Felipe Maia

|GRAMMYs/Oct 7, 2024 – 09:02 am

Hip-hop in Brazil has always been women’s turf. From pioneers like Dina Di to mainstays such as Chris SNJ, Kmila CDD, and Negra Li, female rappers have never put the mic down since first grabbing it in the early 1990s.

Yet, despite the steady growth of Brazilian hip-hop in the last decade, women are often overlooked compared to their male counterparts — some of whom lack the skill but still enjoy the fruits of fame.

This dynamic is common in many countries, such as the U.S. and England. But, like Megan Thee Stallion and Ice Spice, Brazilian rappers are rewriting the game. In recent years, names like Ajuliacosta and Tasha & Tracie have made a mark on the country’s hip-hop scene; their solid releases fueled by sharp rhyming and performances loaded in artistry. These artists run a wide gamut of subgenres, exploring sounds as much as their lyrical horizons. Social issues, racism, sex, love, and anti-LGBTQ+phobia — there’s a lot in their lyrical arsenal.

Read more: A Timeline Of Brazilian Hip-Hop: From The Ruas To The Red Carpet

Read on for a selection of women in Brazil’s diverse hip-hop scene, a world that melds together baile funk and trap, southern beats and grime, traditional chants and fast bars. Continuing the tradition of resistance while reshaping the present and future of Brazilian hip-hop, these artists keep the mics and bars high.

Ajuliacosta

Hailing from Mogi das Cruzes, in the outskirts of São Paulo, Ajuliacosta is amongst the most relevant names of Brazilian hip-hop today. Her laidback flow and sharp pen are a statement against a rap scene used to praising ordinary speed-flow and pointless braggadocio. 

AJC has performed at several festivals since her debut, 2023’s Brutas Amam, Choram e Sentem Raiva. On that record, Julia moves swiftly through her personas: the loving demoiselle, the saddened girlfriend and the merciless OG. All of that is filtered by the perspective of an independent Black woman from a favela whose flow slides on bars and reiterates words to make them stronger. Self-titled a chavosa (stylish) majesty, she sings in “Queen Chavosa”: “The hussle, it’s us. The support, it’s us. The sponsor, it’s us.” 

Anna Suav

Suav is a stylized writing of “suave,” the Brazilian Portuguese word for “smooth.” Indeed, Anna Suav’s voice can be quite soothing, with words that caress the listeners’ ears through her R&B-laced hip-hop. But Anna can also play the warrior, a fierce bar-spitter who proudly shouts out her region, the Amazon rainforest.

On “Dengosa & Brabona” — a Jersey bounce joint released in last June featuring brega funk (a variant of baile funk) MC Rayssa Dias — Anna transforms the rapid beats into a soulful bed for her warm vocals. In “Levante,” alongside fellow Northern rapper Bruna BG, she declares: “From where we come, there will be more.” 

Indeed, over the past decades, artists hailing from the Amazon region have been claiming more space and recognition in the South-centered Brazilian music industry. Female hip-hop artists like Anna Suav, Bruna BG, Nic Dias and Nega Ysah are leading the front. 

Áurea Semiséria

Born and raised in Salvador, Bahia, Áurea is one the most versatile contenders on the rise. Her concise, but purposeful catalog showcases an artist unafraid to bend rap according to her taste. Where spitting rhymes over the modern, percussion-laden strain of samba known as pagodão or going all-out on grime beats, Áurea wastes no bar. “My flag is black, my voice is a shotgun,” she fires in her performance in the YouTube channel Brasil Grime Show.

With the mic in hand, she not only claims a space for her own music but also for Bahia’s hip-hop scene. The state, home to Brazil’s largest Black population, has birthed several prominent rap acts, including Opanijé, Afrogueto, and Vandall.

Bione

Whether acting, writing, performing on theater stages, or improvising in an Instagram video, Bione embodies the versatility and sharpness of rap. A remarkable alumna from Slam das Minas PE — one of Brazil’s most influential poetry slams — Bione is a multifaceted talent who explores hip-hop through various forms. 

