A feature by Alex Bellos in Blender mag about the club scene that emerges when heavily-armed drug lords, heavily-geared deejays and heavily-coked Rio babes all inhabit the same space at the same time.
Five A.M.: In the sultry depths of Rio de Janeiro’s Nova Holanda shantytown–or favela (pronounced fuh-VELL-luh)–more than 1,000 people are dancing in a narrow street. A wall of speakers stacked 15 feet high and 60 feet wide sends a dirty electro beat shuddering through the ground. On a tiny stage, MCs Juca and Paulinho* shout out the lyrics of their hit “24 Hours”: “Bullets into the Terceiro,” they say in chorus. “Shoot the snitch!” Suddenly the crackle of gunfire cuts through the bass: From the middle of the swaying crowd, someone is shooting into the air.
A sea of hands goes up: The men point their index fingers and cock their thumbs, waving imaginary guns over their heads. Other hands form into C and V shapes–the Rio gang sign of the Comando Vermelho, the “Red Command” drug faction that runs this favela. On the stage beside Juca and Paulhino stands a young man in his early 20s; he has a pencil moustache, wears an expensive blue T-shirt with a picture of a surfer on the front and is holding a sub-machine gun. He smiles with approval at the show.
An hour later, as the two MCs leave, the party is still going strong; Juca and Paulinho pass two teenage boys who are dancing together, waving their pistols in the air. Back in their car, Juca shrugs off the gunplay. Anyone brought up in the favela is used to the sound of guns, he says. “And anyway, if the guy shoots in the air, it means he likes the song.”
Link to story and playlist essentials (obrigada, cowgirl invisível!)
Reader Comment: dave wagz says,
re: “Extreme gangsta rap, Brazilian style”, the first post here has a link to dj sujinho’s ‘i love baile funk’ mix. Also, philly dj Diplo has a couple of great baile funk mixes, see: here.