What has a photo spread in National Geographic, an exclusive deal with Twitch, a Netflix original series, a Spotify playlist with 200,000 followers and a corresponding editorial feature, interest from the likes of Drake, Diplo and Snoop Dogg and one of the top 10 most-subscribed YouTube channels in the world?

It’s Brazilian funk — also known as funk carioca — which has grown over the past few decades into one of Brazil’s best-known music styles and pop-culture exports.

Drawing inspiration from American hip-hop styles like Miami bass and gangsta rap, funk carioca developed on the margins of Brazil’s mainstream cultural industry in the mid- to late 1980s through a network of parties in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Since then, it’s expanded into a near-fully professionalized, Internet-powered economy across Rio, São Paulo and other Brazilian cities, and has continued to fuel local political movements.

Full article at Water & Music’s website. Date of publication: 18/08/2020.