Born and raised in Pernambuco, a northeastern state celebrated for its cultural richness from literature to music and carnaval, Bione first arrived on the scene in 2019. On her 2022 debut album, Ego, Bione collaborated with Mãe Beth de Oxum, a pillar of local Black traditions, and fresh voices from brega funk. On the track “Deixa as Garota Brincar,” she boldly declares, “[The male rappers] tried to make me afraid of them, but now they’re afraid of me.”

Duquesa

Duquesa, which translates to “duchess,” is the title young Jeysa Ribeiro chose for herself when she set out to claim her spot among Brazilian rap royalty. She is certainly living up to the name: In just a few years, the rapper from Bahia has risen from an impromptu first performance at a book release event to becoming one of the most recognizable names in Brazilian hip-hop. Her success is underscored by her nomination for Best New International Artist at the BET Awards 2024.

Whether spitting bars over a fast-paced drill beat or gliding smoothly over an R&B groove, Duquesa embraces both the blessing and the responsibility of her growing reputation: “I don’t have time (…) I’m worried about getting rich this year, everybody’s asking me about my next release,” she sings in “Turma da Duq” (“Duq’s Crew”). Her career is guided by the legendary Mano Brown, leader of the iconic Brazilian hip-hop group Racionais MCs, a weighty association she handles with ease — her talent speaks for itself.

Ebony

Showing off an impressive style of grandiloquent bars and melodic, yet corrosive prosody, Ebony is a name that should not be forgotten. She has released two albums in the past three years, Visão Periférica (2021) and Terapia (2023) and has remained a significant presence in the hip-hop conversation. Whether through her clever pen in singles and features with up-and-coming names such as Urias and Carlos do Complexo or her talent for engaging in fiery debates within Brazilian hip-hop, she has stayed relevant.

One such debate she ignited herself in late 2023 with “Espero Que Entendam.” The track is a powerful diss aimed at the top-tier male rappers in Brazil, and produced in collaboration with producer Larinhx, and their male-dominated hegemony: “I told them I have bars/if I start to spit them, they will be shocked,” she rhymes.

Slipmami

Showing off a Slipknot t-shirt on her TikTok account, flaring neon-colored laces on a music video, and keeping her fancy nails always sharp, Slipmami won’t go unnoticed. And clothing is just a piece of the puzzle she brings to the table. The Rio de Janeiro rapper is a blend that only hip-hop could create: a cross-pollination of anime characters and precise, lascivious lines.

Her 2023 debut album, Malvatrem, is a fierce statement from a girl who knows what she wants — both in bed and in the streets. She rhymes over finger-snapping beats, dirty South jams, baile funk drums, and grim chords. Whether on tight tempos or loose trap vibes, Slipmami spares no bars and no one.

Tasha & Tracie

Brazilians of Nigerian descent, twin siblings Tasha and Tracie have been stirring up  Brazilian street culture for a couple of years. They first emerged into the hip-hop world in the mid-2010s as bloggers who praised Brazilian favela sartorial style as much more than a trend — it was a lifestyle. They were right, and in 2021 they brought their life experiences to music with their debut, Diretoria.

The album sent shockwaves through Brazil’s hip-hop scene, showcasing a duo that could deliver abrasive lines and mellow double entendres, straightforward jabs, and clever wordplay. Since then, the sisters have kept their pen and mic busy via features and collaborations, such as the gritty “Drop da Santa”—a nod to São Paulo favela kids who wear Santander/Ferrari garments exclusively.

This multiyear project brings together scholars, artists and students from Duke, North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and the Federal Rural University in Rio de Janeiro to investigate key forms of activism and cultural organizing that reaches Black and poor youth in urban Brazil. In 2023-2024, the team focused on exploring and inventorying the educational techniques developed by Instituto Enraizados to encourage defense of rights and active citizenship. 

In August of 2023, several members of the team traveled to Rio de Janeiro to meet Black female politicians and participated in a Black Women’s March as well as work closely with local partners at the Instituto Enraizados and the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro. The team produced two films about the visit that have since been shown in classrooms and events.

