Funk Carioca ("Funk from Rio" in Brazilian Portuguese), also known as Brazilian Funk (which also relates to a 1970's musical style), Favela Funk and, elsewhere in the world, Baile Funk, is a type of dance music from Rio de Janeiro, derived from and superficially similar to Miami Bass, with deep rapid beats and aggressive vocals. In Rio it is most often simply known as Funk, although it is very different musically from what Funk means in most other places — including Brazil itself.

Brazilian Funk

Despite the term being used abroad to refer to the "funk carioca" genre emerged from Rio's favelas, Brazilian Funk is used in Brazil solely with respect to Brazilian black music produced back in the 1970s. Samba-rock and soul artists such as Tim Maia, Erlon Chaves, Gerson King Combo, Jorge Benjor Carlos Dafé and Trio Maria Fumaça were deeply influenced by the actual American Funk music by George Clinton, James Brown, Isaac Hayes and others, a fact that has contributed inside the favelas (slums) to wrongly extend the label "funk" to most American Black music.

“In Brazil, the term funk started to be used in the 1970’s to refer to modern black pop music from the United States (e.g. James brown and the Jackson Five).” ^[1] In the 1990’s, several funkeiros (funk aficionados) launched successful attempts of localizing funk as the genre extended its transnational, cosmopolitan identity further into the periphery (developing nations). In order to attract crowds and gain popularity, local artists elected to integrate their own rich musical traditions and culture. Localization, in this case, served to diversify funk as a musical genre while strengthening and reinforcing certain aspects of local Brazilian culture.

Brazil is a nation composed of numerous cultures and ethnicities. This multi-cultural backdrop rationalizes the extent to which the term "funk" varies from city to city. “In Sao Paolo and the south more generally, funk essentially signifies hip-hop whether it is imported or locally produced. In Rio and Belo Horizonte, funk is almost purely locally produced and more often than not includes two young, working-class funkeiros in combination with an inexpensive, preprogrammed beat box.” ^[2] The magnitude of diversity of funk music within Brazil is monumental in understanding both the overwhelming forces of globalization and localization alike. While Brazilian funk clearly derives from black pop music from the U.S., it has evolved and culturally assimilated itself into a wide-ranging sector of Brazilian artistic expression.

A "Carioca" is a native to Rio de Janeiro. This Tupi-Guarani word from the 17th century was used to name the newly-born mixed European/Indian city of Rio de Janeiro itself, and later its inhabitants (in Tupi-Guarani: cari= white people; oca= house, or housing). It is used in Brazil to name Rio city dwellers or anything else coming from Rio.

Funk (and also rap) in Brazil is extremely popular to the youth culture all over the country. In the mid-1990s in Rio de Janeiro, hip hop and funk parties were reported to have been used by drug lords as recruitment tools to find dealers.^[3]. Funk and hip hop in Brazil are used as an outlet for the youth to talk about the sociopolitical issues of their local, regional, and national societies; this was very countercurrent to the governments. Some of the drug based funding and violence from surrounding impoverished conditions are semi-evident in Brazilian funk and hip hop culture. ^[4] Another thing that is evident in the funk music is that women are put on display and the Brazilian “booty” is considered a sex symbol.

Sociopolitical Implications of Funk

On October 18, 1992, a large arrastao, or looting rampage, was conducted by hordes of dark kids from the slums in the Northern suburbs of Rio de Janeiro. Coincidentally, the main offenders were identified as funkeiros, youths from the slums of North and West Rio who frequented the "galeras," the dance clubs that play funk music. These poor suburban youths were highly criticized by the media, who contrasted them with the middle-class caras pintadas, who rallied for democratic causes by calling for the impeachment of corrupt then-President Fernando Collor and supporting the massacre of prisoners at the Sao Paulo House of Detention, better known as Carandiru, by the Military Police. It appears that poor, often black or mulatto, youths chose funk as their music of choice not because of its lyrics or transnational origins but rather as a way of "opting out" of mainstream rock music chosen by their middle-class peers, music that tended to be nationalistic or citizen-oriented. Detested by society, these youths were often harassed and, in many cases, murdered by police in order to rid the middle-class of what they believed to be a parasite to the economy and to social development. ^[5]. There is considerably more social, political, and economic inequality in Brazil than in America, and because the economic system of distribution is worse in Brazil, the relative structural position of blacks in Brazil is also worse despite more liberal attitudes toward racism. ^[6] Consequently, impoverished youths, alienated by a social order that wished to discard of them, sought funk as a means of resisting dominant cultural tendencies and participation in a government that has limited their access to social and material goods and services.

