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Anitta wears [**CHLOÉ**](https://www.chloe.com/us) dress.
Anitta isn’t a household name here in the states. Yet, with worldwide clout and an IG following that eclipses Lady Gaga’s, the 26-year-old trilingual popstar from the downtrodden streets of Rio De Janeiro is challenging America’s status at the heavenly abode of the pop pantheon.
Those in the States who may happen to know her as just another run-of-the-mill dance-pop singer suffer from tunnel vision. Her body of work, which includes five studio albums with a sixth on the way, and an infinitude of collaborations, runs the gamut of subgenres and incorporates reggaeton, bossa nova, R&B, hip hop, EDM, and funk carioca. The combination of sounds continues to grow her global audience.
I wanted to seek out the reality behind the mystique and Instagram flash. She’s got to be manufactured and chock full of rehearsed platitudes like any other pop star on her level, right? And sure, pop art can only get so deep, but where else can we go? The answer lies somewhere on the horizon of the collective digi-planetary mind.
What I got on a phone call at 7 am from Rio de Janeiro was a voice with duality—both sweet and fierce. A woman who's never lost sight of her roots and has navigated the waters of a shark-infested industry. “This business is full of games,” she tells me in a weary voice, currently bouncing back from feeling under the weather. “I like being honest, so watching how other people work and the way they play games, I learned how to play my game and do it my way.”
When you gain close to 50 million fans, it’s hard to make everyone happy. But Anitta doesn’t seem to be pushed around by manufactured online outrage and doesn’t tow any party line.
She’s an individual learning as she goes, she cares about the environment, she values freedom of expression, and she takes pride in where she comes from. She’s pushed around only by her passion, and in the six years since her self-titled debut at 20, she’s gone supernova.
Her family has been vital in keeping her grounded. “They know who I am. They’ve been there since the beginning when I had nothing. I came from a humble family. They’re all older, too, and they’re not into the social media thing that much. When I’m with them, I can feel like myself, and I don’t get lost.”
From day one, she’s never lost her grip. “I was a teenager when I started building my team and company. It was a lot of hard work,” she recalls. “I had to learn with experience. I had my family around me so I didn’t lose my mind. It took time to figure out how to make things work for me. As a Brazilian, as a woman singing an urban rhythm, dealing with a lot of prejudice, I really needed to build and learn by myself.”
And the importance of being political as an artist? “I think nowadays, especially. Because people are so into social media and paying attention to what everyone’s doing, I think it’s really important to have your persona to define who you are to have your audience understand it, and maybe you can change something for the good,” she shares. “You can make them think about something. A lot of my fans have told me they’ve become vegan because they were paying attention to what I was posting.” She highly recommends Crossroads Kitchen on Melrose, loves a good Impossible burger, and is addicted to vegan popcorn.“ Most of the time, I’m vegan. When I’m traveling and I don’t have my whole team with me, it’s hard to find anything vegan. I try to be as often as I can. It’s more because of the environment and the way we produce and consume food. I try to reduce my impact.”
Anitta wears [**GUESS**](https://shop.guess.com/en/) dress and [**DSQUARED2**](https://www.dsquared2.com/us) shoes.
Anitta wears [**GUESS**](https://shop.guess.com/en/) dress and [**DSQUARED2**](https://www.dsquared2.com/us) shoes.
The political bleeds into and out of her work, even if not always overtly. Freedoms often taken for granted in the first-world are still being fought for in the third world. It makes for a different feminist conversation in Brazil than it does in the U.S. “Yes, it is \[different\]. But in the beginning, \[feminism\] was super new to me. I needed to learn and understand what it was about.” Anitta didn’t have the luxury of being exposed to academic feminism, she had to adopt it with streetwise moxie, but just because those like Madonna and the procession of pop queens in her wake all had successful careers doesn’t mean the fight in the trenches is over.
It was Madonna, after all, who reached out to Anitta to appear on “Faz Gostoso,” the most-streamed song from this year's _Madame X_ on Spotify and YouTube. It was a big moment for Anitta, and popping up on the legend’s radar was indicative of how far she’s come. “I think most of the freedom that we have nowadays, to be what we want as an artist and to express your sexuality the way we want, is because of \[Madonna’s\] work. When she called me, I couldn’t believe it.” It makes sense, considering “Faz Gostoso” is a cover of Brazilian singer-songwriter Blaya’s 2018 hit, a funk carioca-inspired pop song dripping with sexuality. Most of Anitta’s output is sexually-charged. But this has less to do with exploiting her body for views, and more to do with the roots of her music and culture.
