Emicida

Ever since he started taking his first steps in rap, in freestyle battles, around 2006, Leandro Roque de Oliveira, Emicida, knew he wanted to have a solid career. Maybe he didn't know that he would build foundations consistent enough to go beyond his own trajectory. Thus, he became the main reference of his generation in rap, creating a company alongside his brother, Evandro Fióti, – Laboratório Fantasma –, which is also responsible for the artistic agency of other names, such as Rael and Drik Barbosa. In addition to being a record label, LAB is a creative studio, label, studio and streetwear clothing brand. An enterprise seen as a successful case and inspiration in the music business. But more than success, Emicida has the desire – through LAB – to touch people's lives (he rhymes because he has a mission and wants to be a spokesperson for those who have never been heard). And its soundtrack by the artist born in the North Zone was perfect to tell this story. With the release of the first mixtape in 2009, Pra Quem Já Mordeu Cachorro por Comida Até que Cheguei Longe (For Those Who've Bitten Dog for Food Until I've Got Far, by free translation) , Emicida caught the attention of the public, the press and contractors. The work produced by hand and sold (by him) for two reais on the streets took him to the main festivals in Brazil and the world, including Rock in Rio, Roskilde (Denmark) and Coachella (USA). After two mixtapes and two EPs, the rapper from São Paulo gained notoriety beyond the rap niche with his first studio album, O Glorioso Retorno de Quem Nunca Esteve Aqui (The Glorious Return of Who Was Never Here) in 2013, which featured Pitty, Wilson das Neves, Tulipa Ruiz , between others. “It's not just a finger-in-the-face record, with scenes spit in the listener's face. There is lucidity, music, and, mainly, poetry”, stated the newspaper O Globo at the time of the launch. The same happened with the successor Sobre Crianças, Quadris, Pesadelos e Lições de Casa (About Kids, Hips, Nightmares, and Homework) in 2015. Inspired by a trip to Angola and Cape Green, it brought contributions from names of the caliber of Caetano Veloso and Vanessa da Mata. This was nominated for a Latin Grammy – Emicida’s other nomination for the award was with the song “A Chapa É Quente”, from the Língua Franca project (2017), a partnership in between he, Rael and Portuguese rappers Capicua and Valete celebrating the common language among the two countries. At the same time, Laboratório Fantasma took a crucial step towards consolidating the LAB brand. In 2016, it debuted at São Paulo Fashion Week, the biggest fashion event in Latin America, with a historic fashion show. “Fortunately, the LAB show is nothing like what you see at SPFW. Just for the selection of models, 90% made up of blacks and some from the plus size market, the brand already stands out”, said the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo about the debut. "Beauty is understood in a shallow way, we wanted to enrich it with people we meet on the sidewalks every day. We lose if we don't recognize this beauty", said Emicida at that time. The rapper's discography gained a new episode in 2018, when he released his first live DVD. The record was made the previous year, on November 20, Black Consciousness Day, and had as its motto the 10th anniversary of the single “Triunfo”. Other fruits of 2018 were: the single “Hacia El Amor”, with the Franco-Cuban duo Ibeyi; and her first children's book, entitled Amoras. In 2019, the year in which LAB completed 10 years, Emicida was able to successfully look back, having an understanding of everything that has been done so far: a social experiment that is still under construction. He launched the AmarElo studio project , which won the Latin Grammy in the Best Rock or Alternative Music Album in Portuguese language category and elevated the artist to the pantheon of Brazilian music . Using rap as a guiding principle, Emicida combined the classic with the modern in a foray that he dares to call neo-samba, also responsible for raising him to the same level as the great masters. The album was on the main lists of best albums of the year, and made history - again - by making its debut show at Opera House of São Paulo. In 2020, with the pandemic of the new coronavirus, once again Emicida reinvented itself. Launched the podcast AmarElo - The Invisible Movie, which explores the backstage and inspirations for the album from the previous year. It also presented AmarElo Prisma, a multiplatform project that aims to create new perspectives for society. By debuting LAB Fantasma TV, on Twitch, more than ever, Laboratório Fantasma positions itself as a content platform. Emicida, who