During the academic year, the team learned the historical and methodological foundations of community organizing oriented around hip hop in contemporary Brazil and collaborated on a range of outputs, including:

1. Public-facing events such as a panel during a week of activities celebrating 50 years of hip hop
2. Two conference presentations
3. The translation of an article by one of the team’s Brazilian collaborators
4. A ten-day visit by Dudu de Morro Agudo, the founder of Enraizados and creator of the RapLab methodology

During the visit, Dudu and team members presented at a conference in Asheville, North Carolina, met with local rappers in Durham and spent two days with Montu Miller on the Hip Hop Scene in Athens, Georgia to visit a high school and an ambitious training center for youth, and participate in a monthly open mike event with 120 participants.

The team also worked closely with Dr. Kisha Daniels from the Program in Education to support Duke students who learned the RapLab methodology and implemented it at a public Durham middle school. Dudu joined the students on two successive Fridays, the second to record their songs. One team member produced a short documentary about the collaboration.

In June and August of 2024, team members will travel to Brazil again to begin the next phase of collaborative work, including widening the research focus to include activism and culture in the Baixada Fluminense that relates to and extends beyond the hip hop pedagogies that were considered in this project.

São Paulo, October 2, 2024 – Netflix announces today the special guests participating in Rhythm and Flow: Brazil, its first Brazilian musical reality show. The lineup features prominent names from the rap scene, which is growing in the country, celebrating established artists and creating opportunities for newcomers.

The show will include 20 artists from the Brazilian scene: Azzy, Bob13, Dallas, Dexter, Ebony, FBC, Iza Sabino, Jottapê, Karol Conká, KL JAY, Laudz, Marcelo D2, Maru2D, MC Luanna, Negra Li, N.I.N.A, Sidoka, Vulgo FK, WIU and Zegon. Each will support the artistic growth of the new crop of rap and trap artists taking part in the competition. 

Rhythm and Flow: Brazil is the Brazilian version of the US show Rhythm & Flow. With an authentic, documentary style, the reality show will follow the artistic growth of the participants throughout the competition and will crown a rising star on the Brazilian rap and trap scene. The winner will receive R$ 500,000 to launch their career as well as a spot on Season 5 of Sintonia. 

Serving as judges are Djonga, from Belo Horizonte; Filipe Ret, from Rio de Janeiro; and sisters Tasha & Tracie, from São Paulo. Following the same format as the US, French and Italian versions, the reality show is shot in the three judges’ hometowns, with a focus on the places that impacted their careers — Viaduto Santa Tereza (in Belo Horizonte), Tavares Bastos and Lapa (in Rio de Janeiro) and Cidade Tiradentes (in São Paulo). Rapper and songwriter Kamau hosts, with beats by the fierce DJ Miya B.

Rhythm and Flow: Brazil is an Endemol Shine Brasil production, directed by Cacá Marcondes and co-directed by Fábio Ock and Maristela Mattos.

About Netflix 

Netflix is one of the world’s leading entertainment services, with 278 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, films and games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can play, pause and resume watching as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, and can change their plans at any time. 

About Endemol Shine Brasil

Endemol Shine Brasil is a division of Banijay, the world’s largest producer and distributor of independent content. Endemol Shine Brasil creates and produces reality, scripted, and documentary content for all platforms. Its catalog includes both domestic and global hits it has produced and distributed, such as MasterChef, The Masked Singer, Canta Comigo, Rolling Kitchen, Love is Blind, The Bridge Brazil, Queen Stars Brazil, Big Brother Brazil, No Limite, Xuxa – A Life on TV, and more. It also produces branded content for all platforms, for brands such as Cabelo Pantene, Ilhados com Beats, Onix Music Trip, TeleKwai, and more. With more than 300 licensed products and digital initiatives, Endemol Shine Brasil also specializes in brand licensing, creating dynamic multi-platform strategies and content for brands and channels.

Just to give you an idea, Spotify announced in 2023 that Brazil was its 3rd largest market for hip-hop streams1, a genre accounting for almost a quarter of the platform’s total. And in Brazil, where every major city and every region has its own musical style, urban music is no longer limited to hip-hop alone: trap is mixed with pisadinha, baile funk, inherited from Miami Bass, comes in an infinite variety of forms, and R&B flirts with Musica Popular Brasileira… 

To help you discover the incredible depth of Brazilian urban culture, here’s a selection of some of its most representative new artists, with whom Believe has the pleasure of working.  As always, turn the volume up, it’s going to be tudo bem!

