The City of Rock vibrated this Saturday to the rhythm of rap with performances that highlighted the voice of minorities in Brazil, on the second day of concerts at Rock in Rio, the world’s largest music and entertainment festival.
Prejudice for racism, inequality and indigenous rights stood out in the voices of Brazilian artists such as Racionais MC, Criolo, Xama and the indigenous rap group Bro MC’s, in a day that closed with Post Malone’s trap and in which The electronics of Alok and the American Mashmelo also shone.
The rain did not manage to water down Malone’s show, who debuted in the City of Rock with several of his greatest hits and where ‘Sunflower’ and ‘Congratulations’ sounded in unison in the voice of the public.
With his almost 80 tattoos, the American artist, who the day before joined the audience to accompany Iron Maiden wearing the shirt of the Brazilian team, on the first day of concerts, demonstrated this time from the stage, why he has occupied the first places in lists, surpassing even The Beatles, with nine songs in the top 20 of ‘Billboard’ simultaneously.
The main box was complemented by DJs Alok and Mashmello, and the American singer Jason Derulo, who was applauded for his voice and choreography full of dance and pyrotechnics.
VOICE OF RESISTANCE
The voice of protest began early when a timid sun was still accompanying the more than 100,000 attendees that the City of Rock received this Saturday.
The fight against discrimination was highlighted by the Brazilian Racionais MC, a band born on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, which paid tribute to the black victims of racist violence in the country.
In its debut at Rock in Rio, the largest rap band in Brazil recalled the brutal murder of a young Congolese on a beach in Rio de Janeiro, beaten to death after asking for his salary at one of the kiosks where he worked.
Although they were not as common as the first day, the protests against the Brazilian president, the far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, who aspires to be re-elected on October 2 and is recognized for his sexist, 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 the violence and deprivation experienced in the less favored communities of the giant south american
His presentation had as guests L7nnon and the Bro MC’s group, the first from the outskirts of Rio and the others, originating from the Guaraní-Kaiowá ethnic group, the main Brazilian indigenous people in southern Brazil.
L7nnon came to rap thanks to skateboarding and started his career when in Barcelona (Spain) his fellow competitors, after listening to his creations, suggested that he dedicate himself to music and leave his hobby behind.
For their part, Bruno Veron, Tio Creb, CH and Kevin Mbarete, who make up the first indigenous rap group in Brazil, 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,” as its creator and leader, Veron, assured 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 edition, which takes place again in Rio de Janeiro, the city where it was born in 1985, will have five additional days (September 4, 8, 9, 10 and 11) in which bands such as Coldplay, Greenday, Guns n’ Roses, Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato, Gilberto Gil, Dua Lipa, Fall out boy, Camila Cabello and Avril Lavigne, among others.