When I first thought about the dictionary, I only wanted to clear up some portuguese terms because I might be using some words common to the baile funk scene that don’t quite have equivalents in english. But as interest and feed-back has been plenty and I think it's time for you guys to begin to understand also the lyrics of baile funk, some expansion is needed. So here comes the first phase of a more complete baile funk dictionary by DJ Rideon!
I’ve consentrated on such words, expressions , different meanings and slang that you might not find in other dictionaries. Also suggestions of what could I add there are welcomed. And if you really wanna understand some phrase or word, post it on the comments of the dictionary and I’ll try to help.
This time we're taking it back to the old school. As most of you know one of baile funk's greatest influencies in the early days was Miami Bass, the bass-heavy, car-booming 808 sound with dirty lyrics that dominated in Miami during 80's. So for this mix I dug into my crates and brought you some pieces of history, a few miami bass essentials and a couple of rarer ones. It's 42 minutes of booming bass.
And if we're talking about baile funk's putaria style and sex-filled lyrics, here's where it all comes from. Needless to say that for example 2 Live crew were hugely popular in the baile funk scene of Rio suring the mid-80's.
(And I also must note that this isn't for those who take sexist lyrics too up-tight and serious. And this is definately NOT to be played on your computers toy-speakers or those poor-quality iPod whitey-headphones, but on a good hi-fi stereo with a lot of BASS. Or more suitably on your pimped ride full car-bass-boosters...)
Anyway, here you go:
DJ Rideon: Back To Miami
Tracklist:
2Live Crew: Shake A Lil’ Somethin’ Freak Nasty: Down Low Fresh Celeste & M-4 Sers: Give It All To Me J.J.Fad: Eenie Meenie Beats Soundmaster T: 2 Much Booty (In Da Pants) The Boys From the Bottom: Megalittlemix The Boys From The Bottom: My Girl’s Got That Booty Future Shock: Just Go DJ Magic Mike: The Booty Dub Gigolo Tony: Shake Your Pants Egyptian Lover: Girls Stone Age: Raw Dog P.F.P: She Like It Hard 2Live Crew: Me So Horny 2Live Crew: Head, Booty & Cock Rideon: Fuck Me Baby 2Live Crew: C’Mon Baby
There was an interesting blog entry on The Guardian's Music blog by Danny McFadden. He states that by the rise of baile funk and kuduro on the dancefloor of western world, portuguese is becoming one of the dominant languages of electronic music.
I myself think it's a pity that most of the people who dig baile funk can't understand the lyrics, because that prevents it to fully boom on the western market. The lyrics are often funny and full of double meanings and without understanding what the artists are saying, the beats and the rhythm can be a bit repetetive after a while. Like, what's the point on listening to hip-hop if you can't really understand what the MC is rapping about. Of course you can dance to it, but for you to really get envolved and follow the scene, it would be crucial to understand all the tendencies that the lyrics hold inside. In baile funk for example there are various songs that have given birth to response songs and a lot of jokes that open only to the ones following the scene. (though don't worry; not even all the portuguese speakers understand the baile funk lyrics, since they're so loaded with street slang...)
Danny McFadden is starting with an "obrigado", but how about you, my readers? How many of you are irritated of not being able to understand baile funk lyrics and trying to learn some portuguese?
I came across this Beat Diaspora blog by Greg Scruggs and found out that he’s just put together a nice baile funk mix called Seleção do Gringo (you can download it from Blogariddims). It’s a nice journey through time from old shool funk antigo to some tamborzão and proibidão tunes and going off to pós-baile-funk beats. But the best thing about it is that in his blog he opens each track and tells about it: the artists, tracks, and other things connected (such as the favela communities). It’s a really nice read-through while listening and plenty of useful and interesting information for those not directly connected in the Rio baile funk scene.
Greg has volunteered at an NGO called Instituto Dois Irmãos (Two Brothers Foundation) that’s based in the favela of Rocinha. He also highlights other favela based NGO’s like Nós do Morro. (At some point I’m gonna feature some of these organizations on my blog too: even though they’re not directly linked to baile funk, they do fabulous work there! Nós de Morro, Afroreggae and Dois Irmãos: Keep it up!)
He also brings out an interesting study about proibidão baile funk style. It’s written by Paul Sneed and called "Machine Gun Voices". But I’ll comment more on this after I’ve read it.
He also writes about Flamin Hotz, a record label that put out a bootleg 12” without any credits: ”The version of this song I got on relatively high-quality mp3 ripped from the Sou Funk EP, which I later discovered was 100% pirated, a pretty rough culture-vulture case. Fortunately, Flamin Hotz Records turned out not to be such bad guys, and I helped them track down which artists we could and pay them back. Júnior and Leonardo were one of them.”
