but vandalism starts from politics. I think a paint will never impede - a train to fulfill its route. - Or harm a passenger.

Take the train every day, suddenly a colorful train arrives. - Cool, right? - People like it.

{\an8}For now, I like to keep this graffiti style alive {\an8}and the initiative within this style, you know? {\an8}I'm not interested in showing my identity {\an8}outside of the graffiti enviroment, {\an8}as well as my personal name. {\an8}I like being that kind of artist for now.

{\an8}I love doing other types of designs, drawings, and such. {\an8}but I'm not a very public person {\an8}this is the first time I've been giving an interview like that, actually. Bomb was what made me realize that I had my artistic side too.

- What is a bomb? - Ah, go bombing the city. Making my stamp around.

In many places, sometimes very risky places because it's cooler. And it's like a game, you make your scores And that's what I like most about graffiti because I feel like I'm capable of doing something, you know? What year did you start doing throw-ups?

In 2016 I started to go to a lot of rap parties and I met some girls in this scene that did some graffiti too. And it's cool because it was linked with Hip Hop, right? Totally.

From the beginning, I was introduced to graffiti through rap. Culture was always present, quite a lot. And normally, always idealized by the Hip Hop crowd.

<i>Smoke comes, smoke goes in the air</i> <i>I didn't even realize that I got stuck in time in the same place</i> <i>No focus, no goals, no plans</i> <i>I had nothing to believe in And what I wanted was to be there. </i> So, as a little girl, I was already inserted in the culture, I was learning new stuff and the Battle of Santa Cruz was an essential school to me. It was a milestone in the history of Hip Hop Nacional.

It was, it was. . .

I learned a lot there, man. MC'S BATTLES BEGIN TO SPRING ALL OVER THE CITY. Then, I think I went to Santa Cruz for the first time in 2009 Go on, Bivolt, 30 seconds Your voice, bro, you don't represent you don't have the essence of rap It was really crazy because when I was there I froze; I've said, "I won't make it.

" But there was a song that we kept singing <i>"The guys called me to rhyme and I don't know how to rhyme</i> <i>Let's see what happens" and it did. </i> How the people there saw you as a girl arriving there and wanting to battle with the guys? There was no girls.

I saw the guys doing it, and I said: "I can do it too. " <i>So, look, that's cool, it's your problem</i> <i>Because you get beaten, pretty cool beat, calling me a bitch</i> <i>but this is national rap, what you throw won't stick here</i> <i>because I'm a feminist yes and I send these machos to fuck themselves</i> And I remember the boys saying, "Go play with dolls, what are you doing here? " There was repressive bullying there like, this is not a place for women.

What place is not hostile to women? The street is hostile by day, worse at night. There are, I know, these women who are moving, collectively, going to the streets, right?

Even thinking this vision that the style is from the streets. - When did you start painting? - In 2006.

- Have you always drawn since a child? - I always drew. I started in a workshop and there, I say it was the basis of understanding the spray technique and such, I met some people and then I started to go to the events, right?

I started to hang out and then I started to participate in one collective called National Front of Women's in Hip Hop So these women were mirrors also understanding this movement that is sexist, right? so we, as women, as a network, we strengthen ourselves to enter some places, right? And then, from that, I started to multiply what I had learned.

Then I started to do workshops and plant my seeds. Cultural movements reflect the society so today we have feminism on the agenda, machismo, representativeness, all this is on the agenda. I said, dammit, I've been here for some time, nobody sees me?

And then I even look up at events, How many women were participating, how many were black, if there were any indigenous people. Then I started to question the events, I send them messages. I was like, "Oh, where are the women?

" And then I started thinking about making another move that was precisely to create my events. It's amusing because the history of BSB. Girls also is very much in line with this relationship of being a protagonist.

So before I danced in crew with the guys but always having to ask permission. And December 6, 2003 there was a battle and it was the first time I was able to enter and leave the cypher the moment that I felt like it. So much so that I entered several times.

And that day, I said, "Paulo, take my shirt; I'm gonna do another story because I wanted to feel that more, be the protagonist. And then the story began. And that's it, we're going to complete 18 years of crew.

I think that in Brazil, BSBgirls is the oldest crew consisting only of women. <i>Better than breeze, the breeze goes away The wind takes a lot to Jah</i> <i>So powerful that you are Immortalizes what has already happened</i> <i>Made me believe in me and free me up from that mediocre life</i> The rhymes directed at me were always trying to objectify me always trying to limit me because of my gender. So it was a thing that I started playing their game They want to talk about this?

So let's talk about this And that's how I'll make fun of them and later on, bring some intelligence and then I think I got the respect. But when I saw a girl in a performance doing a windmill everything changed for me at that moment. The feeling I had is that everything had gone into slow motion and I just saw her spinning, spinning.

