Pitt Latin American Department hosts Brazilian rapper Emicida

The Latin America Department hosted Brazilian rapper and activist Emicida on Friday evening for a screening of his 2020 film, “AmarElo – It’s All for Yesterday.” Emicida’s film focused on the history of Black Brazilian culture, and how it inspired his album, “AmarElo.” 

The title of the album comes from the popular Brazilian idiom “É Tudo Pra Ontem”, which translates to “It’s All for Yesterday.” This phrase, and album, reference the resistance to the historical oppression and struggle of Black Brazilians. Emicida, a São Paulo native who has been making music since the early 2000s, spoke about the inspiration behind the album during the scheduled Q&A. 

“Everything I’ve ever done is because I have watched artists … utilizing art in a very political sense to create change,” Emicida said. “And that is precisely what I am trying to do.”

Emicida took inspiration from the artists that came before him, and hopes to create an industry where future artists can thrive. 

“I am not an evolution,” Emicida said. “I am a consequence, and the most that I can do is produce a new seed to plant.”

Emicida credited his upbringing in Brazil as a musical inspiration. 

“My parents used to organize block parties in the streets of São Paulo …I grew up in a very curious home,” Emicida said. “I grew up in a house that had a stove, fridge and 300 vinyl records. So I think when I started making music, I was influenced by these 300 vinyl records, but also when I started to read I became obsessed with cartoons, so I see both of these as fundamental influences.”

Emicida takes inspiration from Samba, a genre that combines Brazilian and African cultures. 

“It would be a dream if everything could end in Samba,” Emicida said. “Samba is a place where we can harmonize all of our differences and produce something much, much better.” 

Keila Grinberg, director of Pitt’s Center for Latin American Studies and professor of Latin American history and Atlantic history, opened the event with some historical context. Grinberg explained Brazil’s 21-year military dictatorship and its effects on the country’s citizens. 

“[The dictatorship] stole two generations’ dreams,” Grinberg said. “The fact that sixty years later we are welcoming Brazilian rapper Emicida in an American university is not a small thing.”

Grinberg believes that Emicida’s music promotes healing and hope for the future. 

”His songs and his film are also an invitation to overcome our past and to dream about our collective future,” Grinberg said.

Nathália Susin Streher, a native Brazilian doing biology-related research at Pitt, was a fan of Emicida’s work before attending the screening. Streher appreciates the deeper meaning behind the rapper’s work. 

“As a Brazilian, and as someone that really loves Emicida’s work, the big message is about being a collective,” Streher said. “Understanding that we are not here by ourselves, we are not just individuals, we exist as a group.”

Activism is a function of music. Hip-Hop and rap music have been used to make political and social statements since their inception. 

“I think music is the way that activism can get to people,” Streher said. “It is a mechanism to say what can change, what is wrong and things like that. So I think it’s a powerful tool to get to the people who might not be getting the idea otherwise.”

Emicida’s film, as well as his music, focuses on the spirit of Brazil.

“There is something about Brazil that allows us to dream,” Emicida said. “There is something about how we live that is really, really inspiring.”

Directly after the 2020 release of “AmarElo – It’s All for Yesterday,” the film was shown in a prison in Northeast Brazil with approval from the prison administration. Emicida said the risks taken by the correctional officer that showcased the film were substantial. 

“For you to do something like that, you often have to have months of preparation because you are dealing with a very tense environment. Anger produces something very solid,” Emicida said. “What we did here was powerful to the point that someone in the prison system put their career on the line to showcase something they hadn’t even watched, so it brings out this very solidified emotion and response.” 

Aline Souza, a Brazilian visiting her sister in Pittsburgh, had seen the film prior to the screening. For Souza, politics and art share an important connection. 

“It is very emotional to see great artists, telling you about our history,” Souza said, “mixing the art and all of our political issues in a sensitive and inspirational way.”

Grinberg touched on the progress made in terms of injustice and historical divides in the Southern hemisphere. Though considerable progress has been made, she believes there is still much room to grow. 

“Yes, in Brazil, and Latin America as a whole, we have an urgent matter to deal with our past and overcome our past,” Grinberg said. “We have no time to lose. It is all for yesterday. How wonderful it is to recognize that we have already come a long way.” 

Quotes from Emicida used in this article were translated live from Portuguese to English during the event.