CRYZIN 

Just over a year ago, Cryzin burst onto the Brazilian scene with ‘Mais Existe Um Lugar’. Going viral in just a few days on social networks, the track, mixing trap and R&B, in duet with Kaio Viana, quickly climbed into the Brazilian Top 50 and into all the local rankings of streaming services. A year later, the video has over 30 million views and the remix just as many; while the original and sped-up versions have racked up over 64 million listens on Spotify.

Since that first hit, Cryzin hasn’t really rested, having released over a dozen singles, remixes and collaborations in 2023. And the Salvador native already has several tracks to his credit since the start of the year: ‘Adrenalina’, ‘Meu Primeiro Milhão’ (which also has its own remix and sped-up version) and ‘Sexta Hoje & Aonde’, a very soaring trap sound released last April. These tracks were co-composed with his regular producer Noémie Leal, since in addition to singing, Cryzin can also handle the keyboard and guitar. And by the way, Meu Primeiro Milhão also happens to be the title of his recently released first album. 

With that work ethic, there’s absolutely no doubt that Cryzin will continue to surprise the Brazilian scene in the months to come.

GREGO 

Although he grew up surrounded by sertaneja music, it was rap that launched Grego‘s career. In early 2023, Grego released “Pagou Pra Ver”, his first single in a very modern trap style. He went viral on Brazilian social networks singing an extract from his 4th single “Indomável“, a trap track with a minimalist electro beat.  But it was piseiro that brought Grego luck.

Extremely popular in north-east Brazil, where Grego is from, piseiro is a music genre that borrows from other very Brazilian styles such as forró and baile funk, and features synthesizers and drum machines. After releasing several hip-hop songs, Grego surprised everyone in October 2023 with ‘Pane No Sistema‘, a piseiro track that became an instant classic, quickly entering the top 10 most listened-to tracks in Brazil on Spotify, and racking up millions of views on YouTube (81 million at time of writing). Grego ended 2023 with a debut album, also called Pane No Sistema, featuring other Piseiro hits such as ‘Bricando com Fogo’ and ‘Então Vai’.

At the beginning of March 2024, Grego did it again with ‘Goteiras‘, a new rap track with a baile funk rhythm. There’s no doubt that Grego is at ease in every genre and is sure to surprise us again this year!

DJ MATT-D

DJ Matt-D is what you might call a precocious artist, having produced his first tracks as early as 2013, only aged 14 years old. He trained hard on his own, experimenting with different musical genres. By 2016, he was sharing online his own productions and remixes in genres ranging from electronic music to trap and baile funk.

It’s thanks to this trap-funk fusion that he became popular. In 2020, he released ‘Homenagem aos Relíquias‘, a trap-funk prod featuring several singers from the new generation of funk who pay homage to the genre’s classics. The track went viral in a matter of days, ranking among the 50 most listened-to tracks on YouTube Music in 2020. And definitively revealed him as a producer. Since then, DJ Matt-D has never stopped producing for himself or other artists on the funk scene.

On Spotify, where he has over 4 million monthly listeners, several of his tracks exceed tens of millions of streams, including ‘Tipo Gringa‘ and ‘Peças de Griffe’ with Menor MC. ‘Pandora‘ and ‘Novidade na Área’ even go past 180 million. Among his tracks released in 2024, ‘Acendo o Beck’ and ‘Cena de Filme‘ have already passed the million stream mark. And who knows, he might well become one of the decade’s most emblematic producers!

OS GAROTIN 

All hailing from São Gonçalo, the young members of Os Garotin are already seasoned musicians. They met in 2019 and regularly played together alongside their solo careers. It wasn’t until 2023 that Os Garotin became a reality, when Paula Lavigne, companion of the legendary Caetano Veloso, convinced the artists, who had been attending open workshops at the home of the maestro of Brazilian music, to form a trio.

They soon released Os Garotin Sessions, a first EP recorded live, mixing samba, bossa, R&B, soul and funk (not baile funk this time). An immediate success! Not only do the tracks ‘Queda Livre’ and ‘Zero a Cem’ top the million marks in YouTube views and Spotify streams, but the EP is nominated for awards such as the Prêmio Multishow 2023 (TV Globo) and wins the Prêmio Potências (Billboard). October saw the arrival of Só vem, a second EP in the same spirit.

