BUALA

Ricardo Farinha – Hip-Hop Tuga, a Portuguese cultural phenomenon

I think it was really a mixture from the beginning but black teenagers from all the African ex-colonies, marginalised people, recognised themselves in the lyrics of American groups that talked about racism and social injustice, which they experienced in the US. But since the beginning, white kids that were in school with these black communities liked the music, the attitude, the aesthetic and began to rap. So, it was a mixture from the beginning. General D, the first rapper to release an album in Portugal has Mozambican origins, for example. Nelson Neves, who is an important person in the film, was the one who brought the music from Paris because he spent vacations there, and he's the son of Cape Verdean parents. In Rapública you have white artists like Líderes de Nova Mensagem, which was a band that had black and white musicians, rappers and DJs, and they're from Almada.

Face to face

13.07.2025 | by Graham Douglas