“There Is No White Flag and No Chance of Going to Jail!” the Violent Relations Between Police and Criminals in Facção Central’s Rap Songs

Abstract

<jats:p>Abstract This paper analyzes the relationship between police brutality and its repercussion in the narratives exposed by Brazilian rappers in their lyrics. The central argument is that such violence is not a consequence or a cause for the phenomenon, but a structural element in the dynamics of urban violence. Such violence is essential for establishing the “Us VS. Them”, logic that objectifies itself in the feuds between police officers and criminals, expressed by the lyrics scrutinized here. Methodologically, the historical-discursive approach of Critical Discourse Analysis was employed. The analytical basis were the procedures suggested for text analysis and the focus of the investigation was the lyrics from the rap band Facção Central. The recursive relation between criminals and police officers was highlighted, in which violence functions as a mediating instrument. Violence between these groups emerges as a solidary element, i.e., it is the social cement providing cohesion to the interaction between these groups.</jats:p>