Straight Out of the Favela: Brazilian Funk

If you haven't heard of Brazilian funk (or Baile Funk) yet, you will soon. Pumping hard from the heart of Rio de Janeiro, the genre derived from Miami bass and gangsta rap is blowing up across the world. With its infectious looping tamborz o rhythms and raw party anthem lyrics, Brazilian funk is twerking its way to the top of the charts. (After all, twerking is basically the unofficial dance of the genre.) And a rising new generation of funkeiros-Anitta, MC Kevinho, MC Fioti, and Ludmilla among them-are fueling the movement.

Brazilian funk star Anitta (n e Larissa de Macedo Machado), who became a breakout sensation after singing in her home city of Rio at the 2016 Olympic Games, is catapulting the Miami bass and gangsta rap-rooted Afro-Brazilian genre into the global spotlight on Spotify.

Last December, just 12 hours after releasing Vai Malandra (feat. Tropkillaz & DJ Yuri Martins), the silky-voiced singer laid claim to the first Portuguese-language song to land on Spotify's Global Top 50 chart.

It's a great time for Brazilian funk music because we have some great artists investing in it and producing great hits with funk beats, Anitta said. Tropkillaz, Major Lazer, me and many other artists are helping making this moment even hotter. A good example is MC Fiotis song, Bum Bum Tam Tam, that exploded on Spotify. He even made a collab with J Balvin after that. It makes me really happy to see funk getting recognition worldwide.

Empowered by the unparalleled freedom and exponential reach of digital music online, outspoken female Brazilian carioca artists like Anitta-along with protest rapper Karol Conka, feminist icon Valesca Popozuda, 18-year-old S o Paulo prodigy MC Rita, and a growing wave of trailblazers like them-have been leading the way toward globalizing the genre. Anitta joins an eclectic cadre of bold voices including Ludmilla, MC Loma e As G meas Lacra o-and the list goes on.

Seeing the explosion of Brazilian baile funk gives me the feeling that we are doing our role well as a label and in media, but at the same time it proves that this is the tip of the iceberg, which can be much larger and explore other territories, says Brazilian music video director and producer Kondzilla. Baile Funk as a genre is lively and contagious. The music industry is already watching.

See for yourself just how quickly this viral music genre has spread like wildfire across the world from 2016 to 2018.

LINK:	https://newsroom.spotify.com/2018-05-30/straight-out-of-the-favela-bra...
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