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>> 29 1 We Are the Modern Levites Three Gospel Music Scenes In order for us to begin our journey toward the deep, buried ethnoracial meanings of three scenes of gospel music, we need to begin slowly and gently, by witnessing them from the outside. In later chapters, we will encounter these scenes from the inside out; but for now, let us encounter them as shapes seen from an external vantage point—as people clustering together on- and off-stage, singing and playing their hearts out for all the world to see and hear. For now, let us be spectators and watch how these scenes came into being and how their artists look and sound when they perform. At the end of the chapter, we will take our first tentative step inside their world and begin to touch the deeper significance of what they do and who they are. Gospel Rap in São Paulo A Brief History of Gospel Rap in São Paulo Paulista rap (i.e., rap from São Paulo) has lived through four main periods, each distinguished by a different lyrical theme. From 1983 to 1987, paulista rap was primarily ludic and recreational, with no political agenda. From 1988 to 1994, it became heavily politicized, with negritude strongly emphasized. From 1995 to 2000, these themes became less central, the theme of periferia took center stage, and gospel rap became a major tendency on the scene. Since 2000, paulista rap has grown more diverse, with many new styles and no clear thematic core, while the growth of gospel rap has continued unabated, influencing the lyrics of everyone else. In the late 1960s, when Friday afternoon arrived, young men armed with vinyl records, a turntable, a pair of speakers, and an extension cord would assemble makeshift sound systems on streets across São Paulo’s vast workingclass neighborhoods. These were the original equipes de som—sound teams. 30 > 31 and Thaíde. These were all “party” rappers who rhymed not about politics but about physical attractiveness, partying, drinking, hanging out, and romance. “It was a style,” recounted DJ Alpiste. “We were fascinated by it. It had nothing to do with any kind of denunciation. It was not political. It was a continuation of the dance parties. It was a cool way to get people to dance. People would sing along with ‘Tagarela, tagarela!’” Then, starting in 1986, as Vilmar put it, “there started to be more of a connection with the political side of things.” The end of military censorship in 1985, the acceleration of preparations for the centennial of the abolition of slavery, the growing influence of the black movement, and the mobilization around the writing of the new federal constitution thrust the issue of race squarely into the public eye. Influenced by these developments, a faction at the São Bento subway station began to focus explicitly on black identity and political commentary. Mano Brown, later to become the single most famous rapper in Brazil, recalled, The ones who were at São Bento, because we saw that a lot of white kids had started to gravitate to us, and everyone who was there were starting to accept that, but I didn’t accept that. I started thinking that there needed to be more blacks in the movement, the movement was a black one, so there had to be blacks, and there weren’t that many. Ice Blue and I, we always had this vision: we have to have a place that is just for us, and Roosevelt plaza, because that was where the favela began, began there. We weren’t doing hip hop so much, there we were doing rap. We didn’t dance, we just rapped. (DJ TR 2007, 156) A racially militant attitude flourished in Roosevelt Plaza. Freed from the dance-party scene and attending black movement meetings in the vicinity, the Roosevelt Plaza rappers formed the first Brazilian posse (a collection of rap groups) Sindicato Negro (Black Union) in late 1988. Several forces solidified paulista rap’s emphasis on black politics during this period. First was the influence of Sindicato Negro. Members of the Sindicato traveled throughout the city to help found new posses. When, for example, youths in the neighborhood of Tiradentes wanted to start a posse in 1990, they invited a delegation from the Sindicato to come talk with them. From the delegation, they learned (according to one of the founders of Tiradentes ’ posse) that “blacks should marry blacks and...

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