Our Q&A with Emicida

Emicida & Thiago Beats Freestyle by Creators Project Brasil

We headed down to Loud Studio, in the east side of São Paulo, to catch up with creator Emicida while he warmed up for a freestyle session with beatboxer Thiago Beat that you can listen to above. His latest release, which features contributions from beatmakers and producers from across Brazil, is being put together in his newly inaugurated HQ Laboratório Fantasma – an apartment in the north of the city that takes its name from his independent label. Here’s what he had to say about all the hype.

The Creators Project: What stage are you in with the new mixtape?
Emicida: We’re putting down the vocals now. Thank God. We’ve been doing all-nighters, I reckon it’ll all be done by Wednesday.

Cool, how many tracks are done so far?
Now? Five! (Laughs)

Where are you recording the vocals?
We’re doing them at my friend Felipinho Tixaman’s place. He’s got really good gear there, it’s where we did the first mixtape. I’m gonna do a few things down here in the studio with Felipe Vassão, the producer behind Triunfo.

Who came up with the beats for these tracks?
There’s a track by a guy called (André) Laudz, one by Casp, and another by a kid from São José dos Campos called Skeeter. This guy’s been coming up with some amazing stuff, he was blown away when we said we were gonna use his beats. And there are tracks by Renan Samam too.

How many tracks will there be on the new mixtape?
We’ve locked ourselves away over the last couple of weeks — intensive style. We’re coming up with new material and clearing out some of the old at the same time. A lot of completely new tracks have come together since the last session. Now we’re going through the painful process of choosing which ones to scrub – not everything’s gonna fit. There’ll be plenty left for the next round.

As with the EP, on the first mixtape you seemed to pursue various themes, either discussing one subject in a number of ways, or providing a panoramic view of your own story using a variety of different sounds. Have you taken a similar approach for this mixtape?

I think what really defines this new mixtape is a return to roots. There’s a phrase of mine I like to use; “We have to take it back to the beginning.” This is what I’m after right now and the mixtape has been giving me the freedom to do that. It’s a really fast process, you go into the studio, record, and you put it out within a month. The themes are everything I’ve been through, market trends I’m not into, and things that have happened to rap. Some people disagree, but I reckon we’re living in the Golden Age of rap in Brazil at the moment, and I don’t want to see it pass me by, you know? All of this has come together in this second mixtape. Clearly it’s a continuation of the first, a second chapter, but I was looking to change the focus a little too, find new ground. I talk about stuff I’ve never addressed before, say a lot about religion, but through my own eyes, the way I see it. It’s more faith than religion really. There’s a track called “Santo Amaro da Purificação” (St. Amaro of the Purification) which is beautiful, with music from Casp. It is really different from anything I’ve done before. My aim is to break the mold. It’s like making films or writing books, you’re going to say something from your perspective, and even if it’s underground you still want people to understand it. I like going through experiences, and then telling stories about the things I’ve seen and lived through. I’m gonna keep on like this, it’s just that now I’m more grounded and I really know where I’m at. I can’t be a kid waiting for it all to fall on my lap anymore, you know? Not anymore, not now that there’s a demand.

You have a refreshing perspective on the music market. Do you ever feel down and think, “I need to write a hit?”
No. I think it’s crazy when a track gets hit-listed on the radio, I’m looking to build on something a lot more solid than a one-off track that gets played all summer long. At the same time, I’m not saying I wouldn’t like a slice of that action, it’s just that what brought me here in the first place was something altogether different, and to stop what I’m doing now to head off in that direction….It’s not me, I never made music as a means to an end. The people who have followed me and stuck by me and who have gotten into my music, they’ve done so because of the spontaneity, because of the right I have to be free inside and open my heart. I’ve lived through this and I’m transforming these experiences into rap. Thank God a lot of people have been able to understand this and identify with it. I’m kind of against this thing of rapping in clubs and building a career out of it. I don’t have much faith in clubs – they have a pretty short shelf life. I believe more in radio. No one keeps going to clubs for 20 years, apart from the people who work there. And I still want to be around in 20 years.

Who do you dream of working with?
I’d love to be able to write with Paulinho da Viola. Him and Wilson das Neves are guys I listen to every day, there’s a purity in their music that…I’d love to be close to. Even just being around those guys would make me happy. I met Wilson das Neves’ manager and she said that he likes me. I was blown away (smiles). I still don’t believe it.