Applauded by an audience that filled the three auditoriums of the Unicamp Convention Center, the Racionais MC's were welcomed at the University on Wednesday night (30). The rap group participated in an open class, sharing their trajectory in music, activism and protagonism for the positive affirmation of black identity.
“Today we cannot say that the game is won, that the favela won. It's not that. But we are moving forward, we are in progress. I'm very excited about what I've seen, with the young people. Some testimonials here, the way they speak and express themselves, is really brilliant”, said Mano Brown, reacting to one of the questions addressed to the group.
In addition to Brown, KL Jay and Ice Blue were at the event. The group Racionais MC's, founded in 1988, is also made up of Edi Rock. At Unicamp, the three members present answered questions from students of the subject "Special Topics in Anthropology IV: Racionais MC's in Brazilian Social Thought", taught by professor Jaqueline Santos, from the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences (IFCH). The open class served as the conclusion of the course.
The group also received a tribute from the students, who told their life stories and the connection between their trajectories and the Racionais songs. One of them was Guilherme Santos, a History student, who, like several of the other students, left Brown, Ice Blue and KL Jay emotional.
“If, before, for the white majority, this was home, for us, from the moment the teacher puts you in here, this also starts to become home for us. Whether we like it or not, it keeps our student dreams alive. As you once said, 'you have to believe that the dream is always possible'.”
Another striking testimony was from Inácio da Silva, a Social Sciences student, who declared: “My father was imprisoned for more than ten years, when he came out he was killed. My mother was incarcerated for five years, when she left the prison system she was also killed. Racionais MC's educated me, beyond studies [...], in life. Because when I had crazy ideas, I heard Mano Brown saying 'calm down, wake up, think about the future'”.
The complete report on the open class with the Racionais MC's, produced in audiovisual and text, will be published soon on Unicamp website and in the channel of Unicamp TV. Follow us!
