“We are sons of the ghetto, we are sons of immigrants, sons of Cape Verde”: aesthetics, anti-racism, and engagements in Creole rap in Portugal

Throughout decades, rap music has been central to the construction of an anti-racist discourse in Portugal. With songs denouncing police violence, social exclusion, colonial legacy and racism, black rappers from the peripheries of Lisbon play a vanguard role in the fight against racial oppression, particularly those who sing in Cape Verdean Creole. Supported by digital devices and networks, these young people build circuits of sociability and musical production that promote an insurgent aesthetic capable of challenging their imposed subordinated status. This paper focuses on the relevance of rap in making the problem of racism visible in the Portuguese society. Using different qualitative researches, we analyzed lifestyles, lyrics, access to digital networks and the engagements of rappers in the anti-racist movement.

Keywords:
Creole rap; Black youth; Racism; Aesthetics; Portugal