If certain first-world feminists roll their eyes at yet another Whore of Babylon pop trope, they’d miss the point. Anitta has not only retained her independence as an artist, but also the control over her own image. Her performative persona subverts the singular male gaze. Not only is the future female, but in Anitta’s case, the future is here. And in the future, her sisters in the favelas of Rio are uplifted to the level of dignity and recognition long deserved.
Anitta wears [**ZIMMERMANN**](https://www.zimmermannwear.com/us) dress and [**DSQUARED2**](https://www.dsquared2.com/us) heels.
The video for her 2017 single, “Vai Malandra,” provoked a swath of conversation, as intended. It’s just as gazey of male skin as it is of female skin, as the camera sweeps over sixty extras (who were residents of the Vidigal favela) dancing and sunbathing on rooftops. What Anitta ultimately set out to accomplish was exposing wider audiences to the _baile funk_ culture intrinsic to her upbringing in the favelas of Rio. “Favelas are the ghettos, and there’s a lot of prejudice toward them because of the criminality that goes on there. All my life I’ve tried to fight against this prejudice and to show that we’re good people,” she states. “Even though we don’t have opportunities, it’s not our fault we were born in a place where we can’t receive what’s needed to grow wealth and to become educated.”
_Bailes_ are giant all-night outdoor parties that, in the 1980’s, were known to bring together upwards of one million people as music boomed throughout the whole favela. By the turn of the millennium, the government started cracking down, creating many restrictions on _bailes_ in an attempt to make them harder to organize. Nevertheless, they continue to thrive and provide a symbol for funk’s power of protest. “The people don’t have money for entertainment,” Anitta shares. “It’s also related to criminal activity, so it’s perceived as bad. I used to go a lot as a teenager and I performed at parties like that when I first started.”
Anitta wears [**ZADIG & VOLTAIRE**](https://us.zadig-et-voltaire.com//) top and skirt.
While the song lyrics center around violence between criminals and police, _bailes_ themselves involve very sensual and sexually explicit dancing. The _baile funk_ ethos is rooted in women fighting for the freedom to express their sexuality however they want. It’s not about the words or images, but who has agency over them. It was notable that Anitta didn’t allow her cellulite to be edited in the video’s opening shot, a prime example of being in control of her own image as it traverses borders and cultures. Representing her people with a positive image is what she strives to continue doing. She isn’t shy about taking up the mantle and giving a voice to the discriminated-the very ones in which she sees herself. “We have to focus on being good people and in separating ourselves from the criminality living in a place like that,” she says. “I try to send this message, and that the music and rhythm have nothing to do with what’s criminal. It’s a rhythm appointed by us, and it deserves respect. It’s a lot like how rap and hip hop were perceived in the ‘90s in the U.S.”
I inquire what she thinks being a pop star means in the 21st Century. “You have to have a little bit of everything. Charisma, singing, dancing, the look, _and_ the message,” Anitta shares. “Pop is the fastest way to get information to the masses because people are so into what’s going on, whether it’s music or movies or whatever. I try to remember this when I make music. It’s not always about being charming or being number one. I like to send a message—not just empty music.”
Anitta wears [**DSQUARED2**](https://www.dsquared2.com/us) corset and [**CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN**](http://us.christianlouboutin.com/us_en/) shoes.
Between getting her message out and being in ten places at once maintaining a crazy schedule, she’s looking to find the time for something simple. “I really want to hike. I follow #hiking and look at photos of people who do it, and I’m obsessed. I’ve never done it, but I’m going to 100 percent.”
I’m curious as to what a living funk carioca icon is playing on Spotify right now. “I don’t come home and listen to the kind of music I make—funk or reggaeton or whatever. I love old, chill music, like old romantic songs about falling in love. I love the Cranberries,” she laughs, perhaps a little embarrassed.
Yet before some much needed R&R, there’s the next mountain of cutting her new album. “As always, I’m trying to bring my culture and the rhythms of my country to the world, along with thoughts on womanhood and prejudice, mixing English, Spanish, and Portuguese.” One word she would use to define the new album? “Honest.” Coming to a household near you.
* * *
Photographer: [Pol Kurucz](https://instagram.com/polkurucz) at [Early Morning Riot](https://www.earlymorningriot.com).
Stylist: [Jimi Urquiaga](https://instagram.com/jimi_urquiaga).
Hair & Makeup: [Krisna Carvalho](https://instagram.com/krisna).
Manicurist: [Roberta Munis](https://instagram.com/robertamunis).
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