Baile Funk

Baile in Portuguese literally means "ball", as in "dance party", and "funk" is how locals label the musical genre (see below for origin of this label); therefore, "baile funk" means a "funk ball" or "funk party", and is used in Brazil exclusively to describe the parties where such music is played, and not the music itself. The mainstream Brazilian media often calls the music "Funk Carioca", meaning funk from Rio de Janeiro; alternately, it is simply referred to as "Funk", especially in Rio de Janeiro.

The baile itself is both heralded and criticized. While Alex Bellos, writer for the Blender calls it “a retro-minded hedonism borne of violence, drugs and poverty,” ^[7] many believe funk, and indeed Proibidão as a subgenre, to be a necessary and real expression of life in the favela. In addition to giving an outlet to many young people to voice their feelings, funk carioca in Rio is seen as a way to make money, find friends and, maybe one day, to get out. Researcher and funk enthusiast Greg Scrubbs adds that the baile is an important “social outlet for the community,” ^[8] it provides a place for the community to come together and appreciate the music and the company and the culture that is unique to each favela.

Funk originated from a type of music called "Miami Bass", which was a large movement in the early eighties and took place on the beaches of Miami. It portrayed many images of the African American as well as Latin American culture through its music and video, and thus became very popular in Rio De Janeiro because of the similarity in heritage. Brazilians took a large liking to this popular music largely in part because of its similarity to the Surdo drum, which is used in the school of samba. Funk is seen as the music that joined the White youth and Black youth of Brazil and was able to bridge the gap between social structures through its infectious beats and entrancing nature. ^[9]. One of the most influential producers of Funk is DJ Marlboro, who is known for introducing Brazil to Miami Bass in the late 1980's. He has broadened the horizon for many other DJ's in the field and is the pioneer for making Funk into the popular sensation that it is today. ^[10].

Funk dance for the people of Rio de Janeiro includes not only the people on “the hill” but also the people on the asphalt. On the dance floor, race and class are ignored as the multiethnic people celebrate the excitement and energy of the funk music. DJs and MCs also are multiethnic and come together in groups to produce new funk music. Using a programmed beat box, DJs play songs that entice people to dance and socialize with one another. A DJ from Rio said the best thing about baile funk is that “everything is mixed” and “anything is possible”.^[11]

Recently, funk carioca parties have been attracting attention outside Brazil. Foreign compilers tend to use the term "Baile Funk" to represent the musical genre, which differs from the original Brazilian use of the term (the parties only). This may be due to English speakers seeing the word "baile" as an adjective to "funk", as English word order might suggest. This dissemination of of baile funk to countries like England and Sweden demonstrates it’s wide appeal to the youth culture. Baile fuck artists like Sany Pitbull and Duda do Borel recently traveled all over the world performing in various countries to diverse youth audiences. ^[12]

Brazilian funk is a cultural movement and expression by the youth that is centered ont he consumption of music. Funkeiros meet at dance halls in Rio in large public open spaces. In the 70's this funk was considered to characterize artists such as James Brown and the Jackson Five, in the 90's it was associated with popular black music like hip-hop and electronic funk. ^{[13] [14]}

Since the 2000s, "bailes funk" or funk parties have taken place mostly in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and other cities. Because of this, in English, they are also sometimes known as "Favela Funk". "Favela Funk" has emerged onto the global music scene mostly due to the role of digital culture. In other words, internet-based platforms like myspace.com and "Orkut" (Google, inc.) have allowed impoverished funk artists from the favela to network with other artists and consumers who otherwise would have no channel of communication. ^[15]

Over the past 30 years of its existence, Brazilian funk and bailes funk have experienced a several waves of popularity. DJ Marlboro, one of the founders of funk carioca, states that he has seen “funk go through this fever 3 or 4 times.”^[16] In recent years, despite the continued controversy over and criticism over these parties and this music, it seems that bailes funk have regained their dominance of the social/music scene in Rio and the surrounding favelas. Andrew Downie observes that “today, funk’s clientele includes millionaire soccer players and entertainment celebrities, middle-class kids and their mothers…funk here is being embraced by mainstream society.” ^[17] A study by Jornal do Brasil, a Rio-based newspaper, found that there were 500 bailes a night on the weekends in Rio, with an average of 2,000 people at each. In a city of 13 million people, that is indeed an astounding number. ^[18]

Musical origins of Funk Carioca

Brazilian record suppliers who went to the United States in the 1970s to buy what was called at the time "Black Music" for Brazilian DJs targeted stores that sold American Funk records. As they continued to support the same hotspots over time, though American music had evolved away from Funk into new genres such as Hip Hop, the word "funk" stuck in local usage ^{[citation needed]}.

