Born in favelas, Brazilian funk gets swank, goes global

April 25, 2024

By AFP

Born in impoverished favelas, Rio de Janeiro funk music has emerged as a global phenomenon, embraced by superstars from Anitta to Beyonce and starring in museum shows — though it still faces stigma in Brazil.

Blending hip-hop and electronic music with Afro-Brazilian beats, funk emerged in the late 1990s in Rio, fueling massive, all-night parties in the favelas, or slums, before spreading to other Brazilian cities and beyond.

Now, funk is having a moment.

Beyonce sampled Brazilian funk legend O Mandrake for “Spaghettii,” a track on “Cowboy Carter,” the hit album she released last month.

Anitta, the Rio-born sensation who has done more than anyone to take the genre global, has her own new album coming out Friday, “Funk Generation.”

Fellow funk star Ludmilla performed this month at Coachella, the high-profile music festival in California.

With museum expos and even an artist-in-residence program dedicated to the genre, funk is suddenly everywhere.

“Funk is a source of self-esteem for the favelas,” says writer Taisa Machado, founder of online platform Afrofunk Rio.

More:
https://www.macaubusiness.com/born-in-favelas-brazilian-funk-gets-swank-goes-global/