2024 got off to a flying start with the success of ‘Nossa Resenha‘, an MPB-tinged single featuring their godfather Caetano Veloso, which is also featured on their 3rd EP Mais Una Historia de Amor released in February. Early May, AntchieX, Cupertino and Leo Guima released their debut album OS GAROTIN DE SÃO GONÇALO and they will get it on the road soon!

G.A 

Although he’s seen as one of the promising new artists on the Brazilian rap and R&B scene, the name of G.A name has been circulating in Brazilian hip-hop circles since as early as 2016. And when he released his first single ‘Missaõ‘ in 2020, G.A already had a small amount of notoriety acquired thanks to his multiple participations in Batalha da Aldeia and Batalha do Vila, rap battles filmed in public and broadcast on YouTube.

The Itapevi native already had a wealth of experience before launching his recording career. His audience grew as his singles were released, but two of them were very successful: firstly, ‘Contagem‘ in 2022, a trap and R&B track; then ‘Paladar Infantil‘ in 2023, another trap and R&B track, whose video clip climbed to 10 million views on YouTube.

This late March 2024, G.A released his debut album Sua Vez de Escutar, still exploring that trap/R&B mix and inviting some big names from the local scene like Menor MC and Vulgo FK. The album passed the 5 million Stream mark in less than 2 weeks on Spotify, and reached number 66 in the Brazilian Top 200 album chart on Spotify. An already successful year for G.A!

MARQUINHO NO BEAT

Even if he has managed to rack up no less than 5 million monthly listeners on Spotify, mainly because he has produced tracks for many of Brazil’s hottest hip-hop artists, Marquinho no Beat is a rather discreet person about whom very little is actually known.

Quite astonishing when you consider that several of Marquinho’s tracks exceed 100 million listens on Spotify alone. And that he has several diamond certificated songs. For instance, he is behind Contradições, the latest Kayblack’s EP, one of the most listened-to projects on Spotify in Brazil in 2023. He also produced the track ‘Larga Essa Vida‘ by MC Luanna, selected for Spotify’s “Best Of RADAR 2023” global playlist. In 2023, Marquinho No Beat released the album Intenção, a musical calling card on which he invites loyal collaborators and stars of the scene: KayBlack, CJota, MC Menor and many others.

Marquinho No Beat has been very productive in 2024’s first months: in addition to the Você Sabe album with emerging rapper Jamal KMG, he has released no less than six singles. Released at the end of March, the trap track ‘Arquivos’ with Azzy and Cave reached 120K views in less than a month. He’s well on his way to dazzling us for the rest of the year!

The five nominees for Best Portuguese Language Urban Performance reflect the diversity of Brazilian music. Listen to the nominated works and tune in to the 2023 Latin GRAMMYs on Nov. 16.

The Latin GRAMMYs have introduced three new categories to the awards this year in order to recognize an ever broader spectrum of Latin culture: Songwriter Of The Year, Best Singer-Songwriter Song, and Best Portuguese-Language Urban Performance. The new category for urban music in Portuguese nods to the force that Brazilian music has become on the world stage.

Portuguese urban music is a broad category, encompassing funk carioca and other uniquely Brazilian genres as well as hip-hop and rap, or a fusion of urban genres with other styles. Collectively, the five 2023 Latin GRAMMY Nominees who are up for the honor of Best Portuguese-Language Urban Performance represent this diversity in Brazilian music. The artists nominated are: Àttøøxxá and Carlinhos Brown (“Da Favela Pro Asfalto”), GIULIA BE (“Aviso De Amigo”), Iza (“Fé”), Planet Hemp Featuring Criolo (“Distopia”) and Filipe Ret with Caio Luccas and Dallass (“Good Vibe”).

The 24th Latin GRAMMY Awards will be held on Nov. 16 in Sevilla, Spain. Learn about the nominees for this new category, then don’t miss the broadcast on Univision at 8 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. CT).

