{"id":24052,"date":"2015-09-30T10:35:45","date_gmt":"2015-09-30T13:35:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=24052"},"modified":"2015-11-06T12:06:56","modified_gmt":"2015-11-06T15:06:56","slug":"antieticos-three-favela-rap-collective-challenges-racism-and-stigma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=24052","title":{"rendered":"Anti\u00e9ticos: Three-Favela Rap Collective Challenges Racism and Stigma"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas\"\"<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOur rap is a discussion, an idea, an exchange,\u201d says the first track on Anti\u00e9ticos<\/a>\u2019 new mixtape, \u00c9tico Molotov<\/a><\/em>. Three \u201cinterview\u201d tracks are woven through the album and serve as a mission statement for the rap collective.<\/p>\n

‘Anti\u00e9ticos’ translates literally to ‘unethical,’ but the idea behind the collective’s name\u00a0is not about \u201ca lack of ethics or unscrupulous people,\u201d the group explains on its website<\/a>. Rather, the name is meant to represent a challenge to \u201cthe standard ethos imposed by society\u2014the group that controls the world today<\/a>\u00a0will see us as transgressors, nonstandard<\/a> because we endanger their sense of comfort.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a rap group of three from different favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Anti\u00e9ticos seeks to promote love in the black community while denouncing racism<\/a> and violence<\/a>. They contest norms by breaking down society\u2019s racist conception of the black community as interchangeable with violence and drugs, especially in their hometown of Rio.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Our rap] isn\u2019t moralism, it isn\u2019t ordering anyone to do anything. The ultimate purpose is to tell the black community to empower themselves to the maximum, study, live well, take care of themselves. That\u2019s it. Everything we do is for love. For our people,\u201d says Fl\u00e1vio Villar Vieira, or Fr\u00e1vio SantoRua the poet, on the interview track.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Although the collective wouldn\u2019t officially become the complete Anti\u00e9ticos until 2012, the group’s beginnings go back to when Fl\u00e1vio Villar Vieira, or Fr\u00e1vio SantoRua the poet, and Thiago Costa, or Thiago-Ultra the MC, first met in high school and discovered a shared interest in rap\u2014specifically an interest in the themes of racism and stigma<\/a> towards the black community which rap music explored.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started to see how things worked. The behavior of black boys and girls in school,\u201d says Fl\u00e1vio, sitting with Thiago and William at Complex Esquina 111 in Ipanema, a bar where they often meet and play music. \u201cRap was saying [race and stigma] was because of this and that and we thought, do you really think that\u2019s what it is? So we started to observe [these themes] and we started to discuss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe decided to create something in school to expose this type of reflection,\u201d Fl\u00e1vio continues. This \u201csomething\u201d took many different forms in the beginning, from a school magazine to a large study group held in a shopping mall.<\/p>\n

After two years of holding discussion groups, the pair decided that this type of reflection wasn\u2019t as open as music and art could be<\/a>, and returned to rap. It was at this time that they crossed paths with William in class at the Rio State University (UERJ) and formed Anti\u00e9ticos.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis dude here,\u201d Fl\u00e1vio says, pointing to William and chuckling, \u201cfound us and said, \u2018I want to be a DJ.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was crazy,\u201d William explains, laughing. \u201c I would get music from Thiago\u2019s blog, but I didn\u2019t know him. And then I met Fl\u00e1vio in college\u2026 and it was really funny, because I told him exactly that, without knowing [the relation], that I wanted to be a DJ. So he said, then be [our] DJ!\u201d<\/p>\n

The group released its\u00a0first virtual mixtape in 2012\u2014Antes que as estrelas se apaguem<\/em> <\/a>(Before the stars turn off)\u2014and in December 2014 they released Etico Molotov<\/em> as their second, both virtually and on CD.<\/p>\n

Anti\u00e9ticos produce their music completely independently with the help of family and friends. The group buys and records its own CDs, and William\u2019s brother does the cover design for the CD, as well as the design for their website. The group trades its CDs for hugs.<\/p>\n

