It’s not just outside Brazil that women are gradually taking over music – this also happens here. The tragic and appalling death of Marília Mendonça, one of the main events of the year that is coming to an end, not only did it prematurely silence one of the main female voices in the country, but also left empty the throne of Brazilian pop, which had recently been occupied by funk and sertanejo stars.
And in a year where we’ve seen some of the top names in MPB royalty release long-awaited work, like the new albums from Marisa Mountain e Maria Bethania, we chose artists of different scales of magnitude, to show how new Brazilian music has a woman’s face – and you don’t need to ask permission from anyone.
Juçara Marçal
Anyone who doesn’t know Juçara Marçal’s work is losing one of the biggest names in Brazilian music today. With passages in the vocal group Vésper and in the Brazilian music research of the group A Barca, the vocalist of Metá Metá had already put her name in the pantheon of the 21st century with her first solo album, the strong and lyrical “Encarnado”, released in 2014, and entered 2020 ready to finish her next album, produced in partnership with Metá Metá guitarist Kiko Dinucci.
The pandemic, however, postponed the release of “Delta Estácio Blues” until this year, making it one of the most important albums of 2021 – and not just in Brazil. Unlike her debut album, she decided to produce an album from sound collages, which would form the basis of future songs.
The bases were handed over to the singer’s comrades, names like Siba, Douglas Germano, Tulipa Ruiz, Rodrigo Campos and Maria Beraldo, among others, who created songs that put her in a position of attack. The album’s debut single, “Crash”, written by São Paulo rapper Rodrigo Ogi, is one of the best songs of 2021.
Marina Sena
2021 was her year. Taiobeiras, from Minas Gerais, ended last year by ending the activities of her previous group, Rosa Neon, to focus on her solo career – and opened 2021 with the same “Me Toca” that would later become the opening track for “De Primeira”, released in partnership with rapper Djonga’s label, Quadrilha.
Moving between axé music, samba, Jamaican and Caribbean music, the album turned its author into an online phenomenon at a time when it was not yet possible to perform concerts. The hit “Por Supuesto” rocked the TikTok social network.
But Marina Sena did not stop on the internet and gradually began to conquer the country, being nominated in four categories of the Multishow Award (where she won two awards), and two at the Women’s Music Event Award (where she won in the revelation category and even shared the stage with Luiza Sonza). And by the carriage’s floor, 2022 will follow in your hand.
Tasha & Tracie
The Okereke twins crowned a career that started in fashion and attracted attention abroad with a record released in the middle of the pandemic. “Diretoria”, produced by beats maestro CESRV, places the São Paulo duo Tasha & Tracie as one of the main names in the new Brazilian urban music scene, mixing rap, funk and R&B without speaking out loud.
“If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu”, they sing as they inaugurated their career as MCs, after establishing themselves years earlier, when they launched a fashion blog showing how they made their own clothes, in 2014, in Jardim Peri, zona north of São Paulo.
“Expensive $h1t”, named after the album of the same name by the pope of afro beat Fela Kuti, took the twins’ name beyond Brazil, making them the first Brazilian women to appear on the site of the renowned New York festival Afropunk in 2015, when they were just 19 years old.
Since then, they’ve established themselves as DJs and been in demand by brands and publications as different as Avon and iD magazine. Directorship is just the first step in a musical career that has already begun famously.
Jadsa
The guitarist, singer and songwriter from Bahia had her “Olho de Vidro” ready to be released last year, but the pandemic made her wait a year for her debut album, released by the São Paulo label Balaclava, to surface.
Composed alongside his bass partner Caio Terra, the album is directly – and openly – influenced by Itamar Assumpção and moves between the fluid syncopations of Lira Paulistana and post-punk echoes, synthesized by his unique way of playing guitar.
The album also features guest appearances by names such as Kiko Dinucci, Luiza Lian and Ana Frango Elétrico, in addition to mentioning several names in Brazilian music, such as the Bahian group ÀTTØØXXÁ, Gal Costa and Ava Rocha, challenging the listener while enchanting him .
Maria Portugal
The list of artists with whom the drummer, arranger and producer from São Paulo, Maria Portugal, collaborated is breathtaking and goes from Arrigo Barnabé to Elza Soares, passing by Pato Fu, Ava Rocha, Iara Rennó, Zelia Duncan and the playwright Felipe Hirsch – beyond of having integrated bands like Donazica, Metá Metá and Trash Pour 4.