Àttøøxxá Featuring Carlinhos Brown – “Da Favela Pro Asfalto”

This nomination is a first for Afro-Brazilian fusion group Àttøøxxá, who recruited the vocal gifts of fellow Baiano, Carlinhos Brown for the party jam “Da Favela Pro Asfalto,” off their recent album Groove. It may be their first Latin GRAMMY nom, but Groove is their fourth album and the quartet is well-known for simultaneously bringing cosmopolitan hip and retro cool to pagodão, the Bahia-bred style that dominates their sound. On the come up for a little while now, they brought some of their pagodão seasoning to Anitta’s “Me Gusta,” in 2020.

This is a significant moment for Àttøøxxá and their genre. Guitarist Chibatinha said in a statement, “This nomination is a celebration of black music. ‘Da Favela Pro Asfalto’ is a significant song because it brings together two generations of Bahia music and to be chosen by world critics to compete gives this work another weight.”

GIULIA BE  – “Aviso De Amigo”

Giulia Be is a chart-topping, multihyphenate singer-songwriter and actress from Rio de Janeiro who earned her second Latin GRAMMY nomination with the song “Aviso De Amigo.” The offbeat, bedroom funk tune with the eyelash-fluttering lyrics from her 2022 debut album DISCO VOADOR, may be more indoor-voice than some of her made-for-arenas pop bangers but its sophistication and confident pacing makes it a standout.

Giulia’s career is white hot right now. Last year’s nomination was for Best New Artist. In 2022, she also starred in the hit Netflix drama Depois Do Universo and, on a lighter note, saw DISCO VOADOR album track “pessoa certa hora errada” become a viral TikTok hit.

Iza – “Fé”

Backed up by a gospel-inspired chorus, a samba trio, and clubby hip-hop beats, Iza tells her story and sings about what keeps her going on “Fé,” the 2022 single that brought her a second Latin GRAMMY nomination. Her first nomination came just last year when her critically successful debut album Dona de Mim put her in the running for Best Portuguese Language Contemporary Pop Album. (This year, she followed Dona de Mim with AFRODHIT.)

Iza knows about the hard work and struggle she describes in “Fé.” Before signing with Warner Music Brasil, the singer, songwriter and dancer worked as a video editor while she built her following by posting cover songs on YouTube.

Planet Hemp Featuring Criolo – “Distopia”

Rio de Janeiro rap-rock legends Planet Hemp have been making music (and problems for the authorities) since 1993. A lot has happened since their formation. The group has survived tragedy, been arrested for advocating marijuana use, broken up and reunited. Current and former members such as BNegão and Black Alien have gone on to be known as rappers and musicians beyond the band. Collectively, Planet Hemp had enough laurels to rest on for the foreseeable future, but the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro spurred the members to action.

In 2022 they returned with Jardineiros, their first studio album in more than 20 years. Despite the long hiatus, the release found them in top form and joined by collaborators such as superstar rapper Criolo, who gives lead single “Distopia” its powerful chorus.

Filipe Ret with Caio Luccas and Dallass  – “Good Vibe”

Moody, dim trap beats and meandering lyrics with shades of funk proibidão made Filipe Ret a diamond-certified star. Producer Dallass crafted quite a few of those beats for the Carioca rapper over the course of their careers, however, when the two regular collaborators made “Good Vibe” something else entirely happened. The track, which appears on 2022’s Lume, feels light, dreamy, maybe even sunny. Vaporwave synths brighten the typically gloomy corners and everything seems to float on clouds of reverb.

What could bring on such good vibes? Well, it’s a song about a girl. Love seems to have put Ret and rapper Caio Luccas in the mood to look on the bright side. It’s working for t

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Acts around the globe are shifting away from imitating American artists, creating an audible international shift toward sounds that are truer to location. Read on for five countries with distinct hip-hop scenes worth checking out.

Tamara Palmer

|GRAMMYs/Dec 12, 2023 – 06:16 am

Fifty years since the recognized beginning of hip-hop culture in the United States, its beats, rhymes and life have been inspiring artists and doing serious business around the world. These days, though, there’s an audible international shift away from imitating American acts and producing sounds that are truer to location.

“Overall, we’re definitely seeing the decline of the dominance of rap music on a global scale,” notes Nima Etminan, COO of Empire. Headquartered in San Francisco, Empire is included among Billboard’s 2023 International Power Players and has offices in New York, London, South Africa and Nigeria. An experienced A&R executive, Etminan is originally from Germany and frequently works from each base to scout and sign talent.

