COLORSxSTUDIOS

COLORS: Funk is known for many of its lyrics being very sexist and objectifying towards women. What is your experience of this? How do you approach the lyrics in your own music?

MCD: Male funk artists sing about their own pleasures, whereas I sing about women’s pleasures and what they like to do. But I don’t just talk about pleasure: I also sing about people having the freedom to do and be what they want.

COLORS: Do you have any favourite lyrics from your songs that are a good example of this? Or that you particularly like to sing?

MCD: I have one track called ‘Charme que é da hora’, which is all about the fact you can be proud to be yourself. There’s also ‘Vai fazer Carão‘. It kind of tells the story of seeing a guy at a party and telling him that, even if he’s angry about it or doesn’t like it, you’re never going to fuck him again.

COLORS: What message do you want to send with your music? Do you want to be a role model for other women and girls in Brazil?

MCD: The resounding message in all of my music is that you should be free to do whatever you want. You’ve got big dreams? Why not? Keep dreaming! You don’t have to be in any situation that you don’t want to be in. My music is about saying yes when you want to and saying no when you want to. I also talk a lot about being a single mother: a lot of girls here in Brazil are. I’m not myself at the moment, but I feel like I’m kind of in training: my girlfriend has a three-year-old son called Leonardo, and I used to look after my brothers a lot too.

COLORS: You’re now one of the biggest female MCs in the funk scene. Did you struggle to get your voice heard at first?

MCD: In the beginning it felt like the market’s doors were closed to me. They didn’t recognise me as a funk face because I’m a Black, LGBTQIA+ woman from the favela. I’m completely different to the other big funk artists who are usually very white and normative. I wasn’t completely alone—I had friends supporting me and helping me to continue and keep fighting—but I was very lonely. At the same time, this period of time was very valuable. Everything I’ve experienced, and every choice I’ve had to make has taught me so much. I was my own manager for two years which was a big learning curve. Now I have another manager which I’m super happy about.

COLORS: Talking of support, are women in the baile funk scene very supportive of each other?

MCD: Not really. I’m pretty young and fresh on the scene: I only exploded around four years ago. I don’t really understand why other women in the industry weren’t very welcoming. Sometimes people invite other artists to join them on a track for a feat. or to do a collaboration, which is nice but it’s quite rare. It’s completely different in the men’s scene. when a male artist sees a new young MC appear they are very quick to invite them to their concerts and to ask them if they want to collaborate.

COLORS: Perhaps because the women have worked so hard to get where they are, and because they know there are only very few female MCs on the scene, they’re worried that someone is going to take their place in the spotlight?

MCD: Big American artists like Cardi B and Nicki Minaj have their differences, but they still do loads of collaborations. Why does it have to be any different here in Brazil? I think that there’s space for everyone in funk. it doesn’t make sense to me that bigger MCs don’t encourage mid-career or emerging artists.

COLORS: Are there any specific female artists you’d like to collaborate with?

MCD: Nikki Minaj and Beyoncé for sure! In terms of Brazilian artists, I’d love to work with Anitta. She’s opening doors and bringing funk music to an international audience. She’s also incredibly professional and manages her own career. I find that very inspiring. One male artist I’d like to work with is Matuê. He’s a rapper and is bringing a really fresh sound to Brazilian music.