Brazilian funk gaining worldwide popularity

It’s a sound that originated in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. It’s a sound popularized by artists like Bat Makumba (image) and O Rappa. The sound is Brazilian funk, a “driving, beat-heavy” musical genre that has become increasingly popular outside of Brazil inasmuch as mainstream Brazilians associates the music with the rampant crime of the favelas. Music from the favelas has served to "rescue people from the margins" from the specter of crime, which was evident when group Afro-Reggae toured Great Britain earlier this year.

(By the way, O Rappa will be performing at Irving Plaza in New York City this Thursday).

brazil, music