brazilian rapper flávio renegado invokes the spirit of candomblé deities in photo essay + music video

Brazilian rapper Flávio Renegado is expanding his horizons in a new collaboration with esteemed Brazilian photographer Daryn Dornelles. Capturing the elite in the entertainment and public sphere are the usual for this brilliant photographer, but creating a message and extension of a piece of music is somewhere neither of these artists has ventured before. In this photo essay, Daryan and Flavio invoke the spirit of the orixas, the deities of AfroBrazilian religion candomble. A little known fact that the essay states is that, “The teaching of Afro-Brazilian religions is compulsory, under Law 10.639, of 2003, which has never been fulfilled. Afro-Brazilian religions continue to be treated as witchcraft and mysticism, not religion.”

For Flávio, his Blackness is central to his understanding of himself and of the world. He says, “I joined the black movement at school, at age 11, when I discovered a capoeira wheel from Angola. It fascinated me and made me understand that I was a citizen and a black man and lived in an extremely poor community, because my ancestors had gone there.” Flávio, who was born in the community of Alto Vera Cruz, in Belo Horizonte, where he develops social entrepreneurship also said, “To be born in a neighborhood without sanitation, without school, without health, this is racism. I’m not being treated as an equal. Not being able to use the address of the favela to look for a job, and having to lie, this is racism.” Race in Brazil is a salient topic, for which hip hop and photography are apt avenues for its discussion. Listen to “Black Star” and witness the breathtaking photographs of Flávio Renegado by Daryan Dornelles below.

By T. McLendon, AFROPUNK Contributor

Photography by Daryan Dornelles

Flavio Renegado Website

Flavio Renegado Facebook