{"id":42265,"date":"2018-09-05T12:18:51","date_gmt":"2018-09-05T11:18:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/criolo-the-conscious-kid-of-sao-paulos-zona-sul\/"},"modified":"2020-05-04T23:16:15","modified_gmt":"2020-05-04T22:16:15","slug":"criolo-the-conscious-kid-of-sao-paulos-zona-sul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/criolo-the-conscious-kid-of-sao-paulos-zona-sul\/","title":{"rendered":"Criolo, the conscious kid of S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s Zona Sul"},"content":{"rendered":"

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At 42 years old, this child of the favelas of S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s Zona Sul, has somehow always known how to combine music and social engagement. His most recent record, <\/b>Espiral de Ilus\u00e3o<\/i><\/b> (2018), makes this evident, with sharply delivered lyrics hitting hard, whether dropped on hip hop beats, or sung on samba melodies<\/b>.<\/span><\/h4>\n

Since the early 1980s, hip hop has established itself in the sprawling city of S\u00e3o Paulo, a megalopolis with a population of 12 million. Breakdancers and rappers meet at dedicated spaces, such as S\u00e3o Bento station, Galeria do Rock on 24 de Maio street, and the Teatro Municipal. This is also where <\/span>Pode cr\u00ea!<\/span><\/i> was founded, the first hip hop magazine in Brazil \u2013\u00a0the equivalent of <\/span>The Source<\/span><\/i> in the US or <\/span>Radikal<\/span><\/i> in France. Kleber Cavalcante Gomes aka Criolo was born on September, 5th, 1975. Alongside the young rapper Emicida, they are among the most worthy contemporary representatives of S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s hip hop scene.<\/span><\/p>\n

The artist\u2019s nickname, <\/span>\u201cCriolo\u201d<\/span><\/i>, defines him as an Afro descendant. This follows the cultural movements that developed in Brazil since the 1970-80s. Criolos family actually originates comes from the Nordeste region, 3000 km away from S\u00e3o Paulo. Since the 16th century this region was well known for the exploitation of African slaves in the sugarcane fields. The story of Criolo\u2019s own family would find itself alike to those of the novels by Bahia-born author Jorge Amado: \u201cMy family moved from the Cear\u00e1 state to settle in the suburbs of S\u00e3o Paulo, specifically in Graja\u00fa, located in a southern neighborhood called <\/span>\u2018Zona Sul\u2019<\/span><\/i>. They left this very poor region so that they could live a better life\u201d, tells Criolo, evidently a bit tired, in the Parisian caf\u00e9 we chose for the interview. Just before our encounter however, he sang the samba\u00a0\u201cL\u00e1 Vem Voc\u00ea\u201d beautifully for Radio Nova.<\/span><\/p>\n

Without trying to be intentionally tragic, Criolo bluntly depicts the reality of Brazilian society\u2019s outcasts: \u201cI had a very hard and painful childhood, but my family had always been good with pedagogy in explaining to me the reality of the outside world. They never tried to hide what was happening on the streets.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n