Miami was then a popular place to obtain records for Brazilian DJs, and therefore, Miami Bass was prominent in these imports ^{[citation needed]}. DJ Nazz and Tony Minister were the main suppliers credited to bringing Miami Bass records to Brazil while still referring to them as American funk records ^{[citation needed]}. Other local music producers began mimicking these importers in the late 1980s. The influence of Miami is also reflected in the prominence of freestyle-style synth melodies.

Much like any kind of hip hop music, funk carioca relies heavily on samples and interpolations of other songs, as well as of pre-existent funk music. Much of the production occurs in small-scale studios in Rio, and achieve distribution through hand-burned CDs in the markets throughout Rio and all over Brazil, from São Paulo to the Amazônia region. One of the first funk carioca widespread hits was a remix of Tag Team's "Whoomp! (There It Is)" tune.

Besides Miami Bass-style beats, funk carioca also uses some traditional Afro-Brazilian rhythms. A West Coast Electro Bass track entitled 808 Volt (Beatapella Mix) by DJ Battery Brain was widely sampled, and became the common background for various funk carioca songs, recycled time and again with the inclusion of more percussive elements as the "tamborzão" beat style became popular.

In recent years, funk carioca has been characterized within the popular imagination has having simple beats derived from cheap technologies with vocalists who tend to shout as much as they sing^[19]. The greatest export of this particular aesthetic revolves around the trio known as Bonde Do Role, who are a popular act in international hipster circles thanks to support from producer Diplo and significant coverage within the music media such as Rolling Stone^[20].

Brazilian funk artists usually compose two different sets of similar lyrics for each of their songs, one gentler, more “appropriate” version, and another harsher, cruder lyrics set. The first version is the one broadcasted by local radio stations; the second is played in dance halls and parties.^[21] Recurrent lyric topics in funk carioca are explicit sexual positions, the funk party, the police force, and the life of slum dwellers in the favelas, as it is from those favelas that the genre of funk carioca first began to develop.^[22] Sexual innuendo, favela slang, and homage to the artist's own favela are usual in such lyrics. However, the lyrics of funk carioca songs do not advocate sexual violence, in stark contrast to the hip-hop of the United States. Additionally, while funk carioca references sexuality frequently and obviously, it often uses euphemisms instead of bald statements.^[23]

Much like rap and hip hop culture is extremely popular yet sometimes feared in the United States because of its strong attitude, funk is sometimes viewed by some people in Brazil as an overly loud, aggressive, misogynist and sociopathic form of music, perhaps due to a lack of trustable information about the true meaning of the lyrics. There is often an element of curiosity about the slums from the Rio middle class. Funk is mainly produced by samplers.

History of bailes in Rio

The first mixed soul and disco parties in Rio, beginning in the 1970s, are regarded as the pre-history of baile funk in Brazil. They used to place at concert halls or nightclubs in central, middle-class Rio de Janeiro, and the audience was a mix of the stereotypical, contrasting "poor black and white rich" cariocas (Rio dwellers). These parties were first named "black music" or "soul music" parties, promoted by radio DJs. After some years, they migrated to the suburbs in the 1980s, and up to the favelas (slums) after 1998, transforming themselves during the process into the actual bailes funk.

A mythic party called "Baile da Pesada" at concert hall Canecão (in the district of Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro) starting in 1974 with DJs Big Boy and Ademir Lemos, is claimed to be the first one to be called "baile". The word, not usual in Brazil up until then, became then synonymous for those kind of parties. After two years of successful promotion (a vinyl record was even named after "Baile da Pesada" parties), the party was called off by the owners of Canecão. The reasons were unclear, but the accepted explanation at that time regarded the frightened mixed-class audience and the overcrowding of the venue with marketing practices such as cheap tickets and beer - instead of the whiskey-pouring, regular music concerts with seating audiences that constituted the usual events at Canecão. Also, DJ Big Boy, who played a central role in the organisation of the parties, died very young from a heart attack, and "Baile da Pesada" never resumed.

