AFREEKASSIA AND THE AUTONOMY OF HER VOICE
AFREEKASSIA is a Brazilian artist who transforms personal experiences into narratives that resonate with collective experiences. Born on the coast of São Paulo, she combines rap, funk, and Afro-diasporic rhythms in a body of work that connects music, identity, and creative direction.
With ten years in the industry, she found in “Sou + as Negras” a way to express her experience as a Black Brazilian woman. In “Cacau 50% Vol. II,” her new EP, now available on digital streaming platforms, her focus shifts toward personal growth and the possibility of no longer being defined by her own wounds. “Everything I felt didn’t define me,” she says.
The track “Minha Onda,” featuring Amanda Sarmento, encapsulates this shift by exploring the choice to put oneself first. Recently, AFREEKASSIA also brought her music to Portugal, expanding the reach of a body of work that draws from intimate experiences to connect with new audiences.
Beyond songwriting, the artist oversees the creative direction of her projects and hopes to explore audiovisual storytelling even further. After ten years in her career, she is embracing a new relationship with her own talent, shaped despite experiences in which she felt underestimated. “I am a woman, I am Black with dark skin, I am Brazilian, and I make rap music. Prestige and recognition are scarce. But I no longer need external validation to recognize the great artist that I am, and that is my greatest achievement,” she says. Today, her self-confidence is also reflected in her certainty that she is ready for new opportunities: “I feel like I’m ready for the world, but the world isn’t ready for me yet.”
FEATURE INTERVIEW:
Throughout your career, you have explored different artistic possibilities and developed your own distinctive language within music. Looking back on your journey so far, what have been the most defining moments in shaping the artist you are today?
This year, I’m celebrating ten years of my artistic career, and looking back on this journey makes me realize how resilient I have often been without even noticing it. There were many moments when I had to make difficult decisions that changed the course of my life and career. One of the moments that left the biggest impression on me was the release of “Sou + as Negras.”
At the time, I was experiencing living on my own for the first time. I was living in São Paulo as an independent artist, even though I’m originally from the coast, from the Baixada Santista region. Everything felt like a victory: having a room of my own, establishing my routine, grocery shopping, paying bills, and getting DJ bookings. It finally felt like things were falling into place in my life.
As I was preparing to release my original music again after a three-year hiatus, I began experiencing racist attacks from a neighbor who was accusing me of serious crimes. The situation became so severe that I had to seek legal assistance. However, to move forward with the case, I needed to pay my lawyer’s fees. All the money I had saved was meant to produce the music video for “Sou + as Negras.”
Faced with the choice between pursuing legal action against my neighbor and producing the music video for “Sou + as Negras,” I chose the latter. As a result, I had to give up my apartment, return to my hometown, and walk away from the DJ career I had been building in São Paulo. I was deeply shaken emotionally by the whole situation.
After making that decision and releasing the video, I went through a period of depression. At the same time, though, I knew it was the right decision for me. I felt that I needed to release this song for myself and for many other Black women. And I’m so glad I did. It is the most-viewed music video on my YouTube channel, with over one million views.
Cacau 50% Vol. II brings an emotional journey that began with the first volume to a close, while also making room for a new version of yourself. What did you need to leave behind to reach this phase, and what did you discover about yourself along the way?
The Cacau 50% project, Volumes I and II, is a reflection of my growth as a Black woman. When I started writing, I realized how much resentment and frustration I was carrying. Whenever I sat down to write something, the words always came from a place of pain.
My biggest fear was that the process of growing and maturing would turn me into a completely bitter and frustrated person, so Volume II really represents a shift in perspective. It was good and necessary to talk about those hurts and frustrations so I could finally let them go.
As I began leaving them behind, life started showing me that everything I felt didn’t define me. Today, I’m rediscovering myself as a lighthearted, sweet person who is easy to love.
In “Minha Onda,” you sing about turning your attention back to yourself after going through difficult experiences. At a time when so many things seem to demand our attention, what does choosing yourself actually mean in practice?
It might seem trivial to some people, but to me, choosing yourself means putting yourself at the center of your own life and focusing on how you feel, without other people interfering. It took me a long time to learn that this isn’t selfish.
When I think about the women in my family, I see that very few of them were able to choose themselves. They lived their lives being held back, without the freedom to choose who they wanted to be or what they wanted to do. Thinking so much about them made me realize how important it was to build my own narrative.
I need to always stay “in my own wave,” focused on myself, my life, my goals, and my dreams.
You’re bringing this new phase to international stages, with performances in Portugal and the project reaching audiences across Europe. What changes when your music, so deeply connected to personal experiences, reaches audiences from different cultures? Is there anything you’ve come to see differently after performing this material outside Brazil?
I think it’s really special how music can cross borders and connect people who are so far apart geographically and culturally. During my most recent trip to Portugal, I saw so many people singing along to my songs at the show, connecting with the lyrics, and getting emotional with me onstage.
Ever since I realized that my work has an impact beyond Brazil, my perception of my career and my art has changed. Beyond the numbers, I now see myself as a representative of Brazilian culture, and my work offers a glimpse into how Black women in Brazil live, think, and feel. That is something truly powerful.
I’ve been connecting with many people from Cape Verde, Angola, and Mozambique who listen to my music. Through these connections, I’ve also been learning more about my roots and discovering different ways of being a Black woman around the world.
Beyond music, you also oversee the creative direction of your projects and build visual narratives to accompany your songs. How important is it for you to have control over your own image and story? And what other artistic territories would you still like to explore?
For me, it’s essential to be involved in every stage of building a project. As I mentioned, I’m very attached to narratives. Every project tells a story, and for that story to make sense, all the pieces need to fit together. So I pay close attention to every detail, from the colors of a project’s visual identity to the nail design I’ll wear in the photos.
Believe it or not, I see myself as much more visual than musical. I’ve always drawn, I’ve worked in graphic illustration, I have a degree in Public Relations, and I love studying how images are constructed.
Working in music today is fulfilling because it gives me the opportunity to create entire worlds and visual imaginaries. I love making music, but I love creating a music video for a song or designing the cover art for a project even more.
I want to explore creative direction and art direction more and more. I dream of directing a fashion campaign or perhaps contributing to the direction of a film or TV series. Who knows, maybe one day! I believe music has been my gateway into the audiovisual world.
If you could spend an entire day obsessing over something, without any responsibilities or commitments, what subject, hobby, or universe would completely take over your attention?
It would definitely be the world of samba. I’m passionate about the culture of samba schools, the muses, the passistas, and the entire community that makes Carnival happen on the avenue.
Whenever I’m at home with nothing to do, I record videos of myself dancing samba. Whenever I have a weekend off, I go to a samba gathering. In fact, samba is already that place of leisure and enjoyment for me. But I really want to dedicate even more time to it, purely for the pleasure of it. Samba makes me a much happier person.
TEAM CREDITS:
Editor-in-Chief: Prince Chenoa
Feature Editor: Taylor Winter Wilson (@taylorwinter)
Brazil Editor: Leonardo Loreto (@leonardoloreto)
Writer: Gillian Caetano (@gilliancaetano)
Photographer: Vinicius Marques (@vinimarqu)
Assistant Photographer: Paulo Nicácio (@paulocnicacio)
Makeup Artist: Victor Marra (@victormarr.a)
Bikini: Pirygotik (@pirygotik)
