The new 'favela funk' in Brazil

By: Karl Andersson (editor of The Lover)

The latest trend of Brazilian hip hop is the rise of "favela funk" - young "funkeiros" rap about sex, drugs and violence. Some of them are not even teenagers. The "vulgar" lyrics have caused upset reactions; British tabloid Daily Mail published an indignant article about the "disturbing" phenomenon, and quoted some experts who condemned the "sexualisation of children": Psychologist Rosely Sayao: "We need to treat children like children, eroticism and sensuality should never become part of the world of the child." University professor Fabrico Ribeiro: "The negative effects of this type of contact is that the construction of their sexuality, which should happen in a slow rhythm, is knocked over by eroticism." Lawyer Ricardo Cabezon: "Children are being robbed of their innocence, something that once gone cannot be restored. Taking away from a child the right to a childhood is a truly horrific crime."

But in Brazil, the shameless teenagers are rising to fame with millions of clicks, views and followers. It's easy to see why. After spending some weeks exploring the world of Brazilian teen rappers and playing their hits at the local critical mass biking, your editor has become a full-blown Pedrinatico - that's what the female fans of MC Pedrinho call themselves. The Western countries truly are the parents of the world, upset at what's going on in the teenage parts of the world and eager to intervene and tell the teenagers to stop their improper behavior.

The Lover Top10 funkeiros under 20

MC Pikachu, 17
Born: September 23, 1999.
Real name: Matheus Sampaio Correa.
Home turf: Suzano neighborhood, eastern São Paulo.
Named after the Pokémon character, MC Pikachu started his music career in 2014 at age 14 by appearing in the music video of the song Feliz Natal (Merry Christmas) by his five years older cousin MC Bin Laden. Pikachu caused controversy in 2014 with his song Tava nu rua (18 million views on Youtube), because of its references to drugs and pornography. What does his mother say? "At first she would tell me off and tell me to go to church, but now she can see that this is my work and I'm earning money, so she respects that. She says that she trusts me and if this is my work, then fine."
Monthly earnings: About 11,000 € or 13,000 $.

MC Don Juan, 16
Born: January 3, 2001.
Real name: Matheus Wallace Mendonça Da Cruz.
Home turf: São Paulo.
Already at age eleven, Matheus Wallace started to sing funk, but it was not until 2015 that he started to call himself MC Don Juan and was awarded "best of the year".
Influence: MC Gui.

MC Pedrinho, 15
Born: May 3, 2002.
Real name: Pedro Maia Tempester.
Home turf: Cabreúva, São Paulo.
Pedrinho has performed since he was eight years old, but rose to fame over night in 2014 with the song Dom Dom Dom, in which the then 11 year old raps about oral sex: "If kneels, prepares and makes a blowjob good." Media questioned whether such lyrics were appropriate for preteens, and a prosecutor in Fortaleza banned Pedrinho's song in the state of Ceará, claiming that "the clear sexual connotation, high erotic content, pornography, profanity and all kinds of vulgarity are incompatible with the specific conditions of developing persons". The young rapper, then 12, ignored the ban and released another sexually explicit song only three days after the prosecutor's decision. Despite Pedrinho's "daring funk", he says that he has never made out. Pedrinho has said in interviews that his career as a funkeiro has improved his living conditions greatly, as he comes from a poor family and often went hungry as a child. He sings about this in Vida Deferenciada. What does his mother say? She has said in interviews that she supports her son fully, but would prefer the songs contain less swear words.
Followers: 2.6 million on IG, 3 million on FB.

MC Gui, 19
Born: May 19, 1998.
Real name: Guilherme Kaue Castanheira Alves.
Home turf: São Paulo.
MC Gui's singing career came off as a joke, as the then ten year old started to write funk lyrics with his brother, and owns his own clothes shop in São Paulo. In 2014 his brother tragically died in a cocaine overdose. MC Gui's song O Bonde Passou from 2013 has over 50 million views on Youtube. In 2017 he is one of the contestants in the popular TV show Dancing Brazil.
Monthly earnings: About 33,000 € or 40,000 $.
Facebook: Over 11 million followers.