Similar parties, however, popped up instantly right after at the suburbs of the city (not the favelas). In two years, according to a DJ Marlboro's testimonial in his 2004 book, there were already 300 sound systems fully operating, transforming any type of available venue into a "concert hall".

In 1989, the first funk lyrics in Portuguese appeared in the remix album "Funk Brasil" (by record company Polygram), compiled and produced by Cidinho Cambalhota (shot dead during a robbery right before the release) and DJ Marlboro. It became a top seller and inaugurated the "pop" phase of the genre in Brazil, with Cidinho e Doca, Claudinho e Buchecha and other artists that started to become increasingly famous and make top money. Most of the funk carioca videoclips at that time shows helicopters and bling productions, hiphop style. Circa 1994, funk was already made "pop" throughout the country.

The "baile funk" parties continued to take place at suburban venues, but no longer unnoticed. The costs of producing such a party went progressively up, and top artists' stage presence in them became more rare, as some funk producers declared in the book "Batidão, uma história do funk". One of the new marketing strategies to attract people to the parties was to re-create the "gincanas" (group disputes over tasks) very popular on many a Brazilian TV show at that time.

In the 1990s, "hooligan-ish" violent behaviour in football matches became a strong social problem in Brazil. From 1995 to 1998, a phenomenon called "baile de corredor" (corridor balls) took place - in parties, the crowd would line up on opposite sides, called "Lado A" and "Lado B" (side A and side B) and fight in the corridor of space between them for 5 to 15min to the sound of the DJ. Nicknamed the "Corridor of Death" (these corridors were blamed for several deaths) ^[24], security guards would stand by to keep the fighting controlled. According to Fight Life magazine (Sweden), a few of the actual "Vale Tudo" Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighters started by that time at these balls. Another example of the danger of the "bailes" is the use of guns. Many of the people in attendance would be carrying firearms, and would actually shoot into the air to signal that they liked the music.

Due to the increasing violence in the "bailes", funk carioca was no longer a pop hit, and the balls were prohibited or severely ruled, sometimes to their extinction.

Around 1998, the first favela parties took place. The poor communities in the Rio slums mitigated the violence in the funk parties and hired back many funk carioca artists - but the hard rules of drug-trafficking and crime-controlled environments also were imposed to the audiences. The era of the "proibidão" funk had just started.

The drug cartels invest in the parties as a lucrative source of clients. It has been estimated that the drug cartels in Rio net over one million dollars per month from the favelas, using the parties as both a lure and place of business^[24].

Some argue that this "proibidão" funk correlation to the drug cartels is problematic in that it bigs up the local drug gangs ^[25]. It is estimated that between 20,000 to 100,000 young men are involved in drug trafficking.Yet the drug cartels would argue that they bankroll the bailes as a way of showing that they’re investing in their communities. Many in the community even feel that they are safer under the control of the drug traffickers than the local police, considering the levels of police brutality often witnessed in the favelas ^[24].

Funk "Proibidão"

A sub-genre of Baile Funk in Brazil is called proibidão, which translates to "highly forbidden". Funk fans say it glorifies local, favela drug dealers and contains heavy and explicitly sexual lyrics. While most if not all bailes in the favelas of Rio are sponsored by rival drug factions, proibidão represents a sub genre of funk that is heavily sponsored by various, competing drug factions, such as the Red Command, and is dedicated primarily to the glorification of these factions. Many songs list the names of faction leaders, or tell stories of a particular invasion or conflict between groups. In Alex Bellos’ article “Coke. Guns. Booty. Beats” MC Juca has stated that he often receives requests from drug soldiers to include their names in his lyrics. He views this as an effort to increase their profiles in order to attract loyalty as well as women. In the same article Juca is quoted saying “The best way to get a break is to sing something that pleases the traffickers…”^[26]

Proibidão is not surprisingly seen sometimes as an especially vicious kind of music in the eyes of the Brazilian police force. In February 2005, twelve Rio funk artists were investigated by the local police for crime praising (Rio newspapers made extensive coverage, specially O Dia), but no official criminal charges were made so far. To perform proibidão lyrics is now illegal and punishable by up to 6 months in jail. To work around this problem, MCs like Juca will perform the songs live at bailes, which are rarely raided by police, but will refrain from recording any version of the song which might be traced back to him.^[27]