What is working, Etminan has noticed, are emergent international styles that may count rap music and hip-hop culture as ingredients or influences. Artists around the globe are breaking new sonic ground, whether it’s Puerto Rico’s Bad Bunny rapping and singing, or the hip-hop appeal of the corridos by Mexico’s Peso Pluma.

“I think that the essence of African American culture when it comes to talking and dressing and stuff is definitely still there, but it’s just less because [America has] less global influence,” he says. ” Now everybody kind of has their own local scenes that are bigger. So the American stuff still plays into it, but just on a much smaller scale because they have their own heroes and their own superstars who are big that they are looking up to.”

With all that in mind, GRAMMY.com asked Etminan and other global music minds to recommend international rap scenes that are worth watching now.

Brazil

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In November, Brazilian hip-hop artists made a big impression at the 2023 Latin GRAMMYs. Planet Hemp and Criolo were the first to win the inaugural award for Best Portuguese-Language Urban Performance with their song “Distopia.” They were nominated alongside three other Brazilian rap acts worth watching: Luccas Carlos, Dallas and Filipe Ret.

Empire, which is both a record label and distributor, just hired its first employee in Brazil. The company has good reason to watch and invest in this region.

“I think Brazil is one of the fastest rising areas,” says Etminan. “I think as far as their own sound and culture that’s really big but hasn’t exploded outside of that yet, and hasn’t had mainstream success yet, it’s probably Brazil.”

Read more: A Timeline Of Brazilian Hip-Hop: From The Ruas To The Red Carpet

France

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French rap music may not be on the radar of the average American fan, but France is the second largest market in the world for hip-hop — behind only the United States.

“Take a look at the country’s Top Spotify lists and it’s strongly dominated by domestic artists in the genre who come from Paris, Marseille and from various regions across the country,” notes Alexandra Greenberg, the U.S. consultant for CNM (Centre national de la musique), France’s national music office. “The country also has Les Flammes, an international awards show celebrating rap going into its second year this coming April.”

Paris-based hip-hop journalist and author Epée Hervé Dingong suggests becoming acquainted with the likes of Ninho, an MC of Congolese descent influenced by American Southern rappers, who recently collaborated with Lil Baby. Dingong also pointed to Booba, who has had three NO. 1 albums and eight other Top 10 releases in France since his 2002 debut.

“Booba is not new,” says Dingong, who is working on a book chronicling the history of the hip-hop mixtape, “but he is still the king.” 

Nigeria

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The world’s embrace of Afrobeats originated with Nigerian artist Fela Kuti, who was likened to be the James Brown of Africa. Current Nigerian superstars who are poised to eclipse that success internationally, like Burna Boy and Olamide, have grown up under the influence of the Kuti family (including Fela’s recording artist sons, Femi Kuti and Seun Kuti) and the allure of American rap.

Ahead of the 2024 GRAMMYs, the Recording Academy introduced a new category of Best African Music Performance, reflecting the continent’s current breakthroughs in the North American music business. And a remix of “Sittin’ on Top of the World” by Burna Boy featuring 21 Savage is one of the nominees for Best Melodic Rap Performance in 2024. Fellow nominees in the category are “Attention” by Doja Cat, “Spin Bout U” from Drake & 21 Savage, “All My Life” by Lil Durk feat. J. Cole, and SZA‘s “Low.”

Though these artists are beloved around the world, the worsening economic climate in Nigeria has made it challenging for them to succeed at home, explains Etminan.

“The inflation in Nigeria was so crazy this year,” he says, “and the Nigerian currency lost so much of its value, so a lot of the money these artists were making was devalued at the same time. So that’s stuff that plays into [their ability to work at home and] that’s really tough. And that’s outside of anyone’s control, you know?”

Read more: 2024 GRAMMYs: How The New Best African Music Performance GRAMMY Category Is A Massive Win For The World

South Africa

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A&R executives like Etminan are still heavily focused on the talent and potential in South Africa, though the man who was arguably the biggest star in the South African scene with the most international appeal lost his life in 2023. AKA, an MC who was the top-selling South African hip-hop artist of all time, was shot and killed in Durban in February when his career was still on the rise. He was 35.