Accusing Diplo of ”failing to credit artists” on his mixes I can understand; crediting the right artists is the only way they will ever get even some change to compensation by gaining some reputation. But as Greg and anyone who has bought CDs from the Uruguiana market or the streets of Rio knows, sometimes artist names and track titles are hard to find. And if I’d be Greg (having himself also has some unknown artists on his tracklist), I wouldn’t be so eager to judge others.
Accusing Bonde do Role as ”a cheap ripoff” and ”jokers from Curitiba” is another thing I don’t quite understand... I don’t see baile funk as a musical genre having some musical dogma or boundaries. So adding rock guitars to baile funk in De Falla style, in my opinion, isn’t any different then sampling Kratfwerk and indian chants as Sany Pitbull does. I believe Bonde do Role themselves have never claimed being ”authentic” baile funk, just having baile funk as one of their infuencies...
And then accusing Man Recordings of ”questionable contracts”. First I’d like to know how and what does Greg know about the contracts? And then arguments and some justification of how are they ”questionable”. I think it’s a bit low to throw in accusations without prooving anything and standing behind one’s words...
And I’m not trying to act as a judge or anything, I just feel that these kind of things should be argued and talked about properly.
But dispite of these it’s a very interesting blog and a good read. So I recommend to take a peek.
Last spring when I was in Rio I met there also a french producer called who is one of the world’s leading kuduro connoisseurs. He was in Rio on a project attempting to put together kuduro beats with baile funk MCs. We met at his rental appartment where he had set up his mobile recording studio. Right after me MC Xana was coming over to sing on top of one of Galliano’s kuduro rhythyms.
At this point some of you might ask what is kuduro. Well, to put it short kuduro is hyped up ghetto techno and house out of Angola; a mixture of electronic beats with traditional angolan carnaval music. By the name of kuduro goes also the crazy, freaky dancing style that combines with the music. Something of the music and the dance might tell the direct translation of the word kuduro that is ”tight ass”.
That’s about all I knew about it by that time, so that’s why I wanted Frédéric himself to explain more about the origins of kuduro:
”Kuduro was created by Tony Amado 1996. He used to listen house music. During that time songs like Reel 2 Real: I Like To Move It were international hits and he thought that it’s good but it lacks angolan flavour. So he wanted to do and angolan version of these. So kept the straight kick drum and all around the kick he produced traditional carnaval rhythms. It was an instant success. He called the style kuduro because he had created a dance style inspired by a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, in which he dances all stiff and with a tight ass. (Amado thought the Van Damme dance was really funny; white man's dance...)”
”The dance is special; broken, stupid, funny; they fall on the floor, bounce to walls. It’s acrobatic and more like clownery. Everything is possible in kuduro dance.” As it def is better seen then described I searched some kuduro madness on video for you to check out:
After Tony Amado all the DJs in Luanda copied the style and 10 years after it’s really popular in Angola and spreading around the world. But still kuduro doens’t get really much airplay in the radio in Angola, because the lyrics are so harsh; some sexual slackness some social and political. But it gets played in the popular mini taxis of Luanda, so everybody hears the new songs anyway.”
”When I heard it for the first time two years ago Kuduro hit me right away: For me kuduro is the first and only original electronic music from Africa. It’s fast as techno, but groovy as zouk. The mixture is incredible and completely african. It’s contemporary like european electronic music scene, but with 100% african style and attitude.” Since then he’s been to Angola to learn and record kuduro three times. And went again in March 2007.
”The composition of kuduro is really strict. It comes from the traditional carnaval music of Angola and all the snares and hi-hat hits have to be on a certain place.”
Frédéric learned to produce kuduro with DJ Kito da Machina from Luanda. ”After two weeks of everyday practice with him to learn the rhythm and the composition he said that now you’re qualified to do it alone. But I still send my batidas to him to Luanda to be approved, because the DJs in Luanda are the ones who created the whole music. And you know if someone does kuduro without the strict composition, they say it’s a ”kuduro de branco” (=white man’s kuduro). Some people in Portugal do kuduro, but with europan vision, and that’s stupid, because angolan kuduro is stronger, more original. They miss the real nature of kuduro and that’s very unfortunate.”
