Baile funk is one of the biggest Brazilian cultural phenomenons of today. However, despite the success, the millions in income it generates, and the various artists who share the top of the charts (like the now world-famous singer Anitta), it’s still a musical style that is severely criminalized and persecuted. The genre receives backlash due to its origins (favelas, or slums of Rio de Janeiro), demographics (being a musical style of Black origin), and by one of its substyles, the so-called “Proibidão” or “strongly prohibited,” having as background the praise of crime (very similar to the Mexican narcocorrido or even the samba in its origins and American hip-hop).

Full article at Remezcla’s website. Date of publication: 04/08/2019.