accumulates experience in Papo de Segunda (a GNT program that, since 2018, presents alongside Fabio Porchat, Francisco Bosco and João Vicente), debuts the program Vai Ser Rimando, on LAB Fantasma TV. His important speeches and ideas about the world scenario, whether in the political, cultural or social sphere, made Emicida one of the most important contemporary thinkers in the country. Emicida ended the year 2020 with the launch of AmarElo - It’s All For Yesterday on Netflix - nominated for an International Emmy. It is a documentary with animations, interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. Using the rapper's show at Theatro Municipal as a backbone, the film explores the production of the studio project AmarElo and, at the same time, the history of Brazilian culture. In it, an important link is established between three relevant moments in Brazilian black history: the Modern Art Week of 1922; the founding act of the Unified Black Movement (MNU), in 1978, for the appreciation of the culture and rights of the black people; and the emblematic debut show of AmarElo , in November, 2019. Even remotely, due to the pandemic, Emicida and Laboratório Fantasma continued to produce content that aims to prove that music - regardless of its format (in a concert, a game, a parade) - is capable of changing the environment and the world. In 2021, AmarElo - Ao Vivo (Municipal concert recording) reached audio streaming apps, while the video recording became available on Netflix. Audiovisual has even been an increasingly strong language in the rapper's career, as exemplified by the documentary series O Enigma da Energia Escura, which aired on GNT and is still available on Globoplay. Emicida defines this work as the deepening of the dialogue started in AmarElo - It’s All for Yesterday . Chosen as Men of the Year by GQ magazine, the rapper ended the year with a song on the COLORS project, entitled "São Pixinguinha". 2022 began with the launch of a partnership between Emicida and Mundo Bita, a sensation among children aged 1 to 5 years. It was also the year that the rapper reconnected with the world of games. He was the first Brazilian artist to perform a show inside Fortnite. Throughout the year, the resumption of the concert schedule was of great importance; and the public in Brazil and Europe were able to witness, for the first time, the presentation of the AmarElo social experiment . In addition to sold-out dates, audiences at the country's most important festivals, such as Lollapalooza Brasil and Rock in Rio, had the rapper's participation. In 2023, Emicida leaves the command of the Papo de Segunda program and continued with the AmarElo tour. He leaves for a European tour that includes a visit to the Barbican, one of the most prestigious venues in London, England.

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Emicida nasceu em 1985, em São Paulo, onde vive e exerce a sua arte. Desde que lançou a sua primeira mixtape, ”Pra Quem Já Mordeu um Cachorro por Comida, até que Eu Cheguei Longe...” (2009), o rapper construiu uma trajetória que foi conduzida como um experimento social. Assim, não limitou a sua criação à música. Por meio da Laboratório Fantasma, empresa que surgiu para gerenciar a sua carreira, mas que hoje atua como plataforma de entretenimento e de conteúdo transformador, ele deixa a sua marca na música, na moda, na literatura, na sociedade e em todo projeto a qual se dedica. Rapper, escritor, empresário, apresentador e pensador contemporâneo, Emicida tem dois livros infantis lançados “Amoras” (2018) e “E Foi Assim Que Eu e a Escuridão Ficamos Amigas” (2020), além de uma antologia que celebra os 10 anos da sua primeira mixtape. Fez história nos três desfiles que realizou na SPFW, principal semana de moda do Brasil, levando representatividade para passarela. Nos seus trabalhos musicais, ele acumula parcerias com Caetano Veloso, Wilson das Neves, Zeca Pagodinho, Vanessa da Mata, Pabllo Vittar, entre outros nomes. A discografia de Emicida lista ainda a mixtape “Emicídio” (2010), os EPs “Sua Mina Ouve Meu Rep Tamem” (2010), “Doozicabraba e a Revolução Silenciosa” (2011) e os discos “O Glorioso Retorno de Quem Nunca Esteve Aqui” (2013), “Sobre Crianças, Quadris, Pesadelos e Lições de Casa” (2015) e “AmarElo” (2019). Este último, inclusive, ganhou o Grammy Latino na categoria Melhor Álbum de rock ou Música Alternativa em Língua Portuguesa e o elevou ao panteão da música brasileira. AmarElo também marcou história pelo seu show de lançamento ter acontecido no Theatro Municipal de São Paulo. A apresentação serviu de fio condutor para o celebrado documentário AmarElo - É Tudo Pra Ontem, disponível na Netflix, além de ter chegado nos aplicativos de áudio.