Criolo celebrates the strength of Brazilian peripheral music and envisions next steps in his career [ENTREVISTA]

“The strength of music made in the outskirts of Brazil is something that cannot be explained and is unique in the world,” says Creolewhen celebrating his (almost) 35 years of career in the first edition of The Town. Kleber Cavalcante Gomes, his birth name, will take the stage this Saturday (2) The One alongside colleagues from planet hempcurrently formed by Marcelo D2, BNegão, ants, Peter Garcia It is Nobru.

It is the first time the artists perform together. They even shared the stage — at the 2022 Multishow Awards — but only to present “Dystopia”, the band’s comeback single. However, Creole guarantees that the invitation is not restricted only to the recent partner.

Criolo reinvents himself in Sobre Viver: “I sing about the social abyss that we live” [EXCLUSIVA]

I would never have thought to invite them, because they are so huge. […] It goes beyond just making a song together. A lot of things I can’t verbalize, mainly my joy in going up on stage with planet.

In this month, in which hip-hop completes 50 years of existence, Creole talked to Rolling Stone Brazil about the rapprochement with the musical genre, after a time focused on exploring his proximity to MPB and samba in his last works, and of course – the strength of the genre that was, and still is, in a certain way, considered subversive in the music scene and is by weight on the first day of The Town.

2023 is a year of many milestones: you are about to complete 35 years of career, this month hip hop celebrated its 50th anniversary, and you are part of the lineup of the first edition of The Town.

Looking back, how does it feel to see where you’ve come, with the opportunity to sing alongside colleagues and partners in rap – a genre that was, and still is, somewhat, considered subversive in the scene?

Creole: Almost four decades is a lot, isn’t it?… The feeling I have is that the power of music made on the outskirts of Brazil is something that cannot be explained and is unique in the world. Rap comes with mannerisms from the outside, but when it arrives in this territory, it has the way, the taste, the smell, the accent and the heart of someone from here. In particular, Brazilian rap is completely different, with all these offshoots of African drumming. When we talk about trap, funk… it’s African drums.

These ramifications of our diaspora, understanding our ancestry, feeling without even having had the opportunity to understand that it exists, that it is yours and that it makes you stronger… explains itself and makes you feel good, and you want to continue bathing in this music from Brazil. So there are many things that cut us off and bathe us if we think about this peripheral Brazilian music.

Not only with the beauty of its sound and its different way of proposing joy, but also for everything it carries, the reasons for the importance of building art in these territories. Which leads us to be even more creative. All this strength that is within young Brazilians, joining a portion (somewhat overwhelming) that are not in need and that suffer from this nation building, create an environment where need strengthens creativity – and creativity helps to overcome the needs. And to see all this gaining more and more space, especially in events like the The Townit is wonderful.

The influence of African nuances is something very visible in Survive[último disco de Criolo]. On the stage of The Towndo you intend to show this relationship?

Creole: It’s not even pretense, it’s inside me. And not only in me, but in all the people who work and go on stage. At the The Town, we want to let out a little of that love and joy that is to be Brazilian. And, without a doubt, this goes through religiosity. That our religiosity does not go over the religiosity of the other. Our faith does not doubt the faith of the other. But yes, we take joy in sharing all that love. So, in a natural and serene way, this will flow into this presentation.

Still about the disc,Survive it has a very theatrical quality, which goes back to the roots of rap. Would you say this is something you intend to explore in your sound going forward?

Creole: [SobreViver] it happened that way. I didn’t even notice. We are living, breathing the emotions and seeing how to divide it into an album. Each song has a very intimate reason, this construction takes place with a lot of emotion… this other look that you brought me is something unprecedented, a perspective that I have never seen. But I think it’s because I really allowed myself, I let emotion show the direction.

When that happens, we do something that’s not so glued to what they’re doing or what the industry tells us to do. We do what the heart asks and then the different layers emerge. That’s also why it’s so important that, as far as possible, every person who likes an artist or a band listens to a new project – because it can bring a mosaic, as you brought me, that someone wouldn’t see if they listened to just one track.

From the beginning of his career until now, you’ve had a huge change, from the composition to the rhythm. After almost ten years, you “returned” to rap with Survivebut here I want to ask about samba: what did this genre represent in your musical development?

Creole: Most of my life was spent in favelas. In the favela you listen to rap and samba since you were a child, so both genres have always been with me. My father is passionate about martinho da vila, Benicio de Paul, Leci Brandaoand mainly Elza Soares. My mother is very passionate about Raul Seixas, Ney Matogrosso – which are more romantic songs. And all of this was part of my musical training and, consequently, of my development as an artist.

What we had on that three-channel television was just soap opera themes. And before, there was a concern to make good music, even for an advertisement for tomato paste. And this is all part of my musical literacy. At some point in life, any of these memory boxes will be activated and I’ll think about producing an album about I don’t know what.

This change is not about emollating a situation, exploring what is happening now, but visiting this fertile source of feelings and emotions within us. The Brazilian is total music, we all have a history with music. Obviously rap will always be very strong for me. At the age of 11, I understood that I was capable of writing a poem, a verse. But it’s a little bit of that and a little bit of other things… and time has led me to change, naturally. The next album I don’t even know how it’s going to be, what it’s going to be… but, when it’s going to be, it’s going to be my way.

We talked about your future musically, and since this interview is for Rolling Stone, I have to ask: what have you been listening to lately?

Creole: The last disc of the rashid and the Jussara Marçal I liked it a lot. Tássia Reishas the staff of AVAILABLEa young pianist named Jonathan Ferr which is really worth knowing. Milton Nascimento, “A hug“, of Caetano Veloso,and the first disk Arthur Vecorai never leave my playlist.

But what I’ve been following a lot are the freestyle battles, the Aldeia battle. JP, Magrão, Kant, Neo… there are so many incredible artists.

And what can you say about spoilers in your presentation of The Town for Rolling Stone?

Creole: With great pleasure, the spoiler that I can pass on to you is that you will go on stage with me: DJ Dan Danthe master Maurício Badé (Pernambuco), the multi-instrumentalist Bruno Duarte (São Paulo) and the maestro Edson Boni (São Caetano do Sul, SP). The three are trained in Brazilian percussion and their training instruments. I highlight this space for the musicians because without them, this show would not happen. It will not only have my universe on this stage, but the universe of five musicians.

And a glimpse of his future in music and even Kleber (individual). With 4 Grammy nominations, a collection of incredible partnerships: Milton Nascimento, Ney Matogrosso… what does your heart still beat when we talk about dreams?

Creole: Be alive. In Brazil, the first big dream is to be alive, then how is this life. We struggle to live with quality and sometimes it takes a lifetime, and we don’t achieve it. Even without understanding what the condition of this living is, it is to remain alive and with dreams alive.