“O Carlos teve azar, foi o primeiro da lista”: insights into re- pression in Mozambique based on the relationship between media and rap

Abstract

This paper analyzes the repression in the scenario of Mozambique, a Portuguese-speaking country located in southern Africa, and has as its object of study the relationship between the media and rap music. The paper pre- sents the role of rap as a counter-hegemonic and folk communication tool, which opposes the interests of political elites at a global level and discusses issues not debated in the media. The work also analyzes media control in Mozambique, discussing historical aspects and its current configurations. From there, it shows cases of music censorship that oppose official history and question the political system. The songs analyzed are Pais da Marrabenta, from 2002 and As Mentiras da Verdade, from 2006, which were censored by the state-run Rádio Cidade de Maputo. In addition to questioning social pro- blems, these songs call into question the possible participation of leaders of Frelimo, the ruling party, in the death of the country’s first president, Samora Machel, in 1986 and in the murder of investigative journalist Carlos Cardoso, occurred in 2000.