Before Portuguese rapper and producer Emicida had even recorded an album, his infamous YouTube rap battles had already become internet sensations. His improvisational background and highly energetic performance sets, as seen above at our São Paulo event last summer, have enabled him to sell out concerts and gain the favor of Brazilian media after only two years in the game. As part of our creative partnership with Coachella, we’re bringing in some of our favorite international acts, and the lineup wouldn’t be complete without Emicida. We sat down and talked to him about his Coachella expectations, current side projects, and his new controversial music video.The Creators Project: How did you react when you got the news about being invited to Coachella?
Emicida: I had heard of Coachella before so I was like, ‘Hmm, that´s a big festival.’ (worried face) I’m not so much feeling the emotion of ‘winning.’ It’s obviously an achievement, but it’s still a gig, more of a responsibility than just an accomplishment that massages my ego. ‘Ah, now I’m a cool friend of Kanye West.’ (laughs) It’s not like that. I'll be seen by many more people in this giant festival. The challenge is to remain relevant among the giants.You think the big acts will overshadow your performance?
I think so, because regardless of language, I believe what I do is very emotional. I’m putting too much faith in this opportunity to let the feelings speak for themselves. I’ll try to break the language barrier.Will you rap in English too?
Surely. It´s a golden opportunity that I have. (laughs) If I do not do it there, I cannot do it anywhere else.Who do you want to see at the festival?
I looked at the list, but do not remember everyone who was on it. (laughs) Kanye West, Cee Lo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, A-Trak …In addition to Coachella, we hear that you want to do a lot of music videos in 2011, is that true?
I want to, because I´ve been very interested in this video thing. I have the idea of making a movie–a feature film. I still have no script, but I've read comics my whole life, so if there’s one thing I have in my head it is this idea. I’ve been doodling some stuff, but it is still in the very beginning stages. I spoke with a company that makes films seriously and they agreed, like ‘Yeah we lack things like this,’ so I’m tempted. There are no rap films in Brazil, there are only documentaries. To be honest, documentaries are boring–it´s good for us who are there performing, but they’re not even popular.But before the feature film, we´ll see some music videos, right?
We have the ambition to make eight to 10 clips, but this takes some money, you know? We started with “Rua Augusta” and already have another video on its way. We didn’t even realize how the shoot for “Rua Augusta” was going to touch us. We followed the lives of some call girls for four days. We went to their house, slept, and lived there. We took what the song says, and filmed it from another viewpoint. It depicts the lives of the girls from when they wake up, as they’re brushing their teeth, taking care of their children, and being harassed by the neighborhood.In the video, when Rosana (the girl we filmed the longest) goes out onto the road, the neighbors close their windows, when she steps onto the sidewalk, everyone goes inside. And this is bizarre because the scene was recorded in Vila Mimosa, a neighborhood known for prostitution in Rio de Janeiro. Everyone there is somehow involved with that, but the entire neighborhood has this attitude. I had already seen the neighborhood before I wrote the music, but it´s a different story to be there with her. She says she started working when she was 17 because her mother took her to a brothel to make money. Then, along with her sister, their mother sent them to Spain to be sex slaves. Guys would say to her that if she ran away, they would kill her. The intention of shooting at Vila Mimosa was to show that this is not a situation unique to São Paulo. The lyrics are not specific to Rua Augusta, just the title. Prostitution happens everywhere in the country, in the world.
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Emicida: I had heard of Coachella before so I was like, ‘Hmm, that´s a big festival.’ (worried face) I’m not so much feeling the emotion of ‘winning.’ It’s obviously an achievement, but it’s still a gig, more of a responsibility than just an accomplishment that massages my ego. ‘Ah, now I’m a cool friend of Kanye West.’ (laughs) It’s not like that. I'll be seen by many more people in this giant festival. The challenge is to remain relevant among the giants.You think the big acts will overshadow your performance?
I think so, because regardless of language, I believe what I do is very emotional. I’m putting too much faith in this opportunity to let the feelings speak for themselves. I’ll try to break the language barrier.Will you rap in English too?
Surely. It´s a golden opportunity that I have. (laughs) If I do not do it there, I cannot do it anywhere else.Who do you want to see at the festival?
I looked at the list, but do not remember everyone who was on it. (laughs) Kanye West, Cee Lo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, A-Trak …In addition to Coachella, we hear that you want to do a lot of music videos in 2011, is that true?
I want to, because I´ve been very interested in this video thing. I have the idea of making a movie–a feature film. I still have no script, but I've read comics my whole life, so if there’s one thing I have in my head it is this idea. I’ve been doodling some stuff, but it is still in the very beginning stages. I spoke with a company that makes films seriously and they agreed, like ‘Yeah we lack things like this,’ so I’m tempted. There are no rap films in Brazil, there are only documentaries. To be honest, documentaries are boring–it´s good for us who are there performing, but they’re not even popular.But before the feature film, we´ll see some music videos, right?
We have the ambition to make eight to 10 clips, but this takes some money, you know? We started with “Rua Augusta” and already have another video on its way. We didn’t even realize how the shoot for “Rua Augusta” was going to touch us. We followed the lives of some call girls for four days. We went to their house, slept, and lived there. We took what the song says, and filmed it from another viewpoint. It depicts the lives of the girls from when they wake up, as they’re brushing their teeth, taking care of their children, and being harassed by the neighborhood.In the video, when Rosana (the girl we filmed the longest) goes out onto the road, the neighbors close their windows, when she steps onto the sidewalk, everyone goes inside. And this is bizarre because the scene was recorded in Vila Mimosa, a neighborhood known for prostitution in Rio de Janeiro. Everyone there is somehow involved with that, but the entire neighborhood has this attitude. I had already seen the neighborhood before I wrote the music, but it´s a different story to be there with her. She says she started working when she was 17 because her mother took her to a brothel to make money. Then, along with her sister, their mother sent them to Spain to be sex slaves. Guys would say to her that if she ran away, they would kill her. The intention of shooting at Vila Mimosa was to show that this is not a situation unique to São Paulo. The lyrics are not specific to Rua Augusta, just the title. Prostitution happens everywhere in the country, in the world.