I created my own crazy world, says Karol Conká, who reconnects with art on tour

It is one of the tracks that best represents his debut album, "Batuk Freak", which now returns to the stage on a nostalgic tour designed to also anticipate the celebration of Conká's 25-year career, which began in 2002. The first shows took place in São Paulo, at Casa Natura Musical, last Saturday (18), and next month they will take place in Belo Horizonte and Curitiba.

In the presentation, Conká recalls the 12 tracks from "Batuk Freak", a work that she considers timeless and pioneering. "Revisiting it made me realize how well my lyrics translate the experiences I have", says Conká, before a rehearsal.

Released in 2013, "Batuk Freak", which combines electronic beats and African influences, presented songs about self-esteem, sexuality and social ascension from a female perspective that was uncommon in national rap at the time.

When she released the album, Conká had recently moved from Curitiba to São Paulo to try to be seen more in important cultural centers in the country. It worked, she says, although today she considers that the album did not receive recognition. "I had a feeling that 'Batuk Freak' was coming out too early, at a time when they wouldn't understand it. Some people called me a futurist."

Today she thinks that the mix of sounds on the album was what caused the most strangeness. "I always had a lot of references: samba, funk, piseiro, reggae. So, for rap, I looked like pop, and for pop, I looked too rap. But I let my rebellion speak in the form of melody. I prefer to label myself as popular music."

With electronic production and a dreamlike atmosphere, "Mundo Louco", Conká's favorite, imagines a utopian universe in which the sky is purple, the houses are yellow and the birds sing Erykah Badu. "I like it because it takes a more playful approach. It shows exactly what I try to live here in this crazy world. I created my own crazy world."

Conká experienced a turbulent period in his personal life and career after entering Big Brother Brasil 21, by far the most popular event in his career. There, the rapper exposed attitudes seen as aggressive to millions of people - the BBB was on the rise - and ended up eliminated with a record of rejection.

In the real world, he faced canceled advertising contracts, canceled shows, attacks on social media and a deeply damaged public image. For months, he needed to rebuild his career. He even released an intimate documentary, "A Vida Além do Tombo".

Her music career paid a high price, she now assesses, five years later. "It caused a rift. But I can't control what people think and expect of me. I can only control my thoughts and attitudes."

Although she considers this page turned, she says she wants to regain her musician persona once and for all - she feels that, for a while, the celebrity Karol Conká ended up swallowing the artist.

"It bothered me, I became jealous of myself. I thought 'wow, but personality appears more than musicality'", she says. "Then I understood that it was a matter of producing. I was so busy [with other professional tasks] that time passed and I found myself without any music releases", she states. It was then that he decided to turn his eyes to "Batuk Freak" and, at the same time, write an album for next year.

More than a decade after the release of his first album, Conká follows a reference for artists who came later - even if his songs do not appear among the biggest hits in Brazilian rap. "I still keep a notebook from when I was 16 years old, in which I wrote mantras about what I wanted to be. I hoped and wanted [success]. I envisioned and planned."

KAROL CONKÁ: SPECIAL BATUK FREAKWhen

14/8 in Belo Horizonte;

18/9 in Curitiba;

19/9 in Porto Alegre;

26/9 in Florianópolis

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