A rounded hat, wide trousers and easy communication turn heads. São Paulo rapper Victor Masaki, 29, was dragging a group of young men around him wherever he went. It is no exaggeration to say that it was one of the most popular attractions at the Cenac Rio summit. Before he began his conversation with the audience, which he called “From the Wagon to the World” – the same name as the EP he released last year – before challenging some admiring students to a rhyme battle. Masaki has the precise idea that as a youth idol, he can raise awareness and help bring about transformation in their lives.
– My goal is to work with culture and education for children.
This is, without exaggeration, a multi-talented man, the type that Americans call a “self-made man.” He was born in Bella Vista, a neighborhood in Guarulhos that he himself defines as “a neighborhood of humble people, but with a lot of talent and culture.” He began wrestling judo at the age of six, and even competed representing his city. Sports helped him become disciplined, a basic virtue that Masaki recommends to everyone and which has always guided him and given him awareness and responsibility.
– He says: “I deal with life the same way I dealt with the carpet.” But at the age of 11, an encounter changed his path when he met his biological father, who worked as a theatrical lighting designer. He was fascinated by theater and decided to give up sports to become an actor.
In parallel with his daily life in the wings, he “lived” his rhymes, his greatest passion, in the São Paulo train cars. He spent 12 years going back and forth between busy compositions, improvising rhymes, and “collecting coins.” Being passionate about knowledge, he ventured into the Instagram metrics, which allowed him to spread his art on a massive scale, making it available not only to commuters, but expanding its reach to thousands of people. Today, his poems have hundreds of millions of views on social media.
-I exploded into the digital world being a different peripheral actor.
Masaki is a rapper with a character and heavy content, who seeks to entertain but also to raise awareness among children so that they can take the initiative to search for a better future.
– In the past, the aim of the rhyme was to arouse laughter, but now its aim is to leave an impact on people.
He is an avid reader, especially of books by Agatha Christie and Dan Brown, his favorites.
The law that will change the world is reading.
He attributes the wealth of words he acquired to literature, which facilitates rhyme. His principle is not to include obscene words in his verses. If one of them comes to mind, he immediately changes it to another word.
In this unique way, he broke down barriers. In addition to being a judoka, actor and rapper, he has immersed himself in the world of lecturing, always focusing on broadening the horizons of the children who admire him. He gained further fame when he appeared on television during this year’s FIFA Club World Cup, where he spoke about Brazilian teams.
– Hip-hop is not something that can be marginalized, it saves the lives of many. It is a culture that deserves to be encouraged in schools and cities. My mission is to spread this culture.
1) Use your time to do what you love;
2) Financial education is essential.
3) Construction doesn’t happen overnight.
4) Education, culture and sports are the pillars that will change you;
5) School is general, while knowledge is specific