Epic orality in Emicida and Rashid

Abstract

The article aims to investigate epic traits in RAP based on two significant contemporary albums of the genre: O Glorioso Retorno de Quem Nunca Esteve Aqui by Emicida (O Glorioso [...], 2013) and Movimento Rápido dos Olhos by Rashid (Movimento [...], 2022). In them, the narrative aspect is evidenced through autobiographical data, storytelling, graphic animation, and other resources. This nature of the style is explained by its affiliation with hip-hop culture, of Afro-diasporic origin, and harkens back to the epic nature of African oral poetry, as attested by theorists like Paul Zumthor and Ruth Finnegan. Thus, RAP occurs in an interlocution from the MC to the young peripheral person, typically addressed in the second person in the lyrics, to whom they are directed. Such a sense of community noted through the resource of adressing is another aspect that reinforces traces of the epic in this musical genre; after all, like the MC, the epic poet embodies the role of representative of their people.