MC Hair Professor extols relevance of racial knowledge: ‘Changes the artist’

Mc Cabelinho already had fame, success in music and television, bright neck jewelry and millions of fans on the net. But in recent years, he has decided to look for something he had not found on stage or studios: his own story. To this end, he resorted to teacher and philosopher Katiúscia Ribeiro, 44, PhD in African philosophy, with whom he began a journey of learning and racial consciousness.

What started as a six -month contract, with classes of one hour a week, became a lasting and transformative partnership. “Today we have two classes a week, almost all day,” says Katiúscia F5. “And it’s no longer just class. It’s a relationship that involves listening, exchange and joint construction. Knowledge doesn’t come from me.”

Victor Hugo Oliveira, known as MC Cabelinho, told in an interview with “Conversation with Bial” that he left his studies as a young man. Created at Morro Pavão-Pavãozinho, in the South Zone of Rio, he was forced to work early on to help at home. He chose to live, and later met in the song. But always felt that something was missing.

With the rise in the artistic career, it also came the possibility of looking back. It was then that he sought Katiúscia, already recognized for his academic performance in Brazil and abroad. She has accepted the invitation and since then has been helping the singer to understand the layers of black history that do not appear in traditional school books.

“History is power. And recognition enables people to build power for themselves, their narratives,” she says. “The history of the black population does not start in the fifteenth century with the arrival of colonization. It begins in time immemorial, as I speak in philosophy classes.”

In the artist’s house, the classes gained a physical space: he set up a room with board, wallet, handouts, table. From there was born the project “Intelecria”, a term created by Katiúscia to name the kind of knowledge that comes from the periphery. “I told that he had the intellect of the offspring, something genuine of those who came from below and is seeking to rebuild their own history.”

This personal rescue stirred the artist – and with whom he surrounds him. According to Katiúscia, the singer invited his team and family to also participate in classes. “He also started to understand why he had to stop studying very early to work. He understands how the structures of violence and denial often affected his past,” he reflects.

For her, understanding social reality is an essential step for all famous. “It is important for people to understand the dimension of violence that was produced – and it is produced daily – in the country. Studying about raciality is extremely important for all people, especially for black, because they can see how they are in the Brazilian context.”

After Cabelinho’s interview with Bial, in which he mentions the teacher’s impact on his life, other people were interested in studying with Katiúscia. “These people who are in the media have an impact, an expansion of guidelines that are important and relevant to the context of current reality.”

In addition to Cabelinho, Katiúscia has already taught or participated in formative dialogues with names such as Lazarus Ramos, Djonga, Lellê, Santana, Vitão and Mano Brown – with those who recorded the Mano to Mano. Emicida, who considers her one of the most powerful voices of contemporary black intellectuality, has also publicly mentioned its importance.

She concludes by stating that life has not given her biological children, but that her relationship with Cabelinho (whom he calls the name of baptism, Victor) is mother and son. “I said he can tell me everything, be as transparent as possible so that I know him.”

Today, he does not only see him as a former student, but as a true multiplier. For her, Victor represents hope. Seeing him safe and aware of his own trajectory and reinforces the belief that it is possible to change narratives and rewrite what was silenced.