With the collection of albums, the project helps to preserve the history of national rap

Archive was born in a week of celebrations for the culture of rap and national hip hop

6, the designer and communicator Giovanna Venancio launched the National Rap ArchivesProject dedicated to documenting the diversity of Brazilian rap. The site is a space designed to preserve the history of national rap, through a collection of albums published in each state.

Work is the result of seven months of research and aims to help strengthen and expand the scope of national rap, as well as to evaluate the pioneers of culture in the country. The central idea is to be a collective project, allowing the public to suggest albums and projects to be added to the collection.

Born in Osasco, the city of Greater San Paolo, Giovanna lives today in Arthur Alvim, east of SP. Working with communication, talks about rap on its social networks since 2019 and states that the idea of the archive has had the missing documentation more covered by the genre.

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The post shared by Giovanna Venancio (@gxvs_)

According to the designer, the rap spotlights are still very centered on the SP-Rio axis. “When we talk about rap collections, we are very concentrated on the scene of San Paolo and Rio and ends up forgetting other states. We have very large and important artists in the north -est of the country, for example. I felt the need for a specific curator at national level,” he says.

The site is structured in three parts: the first is the “meeting”, which presents a map of Brazil with recent versions of the genre in each state. Clicking on an album, the visitor is brought to a video on Giovanna Instagram telling more about that version and also on the work page on Spotify or YouTube.

The designer produced the entire project independently, doing the research work practically alone, with some punctual aid. “I had the support of a musical producer and DJ of Piauí, Dj Viana. He is very thorough in the music scene in the north -est and gave me the feeling of looking more there,” he says.

Giovanna states that the lack of specialized media of rap and recorded records were the greatest difficulties in finding artists in the regions where culture has gained strength later. “The media of these places do not talk about these artists and the rap scene is almost not existing. But I thought:” There is and must be somewhere, “he adds.

Through the file, you can see how rap has become a national movement over the years. While the first album in San Paolo is from 1988, with the album Street Hip Hop cultureFrom the duo Thaíde and Dj Hum, in Rio Grande do Norte, for example, the first is 2010: with SHOT SEGNOby the artist Mc Pigiguissa.

The creator of the project also highlights the difference in the rap styles of each region. “It is very nice to have this research to understand the peculiarities of each state. In Bahia, for example, rappers in the past two years are using a lot of Bahiana Pagoda, which is a very strong genre there,” he says.

Female presence

Historically, rap is a masculinized musical style, with artists who received little importance, especially in the early years when culture was founded in the country.

Giovanna says that, like regional evolution, you can see the number of rappers that grow over time. “At the beginning, there in 1990, we see an naturally male scene. Then there are important characters such as Black Li and Sharylaine, these figures arrive over time. We arrive in 2025 and we see more women artists in underground,” he explains.

The designer states that the only limit imposed on the entry of artists into the collection was the history of violence against women, for example accusations of aggression.

“I am a woman. It is a scene that many, even great artists, have some controversial problems. This is the only thing that I don’t feel comfortable to get closer to the site. There will be some artists, especially underground, who will not enter,” says Giovanna.

Month of celebrations

The project wins the world in a week of hip-hop celebrations. The file was launched on August 6, the date, since 2009, the day of national rap is celebrated.

Already on 11 August the birth of hip-hop culture is celebrated. The date celebrates the birthday of a party organized in 1973 by DJ Kool Herc and his sister Cindy Campbell in the Bronx district of New York. The party is considered Marco Zero and the beginning of what would later become one of the most popular cultures in the world.

Giovanna sees the project as a thank you to the rap culture. “Rap is my life. It formed my character when I was younger, he made me know the people and work together too. I see the National Rap Archive as a contribution to the scene that welcomed me. I say this gift to rap so that it is transmitted and propagated in Brazil,” he says.

The designer says that he does not call the site file, precisely because he sees new possibilities for the future. “I want to do it as an application, to introduce a biography for each artist, put other streaming platforms. The documentary is also my will. There are many documentaries on rap, but nothing so concentrated on the national scene”, concludes.

Source: Terra

Earl

Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.