On a recent Saturday morning in Rio de Janeiro, 15 young Afro-Brazilian kids gathered in the Cantagalo favela for a Saturday morning of black history lessons. During the morning's activities, the teacher played a new song, "Menina Pretinha (Black Little Girl),” by a 12-year-old rapping wonder kid—MC Soffia.

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All the kids hummed the song's powerful words, as if they had heard it dozens of times. And they probably have. MC Soffia is a viral music sensation whose lyrics about black pride and female empowerment have struck a chord with young children. Within the last year she has produced a viral music video on Facebook, met and her latest endeavour takes the cake: performed in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.

Photo: MC Soffia

Why does MC Soffia rap about racial affirmation?

When she was very young a classmate told her that she was black because she fell into a bucket of paint. Other classmates call her hair “nappy". These taunts hurt MC Soffia so much that she told her mother that she wanted to be white. But her mother, Kamilah, insisted that she accept her skin color and hair texture.

How did she start rapping? 

When MC Soffia’s mother started taking her to rap concerts at the ago of six she developed an interest in rapping and singing. She also started taking her to rap concerts. MC Soffia says that it was rap that helped her build pride in her ethnicity. 

"I chose rap because you can express yourself, tell people what you are feeling, talk about the reality you are living. But I do like other styles too," she said.

How did MC Soffia become so popular? 

Like many young artists today, MC Soffia became popular through social media. She was already performing around São Paulo when Empoderosas (Powerful women) profiled her in a three-minute video. The video went viral, and several English language publications picked up on the story. The video has more than 1.5 million views on Facebook and has been shared more than 26,000 times. 

What are her most popular songs? 

MC Soffia released her hit “Menina Pretinha” in March.  The music video features young black children with natural hair singing and dancing at iconic locations throughout Rio de Janeiro.

Menina pretinha (Little Black Girl)
Exótica não é linda (Exotic is not beautiful)
Você não é bonitinha (You are not a little cute)
Você é uma rainha” (You are a queen)

What is next for MC Soffia?

Her latest single is called “Rapunzel de Dread.” Soffia said she always wondered why the “Rapunzel” fairy tale did not represent all young girls, especially those who looked like her.