Jul 31 2018 25 mins 64
On a hill in the northern suburbs of Lisbon, Portugal sits the neighborhood of Cova da Moura. Only a highway and a forest park separates it from the city center, but it could be an ocean away. Built in the 1970s by immigrants from former Portuguese colonies in Africa (namely Cape Verde and Angola) Kova M, as locals call it, is a community brimming with life. Cape Verdean Kriolu, not Portuguese, is the lingua franca, and funana, Kriolu rap and afro-house dominate the streets. We take a walk through the neighborhood and visit the local community center, Moinho da Juventude, whose free-to-use music studio has become a launchpad for an abundance of young talent. Here, the youth of Kova M turn out potent rap and afro-house and produce their own music videos. In doing so, they speak their truths of living in a neighborhood harshly kept in the margins of Portuguese society.
