Baile Funk’s Evolution

The largest country in South America, and the fifth largest country in the world, Brazil is a melting pot of cultures and sounds. In the 20th century, Brazilians innovated their own musical genres, which emphasized communal gathering, live performance and energetic, emotional storytelling; from the syncopated rhythms of samba to the tactile melodies of bossa nova, and forró, choro, pagode, tropicália and more. Brazilians have also brought their own flavor to jazz, hip-hop, soul, pop and disco. Today, Brazilian artists are breaking into the global mainstream; Rio-born star Anitta flies her home flag on the world’s stage, bringing Brazilian sounds into the pop template.

One of those sounds is arguably Brazil’s most thrilling recent musical innovation: baile funk. Emerging from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1980s, baile funk is a genre of electronic music that was born through legendary soundsystem crews such as Furacao 2000, Cash Box and Pipos, and has since evolved at lightning speed. Some of the genre’s foundational artists include producers like Dennis DJ and DJ Malboro — with his seminal ‘Funk Brasil’ compilation – as well as acts like Cidinho e Doca, Tati Quebra Barraco and Bonde Do Tigrao, with tracks such as “Rap Da Felicidade”, “Boladona” and “Cerol na Mao.”

Drawing on Black American styles like Miami bass and electro, baile funk twists hip-hop elements — hard-hitting beats, live MCs and gritty storytelling — by bringing the beats to the forefront, having the MC as a rave host rather than a lead performer, and mashing up vocals into fragmented samples. On the Brazilian side, baile funk also draws from samba rhythms, football chants and folk dance; tapping into the melodic backdrop of Brazilian life, and charged with the passionate creativity of Afro-Brazilian youth culture. It’s all layered into the mix: an alien-like transmission of Black music histories and digital technologies. In the favelas, baile funk parties are raucous affairs, with mammoth soundsystem stacks pumping out head-rattling rhythms. Original tracks blend into unreleased bootlegs of familiar rap and pop tracks, and MCs and dancers keep the energy levels high — that is, until the police shut the party down. 

In recent years, baile funk has undergone some transformations. While originated in Rio de Janeiro, it spread to other cities and regions across Brazil — and evolved from there, too. In São Paulo, a new generation, led by social media and platforms like SoundCloud and YouTube, moved away from baile funk’s roots towards a harsher, more experimental electronic sound, with the most recent, prominent variant being mandealo and its wicked cousin bruxaria (witchcraft). 

In the northern state of Minas Gerais, artists have developed a stripped down, darker sound that’s become increasingly popular. Elsewhere, there’s also the rise of brega funk in the north-east (Nordeste), eletrofunk in the Center West (Centro Oeste) and mega funk in the South, to name a few. In Rio, the tandem explosion of “funk 150BPM” in the late 2010s and the growing influence of US trap and drill have seen artists like Oruam, MC Poze do Rodo and MC Cabelinho transition between the two. Artists such as Rio’s Kevin O Chris, Minas Gerais’ VHOOR, São Paulo’s MU540 and MC Hariel have also come to the forefront, while collectives and labels like Humildes and SPEEDTEST have been pushing the genre to new sonic extremes. 

To discover more about the evolution of baile funk, dive into this collection of tracks — featuring Deekapz, MU540, Anitta, VHOOR, MC Kevin O Chris, Adame DJ and more — and get ready to make your speakers shake.

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LISTEN TO THE BAILE FUNK’S EVOLUTION PLAYLIST ON SOUNDCLOUD

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Deekapz, Fat Family, “Dance”
São Paulo duo Deekapz, who pull from R&B and soul for their modern baile funk sound, dropped this track on their latest album, 2025’s ‘Deekapz FM’.

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Heavy Baile, Leo Justi, Goes, “Noturno 150”
Rio de Janeiro DJ/producer Leo Justi, alongside Cruzada favela-born MC Tchelinho, is the co-founder of Heavy Baile, a label collective dedicated to baile funk.

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MU540, Garimpos, “DZ7”
DJ/producer MU540 is from Santos (Baixada Santista), a beach city near São Paulo, that doubles as a hotbed of funk. Here, he collaborates with Garimpos on a track inspired by the vibrant, rebellious atmosphere of São Paulo’s DZ7 party.

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FUNK DA QUEBRADA, “HOJE TEM BAILE DO PANTA 2” feat. MC Nego Trufa, Oruam, Boladin 211, MC Rick, MC Rodrigo
FUNK DE QUERBRADA blends the classic carioca funk sound with elements of trap, in a Brazilian style, on this 2025 track.

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DJ WS DA IGREJINHA, “MTG - EU TE CHAMO DE CACHORRA”
This DJ/producer from Belo Horizonte also runs DALÃMA RECORDS.

