Abstract
This paper reports the ethnographic study on the MC's Duel, held on Friday nights, since 2007, under the overpass of Santa Teresa in the city of Belo Horizonte. The event brings together each week an audience of about 500 people around manifestations of Hip Hop culture. In the main attraction of the night, four pairs of MCs duels in rounds of one minute. The audience, comprised mostly of young people from different social classes, chooses the winners by shouting and clapping. Offstage, the event is marked by the growing conflict between the organizers and the government, but the audience enjoys warmly and peacefully. On stage, the duels are marked by improvised raps, filled with expressions of violence. At the end of each duel, the MC’s greet each other , making it clear that here the violence is confined only to the word’s game. The MC’s Duel is a spectacular practice where the human coexistence becomes rich in diversity, conflicts and contradictions. Where music and performance of duelists allow us to interpret the life of the city, marked by social inequality and the search for affirmation of identity through cultural events.
Original language | Unknown |
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Publisher | UFRGS |
Place of Publication | Porto Alegre |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2012 |