The brothers and Alcina
The singer who emerged in the '70s with a powerful voice and irreverent repertoire has embraced rap music, recording two tracks on the debut CD of the rap group Júri Popular
Rodrigo Faour
17/04/2001
The brothers and Alcina, who would have figured? Having been away from recording studios for 15 years (her latest release, the independent Bucanera, came out in 1992), Maria Alcina reduced her appearances to scattered concerts in the city of São Paulo. But now she recovers her breath in different areas. The singer has just recorded two tracks - Júri de Periferia and Todos Me Seguem - on Júri Popular's (a rap group from São Paulo) debut CD, due next month.
Immortalized in fun songs like Fio Maravilha, Kid Cavaquinho and Alô, Alô!, Alcina regards the new challenge as natural. She claims to have met with the rap group by chance. "I was talking to an agent friend of mine about how I enjoy the rap movement in São Paulo. He said he was working with Júri Popular and introduced me to the brothers, who eventually invited me to record one track for their album. It turned out so great that I ended up recording a second track", she explains, pointing out that her style has always been based on spoken word, as the rap itself.
United in attitude
"The rap movement reminds me of the '70s because there is a lot of attitude. I belong to a generation that made music while the military dictatorship was in high gear. Although I had a more playful repertoire, I also had a social connection to my music. And even singing uplifting songs, I faced censorship problems due to my libertarian posture (read article). Since I have always combined music with attitude, rap music has helped me position myself again, both as a person and an artist. I totally connect to those groups' lyrics. What's amazing, though, is that the guys in Júri Popular are as old as my career. They have never seen me onstage. I think that's great", she cheers.
The singer also enjoys the sounds of rap. "I get very excited, because it's all about black music. The guys are very inventive, music-wise", she praises. Willing to recover her place in MPB, Alcina is preparing to make a new solo album, with songs by Bahia-born songwriter Gerônimo (writer of the hits É D'Oxum and Eu Sou Negão). "He has this wonderful Latin soul. I'm his number-one fan! But working with rappers has fascinated me so much that, if it works out, I would like to make a full album with Júri Popular."
Rapper claims that singer has what it takes
Junior, one of the members of Júri, reveals that when he gave Alcina the lyrics for the first song they were supposed to record, he didn't figure that the result would be so surprising. "At first, when the producer suggested that we record with Maria Alcina, we didn't know if she would fit our style. But the recording turned out ten times better than we expected. She incorporated the rap thing. That powerful voice gets even stronger in rap", he says.
There are two options for the title of Júri Popular's debut CD. It will either be named Todos Me Seguem or Rota 66. The latter is the name of one of their songs, inspired by journalist Caco Barcelos' book, which reports on the trajectory of one of the biggest killers in the police department of São Paulo. "We write about true stories. I reckon many rappers stick to emotion and forget all about reason. They swear and accuse, but they don't know who they are swearing at or accusing. Our raps don't have a lot of bad words, we want to set the record straight. If anyone asks us about any of our lyrics, we can explain exactly what we are talking about", shoots Junior.
The public can expect this to be at least one of the most curious releases to come out in 2001.
Immortalized in fun songs like Fio Maravilha, Kid Cavaquinho and Alô, Alô!, Alcina regards the new challenge as natural. She claims to have met with the rap group by chance. "I was talking to an agent friend of mine about how I enjoy the rap movement in São Paulo. He said he was working with Júri Popular and introduced me to the brothers, who eventually invited me to record one track for their album. It turned out so great that I ended up recording a second track", she explains, pointing out that her style has always been based on spoken word, as the rap itself.
United in attitude
"The rap movement reminds me of the '70s because there is a lot of attitude. I belong to a generation that made music while the military dictatorship was in high gear. Although I had a more playful repertoire, I also had a social connection to my music. And even singing uplifting songs, I faced censorship problems due to my libertarian posture (read article). Since I have always combined music with attitude, rap music has helped me position myself again, both as a person and an artist. I totally connect to those groups' lyrics. What's amazing, though, is that the guys in Júri Popular are as old as my career. They have never seen me onstage. I think that's great", she cheers.
The singer also enjoys the sounds of rap. "I get very excited, because it's all about black music. The guys are very inventive, music-wise", she praises. Willing to recover her place in MPB, Alcina is preparing to make a new solo album, with songs by Bahia-born songwriter Gerônimo (writer of the hits É D'Oxum and Eu Sou Negão). "He has this wonderful Latin soul. I'm his number-one fan! But working with rappers has fascinated me so much that, if it works out, I would like to make a full album with Júri Popular."
Rapper claims that singer has what it takes
Junior, one of the members of Júri, reveals that when he gave Alcina the lyrics for the first song they were supposed to record, he didn't figure that the result would be so surprising. "At first, when the producer suggested that we record with Maria Alcina, we didn't know if she would fit our style. But the recording turned out ten times better than we expected. She incorporated the rap thing. That powerful voice gets even stronger in rap", he says.
There are two options for the title of Júri Popular's debut CD. It will either be named Todos Me Seguem or Rota 66. The latter is the name of one of their songs, inspired by journalist Caco Barcelos' book, which reports on the trajectory of one of the biggest killers in the police department of São Paulo. "We write about true stories. I reckon many rappers stick to emotion and forget all about reason. They swear and accuse, but they don't know who they are swearing at or accusing. Our raps don't have a lot of bad words, we want to set the record straight. If anyone asks us about any of our lyrics, we can explain exactly what we are talking about", shoots Junior.
The public can expect this to be at least one of the most curious releases to come out in 2001.