Griots, singers and rappers: from the foundation of the verb to the performance of the word

Abstract

The tradition of oral narratives and other contemporary manifestations of an orality of African matrices such as rythm and poetry, better known as rap, or performative dub poetry from Jamaica, captured through the work developed by African authors and by afrodescendants of the whole world consists, in different degrees, in a significant fact that increases the process of elaboration of the written literatures produced in the African continent and its diaspora in the Americas. Taking into account the example of some African countries whose official language is Portuguese, we can suggest that approaching that orature and, consequently, its re-elaboration, through the written or performatized word by means of the association between voice, gesture, movement, staging and drawing - as can be seen in rap - is an important element capable of making viable not only a more complete assimilation of these expressive modalities, but also an effective contribution in the sense of positively affirming cultural identities by investing in a literary and artistic discourse based on multiplicity. On this basis, we will try throughout the paper to discuss briefly the issue of contemporary manifestations of orality of African matrices, highlighting the interaction between oral creations and African literary writing in Portuguese.