WHAT SEPARATES MEN FROM BOYS: BLACK MASCULINITIES, BRAZILIAN RAP, AND DIALOGUES WITH BLACK FEMINISMS

Abstract

This article is a reflective essay focusing on Black masculinities among light-skinned Black men, based on two musical works by the rapper Sant, “What Separates Men from Boys” and “Black Needs.” The aim is to analyze how the lived experience of Black men and the construction of their masculinities are articulated, particularly through the intersections of race and gender. To this end, the theoretical framework draws on the work of Frantz Fanon and Black feminist intellectuals such as bell hooks, Conceição Evaristo, and Patricia Hill Collins, in order to examine the rapper’s lyrics and the ways in which Black identity is constituted and narrated in his songs. From this perspective, rap is understood as a powerful instrument for expressing experiences of oppression, injustice, and social exclusion, as well as for amplifying voices that are often silenced, ignored, or marginalized. Accordingly, rap emerges as a critical pathway for rethinking and revisiting Black masculinity, offering a line of flight and healing beyond the gangsta-boy model. As illustrated by Sant’s work, this hegemonic model does not provide a path toward healing for the Black youth’s soul, thus demanding the creation of new routes of subjectivation and care.