Abstract

MARTINS, Rosana. From the in / visibility of representation to the politics of belonging in networks of young associativism in the Luso-Brazilian suburbs. OBS* [online]. 2013, vol.7, n.3, pp.153-168. ISSN 1646-5954.

Hip-hop culture in São Paulo (Brazil) and Lisbon (Portugal) is characterized as a social practice that enables greater visibility and assists in identity formation amongst the younger residents of impoverished urban neighbourhoods, often young blacks. Here hip-hop helps to generate new understandings of self, it reduces social stigma, and as such, it provides an effective tool in the fight against racism and other forms of discrimination and exclusion.This work proceeds in a multidisciplinary and transversal way, questioning how young people in São Paulo and Lisbon appropriate hip-hop culture in their collective actions, and inspiring critical reflection on issues of "belonging", "tradition" and "identity". This essay prioritizes identity narratives that are built through a self-reflexivity, which emerges in the clash with the public space. It expounds on the importance of identity narratives in the processes of (re)construction and (re)signification in the composition of social actors’ identities. Following Latour (2001), this article seeks to demonstrate that traditions are dynamic, that constructions have their own historicity, and, as affirmed by Sansi (2009:142), “syncretism is nothing other than history”.The methodology used to complete this work included a systematic review of relevant literature from the theoretical and political contribution of Cultural Studies and its focus on the process of cultural significance, present in the contemporary urban scene, which enables the creation of new narratives, not unilinear perspective, but open to different understandings. Young people are using hip-hop culture to reach and teach their communities about social justice and taking action. My aim was to instigate innovative approaches and experimental learning between cultures and ideologies, the hiphop being one of the most powerful tools of democratic practices of political expressiveness.I considered the semi-structured interviews as an ideal instrument given their capacity for facilitating dialogue and learning, and the possibility of also showing the semantic fields in which speech is inserted. I used a recorder to better capture the speech transcription of the interviewees. Interviews were conducted with isolated individuals targeting the individual subject.

Keywords : Youth; Hip-Hop; Culture Studies; Communication; Social Media; Identity.

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