Some MCs who perform proibidão have managed to find international as well as local success. Mr. Catra an ex-drug dealer and fervent supporter of proibidão has gone on European tours, performing in Berlin and Poland. However it is unclear whether his affinity for proibidão has contributed to or hampered his success.^[28]

After 2004, funk lyrics with aggressive content towards the police force have started to being progressively replaced by more sexually explicit, faint-hearted flushing lyric content. Although more popular tunes shout about sexual offenses or excesses, lighter mock versions of well-known Brazilian pop songs can also be listened to in traditional radio stations in Brazil. Furthermore, due to the success of the music genre being spread about to other cities outside Rio, some Brazilian musicians such as Bonde do Rolê have made fun of the background beats and explicit funk lyrics.

Funk "Melody"

DJ Marlboro's radio show "Big Mix", broadcast since the 80s, has popularised a soft version of the underground baile funk songs. These soft versions formed a romantic sub-genre called melodic funk in Brazil, adding melodies and arrangements to the raw, beat-y funk tunes.

Famous Funk Carioca Groups/Artists

Below are the names of various Funk Carioca artists and their hits:

The Roles Of Women

In this particular genre of music, collectively referred to as part of the global hip-hop scene, women serve into two roles.

The first one, which is more obvious to a listener and more accepted into the culture of the music, is that of a sex symbol. With explicit lyrics that focus on the Brazilian obsession with sex, ^[29] and accompanying dances that are strongly suggestive of different sexual practices, the scene is pervaded by the act, and particularly, the objectification of women and their roles in the duration.

The second role that women play in the Brazilian Funk scene is a more modern one that is becoming increasingly visible and pertinent. That is, women are rising to the top and they are taking over the world of Brazilian Funk. ^[30] The most popular MC in the Funk Carioca scene is a woman by the name of Tati Quebra-Barraco. Because women like Tati, also known as 'funkeiras' ^[31] are becoming increasingly successful in the genre, their financial situations are creating a revolution in the original working-class scene that funk arose from, creating more freedom and opportunities, both economic and social, for themselves and other women that are to follow.

Funk Carioca Worldwide

Funk Carioca was only a regional phenomenon, until the international media have started to report its peculiar combination of music and social issues. The first articles (April 2000 issue of Mixmag magazine, and January 2001 issue of Spin magazine) were about the "Corridor Balls", or the life in a Rio favela, not really the music in itself, which was frequently described as an outlaw club scene with heavy American hip-hop influence.

In February 11, 2001, the first reference to the music itself was made by Neil Strauss in the New York Times newspaper, recognizing it as a distinct musical genre, and along with Kwaito music in South Africa, one of the first new genres of electronic, street dance music to have become important outside North America and Europe.

Some indie video-documentaries were made right after in Europe, especially in Germany and Sweden. Still, the focus was mainly on the social issues in the favelas. One of the most famous of these series of documentaries is Mr Catra the faithful(2005) by Danish filmmaker Andreas Johnsen, broadcasted by many European open and cable television channels.

Many Rio funk artists have also started to do gigs abroad in the 2000s. DJ Marlboro and Favela Chic Paris club were the pioneer travellers/producers. MC Tati Quebra-Barraco, MC Catra with DJ Sandrinho, Bonde do Tigrão, and Menor do Chapa are some of the first names to come up in the international scene.

The funk carioca production was until then limited to cater to the ghettos and the Brazilian pop market. DJ Marlboro^[32], a major composer of funk carioca's tunes declared in 2006 in Brazilian "Isto É magazine" how astonished he was with all the sudden overseas interest in the music genre.

In 2001, for the first time, Baile funk tracks appeared on a Non-Brazilian label. They appeared on a compilation that was released by Parisian DJ and music producer Jèrôme Pigeon from Fla-Flu Records. The album was named Favela Chic by NAÏVE Records, containing 3 old-school funk carioca hits, including the song "Popozuda Rock n´Roll" by artist De Falla.

