The Brazilian rapper from São Paulo Bivolt, puts the Brazilian female rap artists on the map of the Latin Grammy Awards, a Latin American version of the event, and that means a lot, especially at a time when the Brazilian music industry, which is still very macho and racist, despite the advances in recent years, it tries, in fits and starts, to rebuild and reinvent itself after the impact of the covid-19 pandemic. But, calm down, let’s go one step at a time.}
Bivolt has been nominated for Best Short Form Music Video category with the video "Cubana" (watch it here), fifth track on its first solo album, the same name, released in March 2020. In the dispute are also audiovisual works by Brazilians from BaianaSystem featuring Tropkillaz, from Colombian J Balvin, from the Mexican band Porter and from the collaboration between the Spanish Rosalía and the American Travis Scott. "There is nothing but major artists competing and to me it’s a real slap in the face that life has proven to me that I am also great. I am huge just like those names on the list", says Bivolt, by phone, thrilled .
The award has existed since 2000, but it is the first time that a rap artist has arrived that far. In this edition, she represents our rhythm and poetry alongside Emicida, who has two nominations with the album and the song "AmarElo", and Rapadura, with the album "Universo do Canto Falado". It is also worth saying that, in the middle of 2020, Bivolt and the American Nicki Minaj are the only female voices of rap in all categories. "Being the first Brazilian rap artist to debut [at the Latin Grammy] is completely crazy to me. It is opening doors and understanding that from now on we will always be there ", she prophesies.
With a Tarentine touch and a Latin vibe, the video for "Cubana" aired on YouTube in May and now has more than 1.7 million views. Gabriel Augusto and Quemuel Cornelius, from producer Iconoclast, responsible for clips by artists such as Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar, sign the film production of the song, which was produced by Nave (Karol Conká, Marcelo D2, Emicida) and Douglas Moda ( Luccas Carlos). "I wanted the video to have characters, that would be like a movie. Then there was the breeze of making an action short inspired by classic movie scenes, like Pulp Fiction, with a tram of incredible women, each with a peculiar power , an unusual secret weapon ", says Bivolt. The clip gives life to the Cubana character, played by actress Ona Silva, whose weapon is a fan. Ona is the protagonist alongside the rapper. There were three days of recording between the cities of São Paulo and Mairiporã, all done before the quarantine came into place here. 
To Bivolt, this Latin Grammy nomination works as an engine fuel to keep on working. "It is very difficult to be a woman and be a rapper in Brazil. It took me ten years to release an album, due to the lack of structure, due to not being able to," says the artist, the first rap artist to enter the Som Livre label catalog. "Nowadays the producers invite me to work with them. It feels bad for the guys who don't work with any woman. This shows that, despite everything, society has been changing. Men, white people, everyone who grew up reproducing habits and words that hurt need to fight this with reparation, with a lot of reparation. Prejudice, gender discrimination is so archaic ", he added.
FROM THE HOOD TO THE WORLD
Born and raised in the Boqueirão community, in Ipiranga district, south of São Paulo, Bárbara Bivolt has always drawn attention with her expressive lyrics and rhymes as acid as sweet. She created the city's rap battles, released singles and clips back and forth for over ten years. She was the first rap woman to perform at Rock in Rio, in 2017, discovered by a music scout, and was the first to join the urban music nucleus of the label Som Livre, back in 2019.
The first album, the dream of any independent artist, was released by the label in March this year, with musical direction by Nave, an experienced and talented producer who signs works by Karol Conká, Emicida and Marcelo D2. The album was announced by the interactive and simultaneous clips of the tracks "110v" and "220v". A creative audiovisual way - which, incidentally, became a milestone of her work - showing the artist's double voltage, which unites the rap of the streets with unique melodies inspired by R&B.
"My female references within hip-hop have always been in R&B. I always had the need to consume music by women, because that was where I saw myself, ", she explains. "I fell in love with Lauryn Hill at The Fugees, I always thought it was really amazing that she sang and rhymed. Erykah Badu and Beyoncé too. People say that Beyoncé is pop, but Beyoncé is fucking rap [laughs]. This passion to mix a little bit of R&B in my sound has that origin."
The artist's music foundation is pure rap music, but don't try to label her work. She is eclectic, as she listens to everything and is open to everything in music. "If they ask me to sing a country song with rap I will say hey, awesome I think it's cool. I believe that these connections make the movement grow", she evaluates. "Where do I want to go? I always say that I want to shine like the sun, because the sun shines all over the world. One day it is lighting up our people here, the next day it is lighting up our Asian people on the other side of the planet. If I can, I want to light and warm up all the people in the world with my music."
A QUICK OVERVIEW OF WOMEN IN THE BRAZILIAN MUSIC MARKET
The situation of women in the music market is a reflection of that in Brazilian society, which is structurally macho, racist, and non-inclusive. According to a research carried out by IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), women still earn less than men in all segments. Even with a slight drop in wage inequality between 2012 and 2018, female workers earn, on average, 20.5% less than men in the country.
In the music industry, women have grown stronger and occupied more and more space, however, the path ahead signals a long battle. According to a study by Data SIM (International Music Week), conducted in 2019, 84% of Brazilian women in the sector have already been discriminated against in the workplace. The survey also shows that 63% of them have been affected by gender discrimination and about 21% do not feel comfortable in the workplace because they are women.
According to data from the NGO WIN (Women in Music), women are about 30% in the music sector. However, only 10% of professionals working with music are cast for festivals, for example, illustrates a survey conducted by Spotify.
In the context of the new coronavirus pandemic, the scenario is even bleaker. IBGE recently showed that the participation of women in the labor market is the lowest in 30 years, due to the pandemic. In the second quarter of this year, their participation was 46.3%, the lowest level since 1991. The drop in this indicator is directly related to the pandemic, which cut jobs and forced distance learning. Therefore, women were forced to spend more time at home, taking care of children and relatives: data from the same survey show that 50% of women started to take responsibility for another person during the crisis.
The workday is a great difficulty for 60% of women who work with music, according to the Data SIM survey. The study shows that women end up working harder to show their value and still need to accumulate home daily errands to their profession.
Now, add all these difficulties and multiply by two, three, four: for women in the Brazilian rap segment - a promising musical genre, but still very marginalized and stigmatized - everything is much slower and more difficult. It's pure resistance.