And I was like, "Dude, that's it. " And then I said, "I want to learn how to do this" The other day, I arrived at training and said: "I want to learn the windmill. " And guys, "No, but women don't breakdance, women do popping and locking.

The girl did it, I want to do because I saw her doing it. Then I started my process. Then when I got to training, I saw the kids training and I kept trying to copy them - By yourself?

- By myself. The people would come, "Is there a girl doing it? " "We want to interview you.

" So, just because I was a woman standing there doing something, I started to play a leading role and to be able to have a voice. <i>But a year has passed and I'm still here</i> <i>Say to me, with this shitty rhyme, what did you do to be an MC</i> I didn't know that what they did to me was machismo I was discovering this along with society, and the guys in the battle too, These struggles made me seek, more knowledge, right because we work with the city but many times we don't understand city management, right? This was my first strategy try to unite these women, bring them closer, to talk and register that.

Because we know we won't be in textbooks, you know, in the art books. So I started this move of creating a record. And I see today, I go to saraus, and the battles are now totally different from the environment where I started which was something, clearly all male, There are a lot of girls in rhyme battles, women in the organization there is only a women's battle, for the LGBTQI+ audience so today you see Hip Hop it is also present in these people's lives and it also embraced these people and different niches appeared.

The Batom Battle also entered this place of the biggest festival focused on gender is because the competitions had ruthless things like a certain prize for the bboys and 1/3 for the bgirls So It started to annoy me, it was difficult to come to São Paulo, to other states and when I got here, the prizes were much smaller. That's when I started to study a lot about project design understand how cultural production works and then I started to making my own productions. In the first edition, it gathered 12 bgirls from some states in the second edition we had 23 bbgirls The first time I met Fabi, it was a meeting here in Indaiatuba And the guys came to me and said, "Wow, there's a bgirl, everyone's scared of her.

" And to other people, "There's a bboy, everyone's scared of him. " So, like, my name and hers kept rolling around at the event. Have you ever seen a break in your city?

No, I had no reference. Then, of course, I got a Bboy Summit VHS, you know? My sister took me to capoeira when I was three years old I had stopped myself and said, "Dude, you need to learn a different culture.

" My first contact with the break, I was downtown, in São José do Rio Preto, where I live and some guys were dancing break. But when I got close, I thought it was capoeira Until 1930, capoeira was prohibited by the penal code, while other martial arts had open doors in Brazil. And capoeira, it brought this other look, of ancestry so much that for me today, breakdance is in a much higher place it's basically my connection to my ancestry.

And even the idea of the bboy in the history of hip hop culture itself, so it has this resistance side, right? That's when I went searching even if I'll love more one element from Hip Hop culture I need to learn them all. I knew that at that time I was starting to dance but I was still a little confused because I didn't have information about Hip Hop Some call it "dancing rap" other "the boys that make spins.

" That I come from a city in the countryside, so here in the capital, things were more advanced and there it was rising so there was little information. What was your enchantment to be in hip hop? Was it Bbeak, graffiti, rap, DJ, the music, How did you found yourself in hip hop?

I quickly realized this diversity within the hip-hop culture. The reference as graffiti for me was, were them, you as an event promoter, I use to see you in magazines, right? and Thaíde DJ Hum.

Thaíde is a bboy, but also an Mc, which is it? How is this, how does it work? That's when the biggest reference in graffiti was you, my vision was: "I'll ever meet the guys?

" The dream I had at the time was when I got the information, what was the break. What was happening at the time what were the events, so my biggest dream at the time was to compete in an event abroad. That's when we created the Tsunami All-Stars.

We invited White in Belém do Pará, Pelézinho in São José do Rio Preto Chaveirinho de Caieiras, me from Cascavel Paraná So, like, 13 kids were already from here, we got together and have this opportunity, which was to run 16 in Korea in 2007. So, then I said, "Cool, we have the chance to go there to perform and battle. Enough of only Americans and Europeans in the championships.

The goal is to win the world championship, and put Brazil on the breakdance map. When I've realized I was among the finalists I said, "Wow, what's this man? " Because like, I didn't have experience competing at that level.

When I first entered the American talking to me and I didn't understand anything then I had this blank I forgot everything I had imagined so if anyone goes to see my first entry I'm walking around the stage clapping my hands but actually, I was trying to remember what I was going to do. But beyond that, to believe in this dream of getting there and winning is to think that we need a plan b. When I think about it, I think a lot about that how to keep me longer, even through my 80’s.

Because there is nothing better in life than doing what you love, right? if you had to tell a boy or a girl that are watching this First of all, you have to be sure of what you want and know that it will be part of your whole life. You have to know the story otherwise, you'll just be one more.

Create as much as possible and don't copy. Unless you are the most talented person in the world but for us, in the real world, we have to grind. So, when the moment to present yourself arrives both your mind and body are ready aswell as the idea of knowledge.