Shot live in São Paulo’s East Side, “Us memo preto zica” video bridges rap and samba one month before Emicida’s MCMV Tour kicks off.
Community as stage and statement
On Tuesday (March 31), Brazilian rapper Emicida releases the official music video for “Us memo preto zica”, a track from his album “Emicida Racional VL2 – Mesmas Cores & Mesmos Valores”. The video was filmed in February during a live performance at Quintal dos Prettos, a cultural space in São Paulo’s East Side, alongside the duo Prettos, made up of Magnu Sousá and Maurílio de Oliveira.
The video was directed by Emicida himself alongside Thiago Britto. The decision to film live — and in that specific location — was deliberate. “This song carries two very powerful symbols: community and strength. And that’s something I feel every time I go to Quintal. That’s why there was no other place for a recording like this,” the rapper explains.
A tribute woven across generations
The track “Us memo preto zica” stands out for weaving together iconic lines from different eras of Racionais MC’s discography — the legendary São Paulo rap group honored throughout the album. The video deepens that tribute by grounding it in a living community space.
For Emicida, this speaks to something larger: “It’s precisely about the permanence of rap and popular music as an entity that manifests itself when you find a message that feels tailor-made for you.”
Where samba and rap share the same roots
The Prettos duo responded to the collaboration with deep emotion. Maurílio de Oliveira captured the significance of the moment: “This encounter with Emicida inside Quintal dos Prettos carries an ancestral force. It’s as if samba and rap are recognizing each other once again as part of the same tree, with deep roots in our history. Quintal is a territory of memory, celebration, and continuity. Welcoming this video eternizes a dialogue that has been going on with Emicida for over a decade.”
Seeing this encounter happen at Quintal — our home, our sacred ground — moves us deeply. It’s the continuation of a beautiful story being celebrated in the most truthful way possible.
Magnu Sousá added: “This moment holds a very special value for us because it carries a real history. Many years of living, exchanging, and partnering inside and outside of music. Emicida is someone who is part of our journey.”
A two-part mini documentary
Alongside the clip, Emicida is releasing a two-part mini documentary on his YouTube channel. Part one is already available:
https://youtu.be/dIJ1sV8yJj4?si=a2SWwCxeW2n9stEZPart two will be released soon.
MCMV Tour launches next month
The video drop builds anticipation for the Emicida Racional MCMV Tour, conceived by Cecropia and produced by 30e, with sponsorship from Itaú. The tour opens in under a month and covers Brazil’s main cities.
Event Info
- São Paulo — April 30 (sold out) and May 1 | Espaço Unimed
- Rio de Janeiro — May 16 | Vivo Rio
- Curitiba — June 27 | Igloo
- Porto Alegre — July 4 | Auditório Araújo Vianna
- Recife — August 22 | Classic Hall
- Belo Horizonte — September 5 | BeFly Hall
- Tickets: https://www.eventim.com.br/artist/emicida/
