Rapper Stelly releases EP Ruas do bairro on September 18

The rapper Stelly, the stage name of Stephanie Aguiar Costa, releases on September 18 her first EP, “Ruas do bairro”. The work comes three years after its debut in the phonographic market, with six authorial tracks trapped in the trap. Natural of São Paulo (SP) and currently based in Palhoça (SC), Stelly synthesizes on the album the experiences of an itinerant route and rejects feminine standards imposed on rappers in the universe of hip hop.

Onstage since 2020, when she began participating in rhyme battles, Stelly released her first single, “Question of Time,” in 2023. Now, with the EP, the artist consolidates an identity marked by authenticity and by the refusal to fit into other people’s expectations. “I’m tired of seeing women having to prove their place all the time in the scene, whether it’s lyrics, posture or attitudes, while they’re being charged with following patterns that aren’t imposed on men in the same way,” Stelly argues.

Trajectory marked by change and overcoming

Stephanie Aguiar Costa was born in São Paulo (SP), but over the course of her life she changed her address several times due to the family’s financial instability. This experience of constant displacement shaped his worldview and is directly reflected in the lyrics of the EP. The artist transforms the experience of the road into raw material for her rhymes, without romanticizing the difficulties, but also without victimizing herself.

Currently based in Palhoça (SC), a coastal municipality of the metropolitan region of Florianópolis, Stelly found in the trap a channel to express her roots and her resistance. The EP “Ruas do bairro” works as a sound portrait of this journey, connecting the streets through which it passed with the hip hop scene that welcomed it. The musical production was in charge of MDC Oficial, Safê and Dupre, names that help to give aesthetic cohesion to the project.

Letters that confront female patterns

In the six tracks of the EP, Stelly not only narrates her story, but also questions the unequal charges faced by women in rap. The track “Caminheira” exemplifies this posture with direct and affirmative verses: “It is that I will pass from ship where I always wanted to walk / I will live my vibe until it ends / It is that I will sing my music until it passes / That my vulgo is of the legacy and I will not change”.

The choice of the title “Camineira” refers to the idea of someone who travels roads, but can also be read as a metaphor for female autonomy in a territory historically dominated by men. Stelly arrives, as the lyrics say, “with her head up,” without asking for a pass. The artist makes it clear that she does not intend to shape herself to aesthetic or behavioral patterns that limit the expression of women in hip hop.

Production and sound identity

The EP “Ruas do bairro” was formatted with musical production by MDC Oficial, Safê and Dupre, which give the work a contemporary sound within the trap. The bass beats and minimalist arrangements create the perfect ambiance for Stelly’s lyrics to gain prominence. The cover of the EP, signed by Renan FotoArte, reinforces the urban aesthetic and the artist’s connection to the streets that give the project its name.

Throughout the six tracks, Stelly maintains a thematic coherence that permeates the itinerant experience and the affirmation of her identity. The title “Streets of the Neighborhood” suggests a symbolic rooting: even having changed so many times of address, the rapper found in the streets – spaces of circulation and encounter – a territory of belonging. This duality between movement and rooting is one of the conductor wires of the disc.

Relevance to the hip hop scene

The release of “Ruas do bairro” comes at a time when the debate about female representation in rap is gaining more and more space. Stelly joins other voices that have expanded narratives within the genre, bringing perspectives that escape stereotypes. His refusal to follow imposed standards is not just a personal stance, but a political stance within the scene.

For the audience of Ponta Grossa and Campos Gerais, Stelly’s work can serve as inspiration for local artists seeking space on the national stage. Although the rapper has no direct connection to the region, her trajectory of overcoming and authenticity resonates with the reality of many independent musicians of the Paraná. The EP will be available on major digital platforms from September 18.

With “Ruas do bairro”, Stelly reaffirms her commitment to an art that is born of experience and refuses to fit in boxes. The EP is an invitation to meet an artist who, even on the move, has roots in the truth of her lyrics.

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