Tribe against the machine
October 28, 2020

Brazilian tribes playing rap and metal for their rights

Kae Guajajara

Indigenous people of Brazil are taking a stand against the government and violations of their overlooked rights with music, combining urban music with their ancestral music. Singer and composer Kaê Guajajara merges hip-hop, traditional instruments and elements from her mother tongue Ze’egete to talk about her indigenous identity. The most prominent Indigenous rapper is 19-year-old Kunumi MC, a native of the Guarani people, who talks "against everything happening to the Indigenous peoples in Brazil now". São Paulo band Androyde Sem Par blends pop and rock in Guarani-inflected songs. A political message is also the first ingredient in indigenous heavy-metal band Arandu Arakuaa's music. The Guardian tells the important story.