Abstract

SOUZA, Adelaide Rezende de. Rhyme battles with children from Favela da Maré: improvisation, duels and self-affirmation. Desidades [online]. 2020, n.26, pp. 11-24. ISSN 2318-9282.

After ten months of observation at a public school in the the Maré favela complex, we noticed the frequency with which some children from the third year of public education used to rhyme and their mastery during the composition of these verses. Focusing on the meanings and repercussions of the interactions and social bonds of this class, we proposed to organize "rap battles". Through photographic, audio and video records, we registered the dueling moments for further analysis. Thus, we identified rules as central elements to these battles, because based on the dispute to maintain honor and self-esteem, the battles showed the limits between aggressiveness and the frontiers of “mocking” and humiliating. In addition to that, there was a significant nexus between the "rap battles" and the "mocking" games that take place in Maré, where a relationship based on dispute, humiliation and competition is developed, but where the ability to rhyme, self-affirmation, fantasy and collective joy are also present.

Keywords : rap battle; children; school; games; favela.

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