For Fl\u00e1vio, William, and Thiago, meeting up is not always so easy. Fl\u00e1vio comes from Complexo do Alem\u00e3o<\/a> and Thiago from Iraj\u00e1<\/a>\u2014both in the North Zone<\/a> of Rio but over an hour apart traveling by public transportation<\/a>. William comes from Vila Kennedy<\/a> in the West Zone<\/a>, about two hours by bus from Fl\u00e1vio and Thiago.<\/p>\n

However, when asked how the distance impacts their collective, they all agree that despite the extra travel time it makes their group and their music stronger.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be from different favelas is symbolic,\u201d says Fl\u00e1vio. \u201cHere in Rio, there\u2019s a war between [drug] factions. In some places, you can\u2019t go to other favelas. There\u2019s a lot of separation. So I think our\u00a0being from different communities symbolically breaks this illusion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are three black guys who have grown up in different places, have lived different lives, with different families, but when we talk about the police, it\u2019s the same thing. When we talk about hospitals, about services, it\u2019s the same thing. When we talk about the pain of our mothers, it\u2019s the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group members explain that by coming\u00a0from different favelas, they have been able to \u201cobserve different sides of this reality,\u201d thereby strengthening their discussions. At the same time, Fl\u00e1vio says, \u201cit is a reality that is the same for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are three black guys who have grown up in different places, have lived different lives, with different families, but when we talk about the police, it\u2019s the same thing. When we talk about hospitals, about services, it\u2019s the same thing. When we talk about the pain of our mothers, it\u2019s the same thing.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Anti\u00e9ticos<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of hate in the black community since the first Africans \u2018arrived\u2019 here\u2026since the beginning of domination,\u201d says Fl\u00e1vio. \u201cWe die every day. In our community, every day there is death. Today, what time is it? Four? 86 blacks probably died today\u2026from hunger, from thirst, from sequelae, killed by someone, killed by the police<\/a>\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, the city of Rio is chaotic, racist, cruel\u2026 If we can survive in this place, if fewer people die tomorrow, if there can be a little more love, then we\u2019re doing something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Anti\u00e9ticos continues to hold study groups, the members’ primary discussions now take place though their music: \u201cOur goal [at our shows] is to leave everyone on the same vibration,\u201d says Thiago. \u201cWe speak with people in a different language, a different way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes at our shows, we\u2019ll talk and people cry,\u201d says William. \u201cThere are people who laugh, there are a lot of different reactions. Crying or laughing, or whatever their reaction is, it\u2019s important to them in that moment\u2026 That\u2019s what music does.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Antieticos<\/a><\/p>\n

The group is very excited by the response they\u2019ve\u00a0received. \u201cWe\u2019re known as the group that trades mixtapes for hugs\u2026 We\u2019ve met people in the pharmacy, on the train, in Lapa, hugging us, saying, ‘I want a mix tape!’ And this is so cool!\u201d says William.<\/p>\n

For Anti\u00e9ticos, music is all about the collectivity of their communities: \u201cOur main objective is to bring people together in the same space,\u201d says Fl\u00e1vio. \u201cFrom there, they create more discussion, they create relationships, force, life\u2014they create love. Which is what it\u2019s all about.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas \u201cOur rap is a discussion, an idea, an exchange,\u201d says the first track on Anti\u00e9ticos\u2019 new mixtape, \u00c9tico Molotov. Three \u201cinterview\u201d tracks are woven through the album and serve as a […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":24390,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1288,1268,1284,329,1329],"tags":[1361,662,258,32,221,382,1628,1370,37,103,1189,1809,1403,453,30,612,21],"writer":[1677],"translator":[],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-24052","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-highlight","8":"category-favelaculture","9":"category-interviews-profiles","10":"category-solutions","11":"category-by-international-observers","12":"tag-endfavelastigma","13":"tag-afro-brazilian-culture","14":"tag-community-solution","15":"tag-complexo-do-alemao","16":"tag-favela-culture","17":"tag-hip-hop","18":"tag-iraja","19":"tag-music","20":"tag-north-zone","21":"tag-profile","22":"tag-racism","23":"tag-rap","24":"tag-solution","25":"tag-stigma","26":"tag-urban-violence","27":"tag-vila-kennedy","28":"tag-west-zone","29":"writer-gabriela-weldon"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24052"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=24052"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=24052"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=24052"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=24052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}