Closing women’s month, meet five artists who are gaining prominence and becoming a reference in the musical and literary circuit. The list includes singers, DJs and artists who work hard to consolidate their careers — despite living in an often sexist scenario.
Here are five women to follow and follow their work on the networks:
DJ Sophia
“We women have too much information, because we are autonomous creators, and I believe that we already know how to produce our own businesses. But I believe that what is really lacking is the financial incentive for the projects we want to produce,” says DJ Sophia, 21 years old, who has appeared in the main rap events in São Paulo.
As a DJ since 2015, Sophia has played alongside Jazzy Jeff on the “Boiler Room” channel —the main YouTube channel for DJs in the world—, is a beatmaker and currently shares the stage with Karol Conká.
“On the other hand, we black women, and especially those from the favela, have access to some line-ups of events, and concert halls, but we know how much this unfeasibility still exists on the part of producers. of hiring women in these spaces, and a lack of pro-activity on the part of producers so that we are not only able to be in the same spaces, and on the same dates”, says Sophia.
Gabriellê
“For us, women artists and peripherals, we often find no other solution or path than to start producing ourselves and managing our careers, so that they take us seriously. An issue that this generates is the overload we have to handle all the demands that the market imposes, and we end up without time or energy to create, express ourselves artistically”, comments singer and songwriter Gabriellê.
Winner of the musical reality show “Sobe Junto”, produced by Budweiser, Gabriellê is from Jabaquara, in the south of São Paulo, her songs go through different styles of Brazilian black music, always based on hip hop.
“Our presence still needs to be naturalized in prominent places, without being an exception. Hiring the show of these artists who go against a patriarchal and racist tide, when it comes to black and indigenous women, is more than necessary, it is urgent. And that’s not just in the month of May or November, but throughout the year, because that’s what keeps us going”, says the singer.
In addition to the stages, Gabriellê works as an educator in social and cultural projects. In 2019 she released the singles Fúria e Sede, in 2020 the music video for Oxitocina and is currently working on the production of her first album.
Thata Alves
“I think that assertiveness in managing women’s sensitivities is to map which of them have the language for writing public notices. Public notices always bring a bureaucratic language, which means that women from the periphery do not know how to deal with this textual behavior”, says multimedia artist Thata Alves, who transits between video, performance and poetry. “I believe it is one of the most incisive barriers for women to be able to understand the opportunities to frame their projects for funding.”
In 2016, Thata Alves gathered her verses and published them independently titled “Em Reticências”. In 2017, he launched his second literary work, the book “Troca” and in 2018, in the children’s field, based on the experiences of his twin sons, Bryan and Brenno, he launched the book “Ibejis – Poesias do meu vento” — the trilogy is released by the Academia Periférica de Letras label.
In 2021, the poet launched the memory game “Baobá é Memória”, with cards inspired by Orixás. The toy is ideal for parents and children who want to cultivate a culture of black ancestry in the family. In addition, it also aims to provide children with intuitive and unconscious learning about the Orixás.
Indy Naíse
“There is a lack of greater financial investment in projects that are led by women, especially black women, so that we don’t need to seek income in various jobs outside our language to survive, in addition to having to find time to focus on our careers”, says the Indy singer. Naíse.
From Juazeiro, Bahia, and based in São Paulo, Naíse began her career in 2014, and in her first year on stage she was awarded first at the Ala Guarujá Music Festival as the best singer in all categories of the event.
“Most of us don’t have a team, a support network, that believes and works together. And even when we do, we often can’t remunerate them fairly, due to the lack of this breadth of opportunities within the market, which is mostly male and white and that always favors the same names”, says Naíse.
In 2021, Naíse released the visual EP “Esse é Sobre Você”, with her own executive production, musically produced by rapper Rincon Sapiência and directed by Yasmin Olí. The album had the participation of Drik Barbosa and D’Ogum
Renata Prado
“We need good opportunities, in addition to actively listening to people who are in leadership positions!”, that’s how Renata Prado, who is the creator of the Academia do Funk project and is part of the Black Coalition For Rights, thinks.
“It is necessary for people to understand the creative process of professionals from the periphery, who use their respective experiences to enhance art within an industry that wants to talk about peripheral art, but that does not understand its subjectivities, such as the lack of access to education for quality, structure for the production and professionalization of his art”, says Prado.
In addition to being a dancer and choreographer, Prado was one of the creators of the Frente Nacional de Mulheres no Funk. Organization that discusses public policies for women through activities, allowing thematic dialogues, discussions about feminism and creating an agenda to combat sexism in funk.
