{"id":42260,"date":"2018-09-06T12:36:07","date_gmt":"2018-09-06T11:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/karol-conka-curitibas-free-spirit\/"},"modified":"2020-05-04T23:15:58","modified_gmt":"2020-05-04T22:15:58","slug":"karol-conka-curitibas-free-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/karol-conka-curitibas-free-spirit\/","title":{"rendered":"Karol Conka, Curitiba\u2019s free spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/b>Karol Conka is nothing short of a phenomenon. A young Curitiba-born woman, which is not exactly one of Brazil\u2019s megalopolises where hip-hop originates from. Yet, her talent, energy and freedom of expression have turned her into a nationally renowned exception.<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n

Curitiba is far from an acknowledged bastion of hip-hop, unlike its southern neighbouring cities \u2013\u00a0S\u00e3o Paulo and Rio de Janeiro\u00a0\u2013 Nicknamed the<\/span> cidade de vidro<\/span><\/i> (\u201cthe city of glass\u201d) because of its modern architecture, Curitiba is famous for its high education rate and sustainable development policy. It\u2019s in this environment that Conka, the super-heated and hyped-up rapper, TV host and model, grew up. Her second album <\/span>Ambulante<\/span><\/i> was released this year on Universal Music Brasil. Karoline dos Santos Oliveira chose \u201cConka\u201d as her alias, which translates to \u201cCarol with a K\u201d in Portuguese (<\/span><\/span>\u201ccom ka\u201d<\/span><\/i>). The 31-year-old artist is the youngest in our profile spotlight. Conka grew up with a modest family in Curitiba, located in the state of Paran\u00e1. Her everyday life was very much different to the violent favelas of Rio described by <\/span>Marcelo D2<\/span><\/a> or S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s harsh urbanism found in Emicida\u2019s and <\/span>Criolo<\/span><\/a><\/span>\u2019s music videos. Unlike her male counterparts, Conka does not convey social messages through rap: \u201cI a<\/span>m interested in political hip hop, but what I\u2019m doing is the opposite\u201d, she explained when we interviewed her before her Paris show at Petit Bain. This was 2014, when Parisians first discovered Conka, whilst petite in her physical presence, held an inexhaustible energy <\/span>\u201cao vivo\u201d<\/span><\/i> (\u201con stage\u201d). \u201cI\u2019m fighting against against low self-esteem and pessimism\u201d, she continues, \u201cand I want to bring joy and happiness through my lyrics\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n


\nThe batucada enthusiast
\n<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

At 13, she took contemporary dance lessons, but four years later became a rapper: \u201cI took the microphone during parties in Curitiba. At that time, I was influenced by Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Missy Elliott.\u201d She started with two mixtapes she released via the local collective Upground, overseen by Cadelis MC. Her first promo EP was released in 2011 and did not gain much traction outside of the underground scene. In 2012, during a show at Curitiba\u2019s Master Hall, S\u00e3o Paulo-based rapper Projota offered her a feature on his track \u201c<\/span><\/span>N\u00e3o Falem<\/span><\/a><\/span>\u201d. This was a defining point in her career, as she met beatmaker Nave: this chance meeting <\/span>resulted in Conka\u2019s debut album <\/span>Batuk Freak<\/span><\/i> one year later. \u201cI asked him to dig deep to find Brazilian-influenced beats that would compliment my personality. I gave feedback on the samples he suggested we use, and I\u2019m very happy with the final result.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And likewise so are we! <\/span>Batuk Freak<\/span><\/i> is a true <\/span>baile funk<\/span><\/i> jewel with <\/span>atabaque<\/span><\/i> percussions reminiscent of <\/span>capoeira<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>batucada<\/span><\/i> genres, hence the title, <\/span>Batuk<\/span><\/i>: \u201cThis atmosphere is important to me because I want to show I\u2019m Brazilian, and that Brazil has great music and rhythms. My beatmaker is the \u2018batuk\u2019, and I am the \u2018freak\u2019 because I\u2019m a little crazy sometimes. Nave once told me: \u2018You\u2019re crazy. We should call this Batuk Freak. And that sounded right to me.\u201d It\u2019s no wonder that the \u201ccrazy\u201d Conka lays claim to the influence of Island-born singer Bj\u00f6rk, another unconventional and free-spirited woman she likes talking about: \u201cshe\u2019s eclectic when it comes to her music. I admire her originality and she has an overflowing imagination. Her mindset also appears somewhat disturbed and I like that!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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<\/i>
\nMr. Bongo\u2019s museo<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

In terms of aesthetics, Conka stands out a mile with her short hair dyed blonde that features on the fluorescent pink cover of <\/span>Batuk Freak<\/span><\/i> LP. The French music magazine <\/span>Les Inrocks<\/span><\/i> nicknamed her the \u201cBrazilian M.I.A.\u201d, referencing the famous Sri-Lanka-born female rapper. The video clip also caught the eye of UK label Mr Bongo\u2019s boss David Buttle: \u201cHe was looking for new Brazilian hip hop talent\u201d, recalls Conka. \u201cHe watched my video clip for \u2018Boa Noite\u2019 on YouTube and loved it. He then contacted me on Facebook. When the record was ready, he released it to Europe.\u201d For a track with an amphetamine-like hit, \u201cBoa Noite\u201d (\u201cGood Night\u201d) is on the contrary not an invitation to sleep, but an anthem for the insomniacs! It borrows from classic hip hop themes with a video that features young people dancing with a ghetto blaster on a checkered carpet: \u201cI wanted to show Brazil\u2019s racial diversity with this video we shot in a club in Curitiba. You can see White, Black and Japanese people all dancing and enjoying themselves together. The song starts with me stating that I\u2019m here to stay. The idea is that I want to share my music with the whole world.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

This song was also used to represent the Brazilian soccer team in the <\/span>Fifa 2014<\/span><\/i> video game: \u201cI\u2019m very proud of this because it\u2019s not easy to have the recognition to represent our colors.\u201d On the subject of <\/span><\/span>futebol<\/span><\/i> \u2013\u00a0a true passion for every Brazilian\u00a0\u2013 you can see Conka wear the national team\u2019s jersey in S\u00e3o Paulo-based rapper Rincon Sapi\u00eancia\u2019s video \u201c<\/span>Resenha de Futebol<\/span><\/a>\u201d which translates as \u201csoccer exam\u201d.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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