One of the members of the jazz group Quartabê, she had been putting off her first solo album for some time, but when she moved to Germany during the pandemic, she could dedicate herself to finishing the excellent “Erosion”, released by the label Risco, in which she he collaborates with his bandmates Maria Beraldo, Joana Queiroz and Chicão, as well as musicians such as Thiago França, Filipe Nader, Arthur Decloedt, Paulo Braga and Tó Brandileone, who produced the album. “Erosion” collides jazz and electronic music around songs that balance between MPB and pop music, in a surprising and layered album.
Linn da Quebrada
After unbalancing the structures of Brazilian pop with the heavy “Pajubá”, Linn da Quebrada expanded her area of activity beyond music, whether acting in the series “Segunda Chama” on TV Globo, participating in the documentary “Bixa Travesty” by Claudia Priscilla and Kiko Goiffman, or presenting the talk show “TransMissão”, alongside her companion Jup de Bairro, on Canal Brasil.
But music has always been her safe haven and finally in 2021 she returned to releasing an album. And, as usual, she surprised all expectations with a record that, despite maintaining beats and the vibrancy of the dance floor, goes through the song in a surprising way.
“Trava Linguas” reveals an unexpected connection with traditional Brazilian music that further enhances her vocal exuberance and her versatility as a composer. And to think that she’s still only on the second album…
Duda Beat
The post of queen of suffering was empty after the death of Marília Mendonça, but Duda Beat, from Pernambuco, was already a serious candidate for succession, even when the sertaneja diva was alive.
With her second album, “Te Amo Lá Fora”, produced by one of the main names in the brega funk scene Tomás Tróia, alongside new guest Lux Ferreira (who had already produced Mahmundi), she promised to leave the melancholy of her debut album , “I’m Sorry”, from 2018, in the background.
But for the delight of fans of the first album, she further reinforced her sagging vein, calling names as different as the traditional Dona Cila do Coco and the Bahian rapper Trevo for appearances that reinforce both her northeastern ancestry and her global character. It doesn’t have a hit as catchy as “Bixinho”, from the first album, but it shows that it will still take a lot of work.
badista
The résumé of São Paulo producer Rafaela Andrade, better known as Badsista, speaks for itself – she has worked with names as different as Linn da Quebrada, Jaloo, Mahmundi, Jup do Bairro, Deize Tigrona and the American Kelela.
One of the main names on Brazilian dance floors in the last decade, she took 2021 to release her first original album and the result goes beyond what could be expected. Of course, his broad musical references are spread throughout the album, mixing UK garage with dancehall, Miami bass with funk beats and African music.
But “Ghetto Elegance” goes far beyond the beats, opting for a more sophisticated and smooth version of its beats, in a record that works as much for dancing as for relaxing. And this does not mean that she has given up her personal references, bringing several collaborators to the album, such as RHR, MC Yallah, Jup do Bairro, Lari Brd 777 and Ventura Profana, among others.
Let the good vibes of tracks like the irresistible “VSNF” drive this journey.
Baby salvego
At just 12 years old, piracicabana Bebé Salvego caught the attention of the audience of TV Globo’s The Voice Kids when she performed “I Can’t Give Anything But Love”, a song that was successful as a duet between Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett.
Five years later, she formalizes her music career with a record that bears her own name. Discovered by the drummer Sérgio Machado when he was still playing with Metá Metá, she shows all the fluency of her voice on a splendid album named only with her first name, which draws from both MPB and modern soul music, in addition to making clear the influence of artists like Billie Holiday, Alice Coltrane and Esperanza Spalding.
The youngest artist on this list, at just 17, she has a whole future ahead of her – and seems ready to tame it.
In Venus
The only band on this list, In Venus, from São Paulo, is also the only artist who goes into rock. Five years after their debut album (“Ruínas”, 2017), the group formed by vocalist and keyboardist Cint Murphy, drummer Duda Jiu, guitarist Rodrigo Lima and bassist Patricia Saltara, goes even further by the sound post-punk, embracing the São Paulo side of the genre, echoing artists such as Smack, Muzak, Akira S & As Garotas Que Erraram, Voluntários da Pátria, Vzyadoq Moe, Patife Band and, inevitably, Mercenárias.
In a deliberately uncomfortable record, both in the lyrics (strong social nature) and musically, Sintoma makes electric instruments alternate syncopations that are at the same time aggressive and dancing, showing that rock remains firm, even if along crooked paths.
Reference: CNN Brasil
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