In 2003, the tune "Quem Que Caguetou (Follow Me Follow Me)" by Black Alien & Speed, which was not even a big hit in Brazil, was then used in a sports car advertisement in Europe, and it helped spread the word about baile funk. Berlin music journalist and DJ Daniel Haaksman released the seminal CD-compilations "Rio Baile Funk Favela Booty Beats" in 2004, and "More Favela Booty Beats 2006" through Essay Recordings Germany.^[33] He launched the international career of "Popozuda Rock n´Roll" artist Edu K^[34], whose baile funk anthem was used in a soft drink TV advertisement in Germany. Haaksman continued to produce and distribute many new baile funk records, especially the EP series "Funk Mundial"^[35] and "Baile Funk Masters" on his label Man Recordings

The artist M.I.A. brought mainstream international popularity to Brazillian Funk with her single "Bucky Done Gun" released in 2005, and attention to a DJ called Diplo who worked as its producer. He had worked on M.I.A.'s 2004 mixtape Piracy Funds Terrorism which included "Bucky Done Gun." He made a 2004 bootleg mix CD "Favela On Blast" after finding Ivanna Bergese compiled remix-tapes of her performance act "Yours Truly."

In London, artists Tetine have also assembled an important pioneer compilation in 2004, "Slum Dunk Presents Funk Carioca mixed by Tetine", by Mr Bongo Records. In Italy, Irma Records released the 2005 compilation "Colors Music #4: Rio Funk". Many small European (notably Arcade Mode) and American (Flamin´Hotz, Nossa) labels released several compilations and EPs in bootleg formats.

In 2008 Berlin label Man Recordings released "Gringão", the debut album by German MC Gringo - the only non Brazilian MC performing in the bailes of Rio de Janeiro.

Artists influenced by Funk Carioca

• Black Alien & Speed
• Bonde das Impostoras (mix funk carioca with Electro and Indie Rock)
• Bonde do Role (gaining prominence in the US market, signed to Diplo's Mad Decent label)
• Comunidade Nin-Jitsu and Chernobyl
• Diplo
• Daniel Haaksman
• Edu K - author of the baile funk hit "Popozuda Rock n´Roll", now solo artist
• Fernanda Abreu
• M.I.A.
• Tetine
• Solid Groove
• Voltair (Zero and Tchiky Al Dente )
• Tigarah
• Joyce Muniz

References

See also

• Angola’s Kuduro

External links

General:

• BAILE FUNK.INFO General info about Baile Funk Djs, the history of Baile Funk, listen to new mixes and upload your own mixes, a general Baile Funk resource.

Blogs:

• A blog about funk carioca by DJ Rideon, including stories, inteviews, photos, videos and music of the funk artists and culture from Rio

Articles:

• "Booty & Bootlegs" article about favela music culture on Traverse Magazine by Drew Murphy. 2006
• "Ghetto Fabulous" Observer Music Monthly article on Baile Funk by Alex Bellos 2005
• XLR8R article about the history of Brazilian funk, written by Bruno Natal Ribeiro 2005
• "Samba, That's So Last Year" article by Alex Bellos at The Guardian 2004
• "In The Fight Club Of Rio" article on "corridor balls" at Free Radical by Canadian Nicole Veash 2000
• "Brazilian Punk" article and interview with "baile punk" artist Edu K by David Day on Boston Phoenix 2006
• Article with Baile Funk master Sany Pitbull by Sabrina Fidalgo at Musibrasil 2007

Music:

• CLEKCLEKBOOM.COM Site about Baile Funk and electronic music.. Free downloads and baile funk mix.
• European label that is specialised in releasing baile funk on vinyl
• Funk Total website with many mp3s *portuguese*
• "Favela on Blast" Baile Funk mix by Diplo (made available with Diplo's permission)
• Baile Funk mix by Tchiky Al Dente live on french Radio Nova (made available with Dj Sandrinho's permission)
• Baile Funk mix by Daniel Haaksman
• Reasonable mix by Atari (Reasoner podcast)
• Baile Burning mix by Atari (Reasoner podcast)

Videos:

• Report on French National Tv (Arte) about Dj SANDRINHO Do BOREL
• Sany Pitbull videos on Youtube by Carioca Funk Clube
• Washington Post video package on Latin American arts and culture, featuring a five-minute video on Mr. Catra and Edu-K
• "Tá Tudo Dominado" - documentary on funk carioca produced in 2007 by Roberto Maxwell. Contains interview with DJ Marlboro, Mr. Catra and Tati Quebra-barraco

Podcasts:

• Carioca Funk Clube podcast
• Ghetto 808 podcast
• Mr Phipson's incredible podcast
• Global Hit interview with Tetine

In portuguese:

• Download the original 1988 book "O Mundo Funk Carioca" written by brazilian anthropologist Hermano Vianna

• Interview with Sany Pitbull by Sabrina Fidalgo

In german:

• FM4 radio interview with SANY PITBULL