Oh, SHIT! I get the lyrics now…so what?

I have been a hip-hop fan my whole life, I cannot think of a single moment during my existence in this realm where hip-hop was not an integral part. Do not get me wrong, I absolutely enjoy a multitude of musical genres and there were times in my life where some people might define me as an *insert any other genre* fan. Yes, I love R&B, Soul, Blues, Jazz, Reggae, and somewhere down the line I would blast Heavy Metal even when I was outside the gym, but before anything else, I am a Hip-Hop fan!

There´s another thing I have been my entire life, and that´s being Brazilian. I understand that Americans’ vision of Brazil and its culture is totally biased and it’s not remotely close to how it actually is and now that you are aware of my nationality you’re probably thinking I’m writing this with my feet touching the beach sand, wearing a floral shirt while I enjoy the sunlight and take a sip of coconut water. While at this very moment I wish that were true, I can guarantee you that it is not.

I only brought these two facts of myself to light because as a Brazilian Hip-Hop fan I do know the culture is American by tradition and definition, but there’s one crucial aspect that most hip-hop fans from countries around the globe don’t get to fully experience: the brilliance of the lyrics. While English is the world’s chosen language for business the majority of its population don’t even know how to speak it, out of the 195 countries in the world only 67 of them consider English an official language, and only four actually use it as de-facto one. Brazil is not one of those 67 countries, in fact, there is only about 10% of Brazilian citizens that can understand it and for more than half of my life I was a part of the not-so-fortunate 90%.

Even without the comprehension of anything that was said in records during the 2000s I found myself in love with the beats, with the movement, style, and confidence portrayed by its artists. While I passed by my early teenage years I dressed like 50 Cent, had dreadlocks like Lil Wayne, copied every dance move from Soulja Boy and Chris Brown, and told everyone that wanted to hear — and those that didn’t want too — that Eminem was the best rapper to ever do it. I write these statements sarcastically not because I think that Marshall Mathers is not one of the best to ever write a bar and record it on wax, even if now I probably have him much closer to top 20 than to top 5, but because I did all of that without even understanding a word that they said.

As I got older, I got the privilege to learn English and my taste started to shift. Out went Waka Flocka and Lupe Fiasco took its place instead, while Brazilian radios only played the hip hop songs with pop and dance appeal, I gravitated to the old school and underground acts. I started to study the greats and gain an appreciation for them that I would never have if I could not understand their lyrics.

Curiously enough when I knew how important the lyrics are to the genre, I went back to Brazilian Hip-Hop acts and found a greater appreciation for local artists and how the stories they told were closer to my reality. Like most things in the entertainment business, American outputs still command most of my attention but acts like Djonga, Rincon Sapiencia and Don L will always bring my focus back home.

While it’s always been a hot topic, in these past years it was possible to observe the argument of ‘mumble rap’ against lyricism grow, trap against boom bap, mainstream against underground, copycats against originality. The name of the debate doesn’t matter, all of them are talking about the importance of the lyrics in a song for the hip hop community.

While I tend to have my preferences of artists, I started to reflect on what the culture meant to me as a child that only spoke Portuguese. So yes, do defend your favorite artists and listen to the aspects of hip hop that you’re more attracted to. Just remember that for most of the world hip hop is not about what they are listening to, is about what they are feeling when they are doing it.

Hip hop’s most important aspect is its energy.