How 150 BPM are taking brazilian funk music to a whole next level

From the MC Fioti’s smash hit “Bum Bum Tam Tam” to the latest latin sensation Anitta’s “Vai Malandra”, brazilian funk music has become one of the most authentic faces of EDM since years, and is still gaining more and more fans acrosss the world, such as the hitmaker Diplo, the recent JLO’s funk redemption, “El Anillo”, and the experimental remix of Becky G’s “Mayores” featuring the brazilian singer Lucas Lucco. But now things are getting hotter than never and brazilians musicians are taking it to a whole next level.

From the hills of Rio de Janeiro to the playlists of Youtube and Spotify, a new funk trend is in the 150 BPM, a faster and more dancing sequence than the BPM that mark the main successes of the genre.

On Youtube, the precursor of this movement was the producer Rennan da Penha, who also plays in one of the biggest dances in the Rio de Janeiro’s favela. In the video platform, the funkeiro has about 320 thousand subscribers, for which he takes first-hand his new productions, mixtapes and, of course, future hits of the genre.

He was responsible for promoting a lot of hits, such as “Não Encosta”, by the brazilian pop-funk singer Ludmilla, “Só Quer Vrau”, a track inspired by Netflix series “La Casa de Papel”, and the recent “Me Solta”, by Nego do Borel, which had it’s performance affected by it's problematic music video, accused of reproducing racism, misogyny and transphobia.

BPM are the number of beats per minute of a song. This is what defines with which bands the music can be mixed, as well as its rhythm and cadence. Before the 150 BPM fever, funk music ranged from 130 BPM to a fall for the 90s, following in the footsteps of the rise of tropical house and dancehall in pop music.

Who joked about this discussion was the brazilian electronic music producer Omulu who, in doubt about 150 or 130 BPM, bet on the middle ground: his new song, “Paredão”, is in the 140 BPM. The song won a music video inspired by the game Grand Theft Auto (GTA), in which the DJ pays a homage to the culture of the “paredões”, popular parties among fans of the genre, in which a “wall” with speakers and amplifiers take the party wherever there are people.

After the hype of 2015 and 2016, when major record companies began to hire artists of this genre and “massify” their productions, funk in 150 BPM emerged as one of the first trends that reflect it’s essence of the street again, with successes that viralize by the hands and interest of the public, without the investment of major brands or labels.

Depending on the songs mentioned above and other hits, such as MC Rebecca’s “Cai de Boca” and MC Kevin’s “Tu Ta Na Gaiola”, this will be a promising and lasting move.

Certainly, the beat won’t stop.