Presently, South Africa gets the most attention globally for amapiano, which takes influence more from house music and the more local kwaito music from the Nineties, but there is a growing cooperation and collaboration with the South African rap world. Like most specifically rap scenes, South Africa’s is male-dominated, but a notable exception is Nadia Nakai, an Artist Of The Decade nominee at the South African Hip-Hop Awards and reality star in the Netflix series Young, Famous & African. Nakai and her contemporaries reflect an aspirational lifestyle in their music.

England

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“The UK market for a long time was very tough,” says Etminan, adding that the market is small, saturated, and generally concentrated around London. “Especially when it comes to hip-hop, a huge percentage of the Black population in the UK is centered around London and once you leave London it’s very white.”

Hip-hop with an English accent may not have had as much success catching on internationally as other UK-bred styles like drum & bass and grime have, but a current set of stars are demanding the world’s attention.

“I think Central Cee is probably a perfect example of what can happen,” Etminan adds. “Everybody loves Central Cee and I don’t know if part of it is his look — he’s very racially ambiguous, he’s good looking, girls love him. He makes music that obviously has a UK accent and stuff like that, but it’s very adaptable and catchy. I feel like Central Cee is probably the one that I hear played the most from people that just listen to regular American rap music [in England].”

Central Cee won two 2022 MOBO Awards for Best Male Act and Video Of The Year for his song “Doja,” which was directed by Cole Bennett, the popular Chicago video director from Lyrical Lemonade. He celebrated his 25th birthday in 2023 with the release of Split Decision, a joint project with Mercury Prize-winning English rapper Dave, also 25 and a still-rising star who appeared on the UK series “Top Boy” (which became a US hit for Netflix). Cee is also bridging countries with collaborations such as “Eurovision,” a song and video featuring rappers and producers from France, Spain, Italy and across the United Kingdom. 

The timeline of Brazilian hip-hop leads to the 2023 Latin GRAMMYs, where several Brazilian hip-hop artists are nominated in the inaugural Best Portuguese-Language Urban Performance: Planet Hemp, Criolo, Filipe Ret, Luccas Carlos and Dallas.

Felipe Maia

|GRAMMYs/Nov 15, 2023 – 07:27 am

“Going downtown back then was like going to NY with all the lights, the buildings,” said Brazilian artist Mano Brown in the 2022 documentary Racionais MC’s: From the Streets of São Paulo.

In the 1970s, Brown was only known as Paulo, a teenager from one of the harshest favelas at the outskirts of the 20 million person Brazilian metropolis. Then taking baby steps into hip-hop — a brand new form of music-making — Brown could barely imagine becoming one of the most relevant figures in national culture. Nor would he dare to say that Brazilian hip-hop would go big on a global level.

There are three new categories at the 2023 Latin GRAMMYs, the inaugural award for Best Portuguese-Language Urban Performance. Among its nominees are two mainstays of Brazil’s hip-hop today: the ’90s rap-rock staple Planet Hemp’s collaboration with São Paulo sambista-rapper Criolo, “Distopia”; and Rio trapstars Filipe Ret and Luccas Carlos, along with top-tier producer Dallas, featuring “Good Vibe.” 

Brazilian hip-hop has walked a long, rocky road from the tough favelas and skyscraping downtowns to the 2023 red carpet in Seville, which will host the 2023 Latin GRAMMYs on Nov. 16. It’s a story of many acts, a wide range of beats, clashes with the establishment and Black pride, genre-hopping creativity, and unstoppable endurance. As with samba and funk, innovative artists reinvented and reshaped the culture of hip-hop, claiming it as their own.

Follow through the decades of Brazilian hip-hop’s rise and and press play on some  hallmark song from the country’s artists below: 

Brazilian Hip Hop is a genre of music that combines elements of traditional Brazilian music with hip hop. It is characterized by its heavy use of samples, scratching, and other hip hop production techniques. It often features socially conscious lyrics that address issues such as poverty, racism, and inequality. It is also known for its upbeat, party-oriented sound, which often incorporates elements of funk, reggae, and samba. Brazilian Hip Hop has become increasingly popular in recent years, with artists such as MCs Nacao Zumbi, Racionais MCs, and MV Bill gaining international recognition.