It was also with Kito da Machina that he produced the exellent album Frédéric Galliano presents Kuduro Sound System, where many of the hottest kuduro MCs like Tony Amado, Dog Murras, Pai Diesel, Zoca Zoca, Pinta Tirrù and Gata Agressiva lay their vocals on top of their booming kuduro batidas. In the future he’s producing a dub version album of Kuduro Sound System, and he’s also touring live with different kuduro MCs and dancers: Paris, Mexico, USA, Portugal, Roskilde Festival... the list goes on.
8.11, next thursday, he’s gonna be performing with his Kuduro Sound System at Cargo in London, UK. Also DJ Marlboro is there. And so am I, so come and holla if you’re around.
Edu K - The Popuzuda Rock'n'Roll bailepunk artist has just released a new 12" on Man Recordings. "Gatas Gatas Gatas" is an anthem booming on Sony Ericsson's new ad campaign and the vinyl has 3 remixes, including a superb baltimore remix by Scottie B, that's also found on my latest mix. So def worth checking out!
As is his new video, directed by Bryan Barber who has done also the video for "Hey Ya" by Outkast. There some serious costume partying going on there!
And if you're around, don't miss his tour in Europe and Australia! Here are the dates:
15.11. YoYo, London, UK 16.11. AYCE, London, UK 23.11. Unity, Frankfurt, DE 24.11. Usine, Ceneva, CH 29.11. Little Sex Machine, Amsterdam, NL 30.11. Wasserpark, Bern, CH 7.12. Perth, AUS 8.12. Brisbane, AUS 14.12. Melbourne, AUS 15.12. Sydney, AUS 16.12. Bondai Beach, AUS
Ghetto 808 vol.3 is finally here! This time we go crazy and get down on straight forward party mix. 55 minutes of baltimore club, baile funk, remixes and whatever that makes you go dumb on the dancefloor. Can you dig it?
This time I wanted to bring out a lot of fresh talent from Finland, big up to DJ Anonymous, Herman Prime, DJ Pushups, Sir Nenis and all the Top Billin crew! And also huge ups to Duda and Sany for the exclusives!
Ghetto 808 vol.3
Tracklist:
DJ Rideon & MC Duda do Borel vs Gnarls Barkley: Crazy rmx Edu K: Gatas Gatas Gatas (Scottie B Baltimore Club Remix)(DJ Rideon Edit) MIA: Jimmy (DJ Rideon Remix) Rayvon: We Love To Party (DJ Anonymous Blend) Ciara: Like a Boy (DJ Phinesse Club Remix) DJ Pushups & Sir Nenis: U Don Kno Meh Herman Prime: Take Me Out DJ Anonymous: Name Brand Party Break DJ Mentalcut: Gasolina Haterz Makossa & Megablast feat. Gaiola Das Popozudas: Late Que Eu Tô Passando Top Billin / Good As Gold: Shake My Ass Sinden & Count Of Monte Cristal feat MC Thiaguinho: Tamborzuda James Braun: James Brown is Dead Pipo’s DJs: Hot feeling DJ Phabyo: Despaired Herman Prime: Fyah! Top Billin / Good As Gold: Money For Nothing DJ Junk: That’s Fresh Top Billin / Good As Gold: Dancefloor Pipo’s DJs: Dance With Me Os Hawaianos: Vai Que Vai Sany Pitbull vs Red Hot Chili Peppers: Other Side Nina Gordon: Straight Outta Compton
And tomorrow we are puttin it all to practice as we celebrate the grand opening of Ghetto 808 party in Helsinki. It's Rideon, Sir Nenis and Polar Soul on the line, and if you're around don't let yourself miss it.
If you feel like it you can also join the Ghetto 808 on Facebook and Myspace:
A reader of my blog asked if I could provide a list of the current hit songs in the bailes of Rio and even though there are no such things as Billboard Top100 Charts in the baile funk scene of Brazil, I thought that maybe the biggest nationwide hits of each year are published by the Big Mix of DJ Marlboro. So through these compilations you can get a feel of what's hot in the radio and tv in Brazil. Though I'd like to note that what plays in the radio and what plays in the favela bailes in usually a bit different...
Anyway I found on a blog called Eterno Contestador DJ Marlboro's Big Mix 2007 CD for download. It includes almost all the huge hits of past few years. It's 128kps mp3, but at least you get to know what's playing in Rio now.
Jim from Czech Republic made this bailefunk.info site and specially the mixtape selection is quite nice, so if you're needing to heat up your iPod with some baile funk, check it out!
Here's again one fairtilizer playlist for your listening pleasure. 15 tracks of pure baile funk, just click play to listen! (and please send me some feedback if you think it's a good idea to post some music on the blog to listen...)
I also added on the right column two players: The first one features a whole lotta baile funk and related tracks, and the second one some of my own remixes. Enjoy!
