On Friday, July 18, Brazilian artists Melly, Tulipa Ruiz, and Rashid took over Summer for the City’s Main Stage for a night of music from across the South American musical powerhouse.
Every Year, Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City chooses one country to highlight with a week of arts and music. This year the festival’s choice was Brazil, with events featuring Brazilian artists occurring across Lincoln Center’s campus from July 16-20. In total, the focus week brought over 40 artists from Brazil to Manhattan to celebrate the country’s diverse culture, music, and art. July 18’s showcase in particular focused on three artists who have had a significant impact on the musical scene across Brazil.
Melly
With almost three hours of performances on the mainstage, Friday’s concert had music for almost any Brasileiro. First up was Melly – a 24-year-old singer who combines R&B and afro-beats to create danceable songs that she says are “for you to feel with your whole body.” From Salvador, Brazil, Melly reveled in the fact that her hometown is the “Blackest city outside of Africa,” saying that she is “very proud of my people and my history”. Across her set, Melly brought emotional ballads, upbeat dance numbers, and showcased her lyricism. As her set started, her stage presence was a bit stunted, but as the show progressed, you could see her settling in and embracing the second time she had ever played in the United States.
The Singer mentioned that she even practiced her English for this show so that she could address the hometown fans. This dedication was rewarded with constant cheers and support.
Tulipa Ruiz
Latin Grammy award–winning singer–songwriter Tulipa Ruiz stormed the stage after Melly. A fashion designer as well as a singer, she wore a Vampiric outfit of a corset and rhinestone-studded glasses.
The devil-may-care attitude that exuded from her outfit extended into the singer’s set as she blended pop and ballads together, while yelling and trilling throughout her set.
Tulipa Ruiz seemed to use the stage as a catwalk, strutting across it and at one point pulling a quick change where she donned what looked like a plastic sheet and both sang and danced with it. Was it over the top and confusing? Yes. Was it also fun and a way to showcase her fashion and personality? Absolutely.
Rashid
Finally, Rashid came to the stage to close out the night with a massive performance of Brazilian Hip-hop. The artist is known as one of Brazil’s most influential rappers, with over 400 million streams across digital platforms.
Rashid’s performance used the stage to its full effect, with a lighting show that changed throughout his performance and embraced the darkness of the NYC night. However, his show wasn’t just flash – it also embodied his musicality. Rashid rapped over both live instruments and an active DJ, combining musical styles across Hip-hop, R&B, and Rap. Rashid was also able to showcase his MC talents, emphasizing lyricism across most of his songs. As the last show of the night, he impressively kept the crowd engaged while showcasing his unique sound to the NYC crowd.
Summer for the City continues through August 9th at Lincoln Center.
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