Brazilian hip-hop

Rappers, DJs, break dancers and graffiti artists are active across the complete spectrum of society blending Brazil's cultural heritage with American hip hop to form a contemporary musical fusion.

Known as "repente" or "cantoria", it is a genre of Brazilian folk music practiced by a pair of singers known as repentistas who alternate themselves in the composition of improvised strophes following very strict patterns of metric, rhyme and thematic coherence.

[3] The sound teams of the Bailes Black were soon providing opportunities for local master of ceremonies (MC) to take the stage and though the parties were still orientated towards American music they formed an important training ground for Brazilian rappers.

1 which featured "Pânico na Zona Sul" ("Panic on the South Side") and "Tempos Difíceis" ("Hard Times") by the group Racionais MC's[7] as well as the song "Nossos Dias" ("Our Days") by Sharylaine who was the first female rapper to make an impact in Brazil.

[13] The Brasilia group Câmbio Negro, formed in 1990 by DJ Jamaika and X, released their debut album Sub Raça in July 1993; its mixture of rock and hip hop proved to be popular with audiences.

[12] The São Paulo rap group RZO, formed in 1989 by Sandrão, Helião, Negra li and DJ Cia, released their self-titled debut album in 1997 on M.A.

[15] MV Bill, a resident of the favela Cidade de Deus (City of God), first became aware of hip hop music through the soundtrack of the 1988 US movie Colors; in 1998 he released his debut album Mandando Fechado.

[20] In 2006, GOG released the album Aviso às Gerações ("Notice to the Generations") which featured a collaboration with MC RAPadura on the song "A quem possa interessar".

Emicida is a rapper from São Paulo who released his first single "Triunfo" in 2008 and is one of the first Brazilian hip hop artists to establish himself by posting his music on social networks and video sites.

[21] In 2008, the female rapper Flora Matos released the track "Mundo Pequeno" which was produced by DJ Cia, and directed by Mano Brown and Ice Blue of Racionais MC's.

Pardue proposes that the common perception of hip hop as a US cultural entertainment phenomena reflecting exclusive themes of urban gang membership and masculinity may be discarded for a more realistic assessment of its educational benefits especially with regards to the young people of the favelas.