The first rap artists emerged in Brazil at the end of the 1970s, thanks to baile funk parties. Like ballrooms in New York, these electro parties organized in favelas were a place of expression, resistance and artistic turmoil for Black poor and queer populations.
From pionners Sharylaine, Dina Di, Flora Matos and Karol Conka to contemporary artists, women have always played a central role on the rap scene and offer a wide musical diversity ranging from funk carioca to pop, punk and reggaeton.
Meanwhile, LGBTQIA MCs never stopped expressing themselves through rap, that they often use as a political tool and response to a violent social context. Brazil holds the world’s highest LGBTQIA murder rate. There, a LGBTQIA person is brutally murdered or commits suicide every 19 hours (UN). Moreover, almost 1,500 trans people were murdered in the country during the past decade, that is one homicide every three days, according to the Associação Nacional de Travestis e Transexuais (ANTRA).
To discover some major figures of Brazilian rap, here are 15 female and LGBTQIA rappers you should know, selected among the 87 artists listed on Madame Rap.
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