From Hip-hop as Cultural Heritage to the Emergence of Indigenous Rap in Brazil: Meetings between the Massive and the Vernacular

Abstract

The label of “hip-hop” refers to an extensive variety of cultural agents, expressions and cultural products; it is one of the most popular urban identities around the world. One way to approach this diversity is to distinguish two dimensions: the cultural movement and the music industry. Based on the idea that they are not necessarily excluding terms, I will reflect on two situations that show the current importance of hip-hop as a tool of political organization. I refer, on the one hand, to the declaration of hip-hop as Intangible Cultural Heritage of the state of Rio de Janeiro in 2017 and, on the other hand, to the recent formation of Guarani rap groups in Brazil. In the first case, I will rely on a series of legal documents, such as public hearings, press releases and what is stipulated by the law in question. For the second, I will retrieve some records about the media practices of a Guarani rap group from southern Brazil, as well as the contents that other groups publish through digital media. Finally, I will use the concept of “articulation” in Stuart Hall and popular music studies to establish connections between the two movements.