MC Tiki, 15
Real name: Iago dew Oliveira.
Home turf: Embu das Artes, São Paulo.
Who's that boy? We don't know, but his song Realidade from November 2016 has gained over 20 million views in only half a year.
Award: New artist of the year 2016.

MC Novin
Born: ?
Real name: ?
Home turf: São Paulo.
Performing with a thick chain around his neck, MC Novin may have the most pubescent voice of all the young funkeiros - it's enough to give you goose bumps! Little is known of MC Novin, but like the other funkeiros, he surrounds himself with females. The video to De Novin Só Tem Nome pictures Novin's birthday party full of sexy teenage girls, but the birthday boy only has eyes for his mother's sexy friend and manages to get a shot of her behind. His videos can be watched all the channels of Kondzilla and Legenda Funk, since MC Novin's own channel was terminated due to "violating YouTube's Community's Guidelines". MC Novin features shirtless along women in Novinha de Favela.

MC Du Conventi, 17
Born: February, 2000.
Home turf: São Paulo.
MC Du Conventi rose to fame in 2013, when the 13-year-old "angel face" invited the controversial reality TV star Geisy Arruda to act in the video to his song Joga pra frente, joga pra trás - she's the one in the pink dress in the frames below. The song is quite catchy. Arruda visited Du Conventi's birthday party when he turned 15 years old in February 2015, which again made headlines in the gossip press.

MC Brinquedo, 15
Real name: Vinicius Ricardo de Santos Moura.
Born: August 3, 2001.
Home turf: Vila Natal, southern São Paulo.
Vinicius Ricardo chose "toy" for his stage name - that's what "brinquedo" means - when he made his first public appearance at age 13 in a video by MC bin Laden. In his first own song, Boquinha de Apparello, MC Briquendo's sings about being sucked off. This gave the underage boy media attention and more fans. Famous for his pink and blue hair - and for his beautiful eyes and long eyelashes (or is that just me?) - MC Brinquedo's biggest hit is the extremely catchy song Roça (128 million views). He sings completely out of tune in Na Batida, and yet it works, because the kid is so charming. That's why he gets away with his raunchy lyrics too; the media can't help but to love him. He will be 16 when you read this text - but he was 15 when we wrote it!

MC Pet, 18
Born: 1999.
Real name: Peterson Kevyn.
Home turf: Carapicuiba, São Paulo.
MC Pet reached fame in a tragic way: His older brother MC Daleste was shot dead on stage during a show in 2013, when Peterson was only 14 years old. His brother was famous for songs about drugs trade and the police. One was titled "Killing policemen is our goal". MC Pet's lyrics also contain plenty of drugs and women. He raps that "I know I'm a minor" but still does things a minor isn't allowed to do, like driving a car - in the fast lane. For the video to his 2013 song Pagando de Motorista, prepubescent MC Pet invited model Sabrina Boing Boing.
Number of shows: About 20 a month.

MC Kevinho, 18
Born: September 15, 1998.
Name: Kevin Kawan de Azevedo.
Home turf: Campinas, São Paulo.
Despite being a teenager, MC Kevinho has a decidedly older style than the rest of the funkeiros in this guide. Nevertheless he should be mentioned as the most successful of them all, thus an inspirator for many young boys across Brazil. MC Kevinho started his career at age 14, but had his big break last year with the catchy and funny songs Tumbalatum - 229 million Youtube views! - and Olha a Explosão - a strange-rhythmed twerking favorite with 227 million views.
Twitter: 392,000 followers.
Facebook: 4.5 million.
Instagram: 5.9 million.

Where to follow these amazing funkeiros

Most funkeiros release their songs on larger Youtube channels. Check Canal Kondzilla (16,734,695 subscribers), GR6 Explode (6,896,671), Detona Funk (3,300,861) and Legenda Funk (1,777,928). Few of them use Twitter - but who cares about Twitter nowadays anyway? Google will point you to the current social media accounts of your favorite funkeiro. And how do you like them? I would appreciate reader letters, especially with voice assessments from boy choir aficionados.

source: Article 'The new "favela funk" in Brazil' by Karl Andersson; The Lover, Issue 06, Autumn 2017