Where to begin with MC Bin Laden? He’s the most globally visible member of a new generation of funkeiros progressing the sound of Brazilian funk at street parties across Rio and São Paulo, he reportedly named himself after the "world's biggest villain", and he introduced himself in his breakout viral hits with a crazyass two-toned hairstyle, flashy electric-blue braces, and a belly hanging proudly over his waistband. Oh yeah, and his music undeniably slaps. Put even a three-year-old track like BOLOLO HAHA on the playlist at your next function and watch the phones rise up to Shazam en masse. But the greater musical community surrounding MC Bin Laden, which includes fellow artists MC 2K, MC WM, MC Fioti, DJ Polyvox and DJ Yuri Martins, has gone mostly unexplored on film outside of Brazil - until now.
In “Visão”, the latest episode in SoundCloud's Next Wave documentary series, the funkeiros of São Paulo and Rio explore how their hyperkinetic sounds came to represent the beat of their communities - and explain their ambitions for having their wave reach the rest of the planet. Whether pausing for pics with fans on the street with MC Bin Laden, shaping vocal hooks in the recording booth with Yuri Martins, or performing onstage with MC 2K, the film reveals the core of unpretentious honesty behind the rapidly expanding movement, straight from the mouths of the artists who define it. "There's no barrier, there's no frontier." says DJ Polyvox, summing up both the radical freedom and limitless possibilities of his crew. "The sound we're creating, it's written in the book of funk."
Watch the full video above, and follow SoundCloud on Youtube for new episodes of Next Wave each month in 2017, with artist selection co-curated by The FADER. Upcoming episodes will feature London and Berlin. Bonus: get schooled on the many flavors of Brazilian funk with a FADER-selected playlist, below.