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JLZ, “GQOM DOS RAUL”
São Paulo’s JLZ fuses South African gqom and Brazilian baile funk on this 2024 track.

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DJ Anderson do Paraiso, “PINCELADA DE ANGOLANO”
Flying the flag for Belo Horizonte’s eerie minimalism, DJ Anderson do Paraiso dropped his 2024 album ‘Queridão’ on Ugandan label Nyege Nyege Tapes.

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VHOOR, MC Britney, “Desce Vai”
VHOOR is one of baile funk’s key contemporary figures. This collaboration with MC Britney is a recent re-release of a classic “chill baile” track, a variation inspired by lo-fi hip-hop.

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MC Rebecca, DJ Will22, “Tô Preocupada (Calma Amiga)” feat. Anitta
Two of Rio’s biggest female pop-funk artists, MC Rebecca and Anitta, collaborate on this hip-shaking 2021 track.

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DJ K, MC DUCASA, “ALI PERTO DA IMIGRANTES”
Taken from DJ K’s 2025 album ‘Radio Libertadora!,’ this track is based on the dark, São Paulo-born bruxataria sound.

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DJ JR DA G, “EU DEI UMA FUGA NA TÁTICA E PERDI O MEU MEIOTA” feat. MC DEXX, MC BATGOL
Espirito Santo-raised producer DJ JR DA G collaborates with MC DEXX and MC BATGOL on this track in the proibidao style, with lyrics that talk about crime and life in the favelas.

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DJ ESCOBAR, DJ CRYS, CORDIAL, “MTG Joga Bala” feat. Veigh, MC Anjim, MC Flavinho
DJ ESCOBAR puts a Latin twist on his baile funk beats. On this 2024 track, he brings a stacked line up of collaborators like MC Flavinho.

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DJ TEZINHO, SHAVOZO, “TUM TUM” 
Shavoso is from São Paulo and is a leading artist in the influential Música Eletrônica Periférica Brasileira (Brazilian peripheral electronic music) scene.

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DJ Euber, “MTG DEPOIS DA FUGA DA TATICA EU COMPREI UM MEIOTA NOVO” feat. MC DEXX
DJ/producer Euber is from the Belo Horizonte region of Brazil, bringing a minimalistic yet hard-hitting feel to the baile funk sound.

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DJ Dozabri, “LEMBRA DAQUELE CARA? ELE SOU EU” feat. MC Menor, MT E, MC Taliba, TH, Biel Divulga, Blakes
Guarulhos-born DJ Dozabri has been in the baile funk game for years. On this track, he recruits a crew of MCs, including the teenage MC Menor.

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MC Kevin O Chris, “Eu Vou Pro Baile da Gaiola”
Rio-based MC Kevin O Chris is commonly regarded as one of the inventors of the “funk 150BPM” sound, and this classic track shows us why.

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Adame DJ, “Agressiva no Voltmix 2”
One of the founding members of the Humildes collective, pushing baile funk into harder territory, Adame DJ riffs on the electro-inspired Volt Mix beat for this 2024 track.

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DJ Caio Prince, DJ ARGEL, “Botano (Utero Baixo)” 
DJ Caio Prince represents a new generation of baile funk from São Paulo. Here, his hit track “Botano” gets a remix by DJ ARGEL in the tecnobrega style; a sound from the Amazonian north of Brazil.

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Adame DJ, “Acid Baile 2”
Bringing a fizzy acid sound to baile funk, Adame DJ gets ravey on this 2024 track.

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Cybass, SPEEDTEST, “Terror da Capeira”
This track dropped in 2024 on the SPEEDTEST RAVE label, which focuses on the rave elements of baile funk.

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Irmãs de Pau, “FOOD FOOD” feat. DJ Daye
A duo of transgender female MCs, Vita Pereira and Isma Almeida aka Irmãs de Pau bring a powerful queer perspective to the baile funk sound.

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Vinicius Cavalcante, “Ta Monitorado”
Vinicius Cavalcante gently interpolates the melodic riff from Alice Deejay’s trance classic ‘Better Off Alone’ on this 2023 track, which exemplifies the eletrofunk sound from the Centro Oeste region.

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LXKS, Toni, “Berimbolha”
DJ/producer Lucas Lage, aka LXKS, brings global electronic music styles into baile funk on this 2025 track.

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DJ FUZIL, YURI REDICOPA, “JAZZ SAFADO E BOLADO ft YURI REDICOPA (DJ FUZIL)”
With a jazzy saxophone riff on this track featuring MC YURI REDICOPA, DJ FUZIL breathes new life into the baile funk sound.

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Heavy Baile, Valesca Popozuda, Larinhx, Leo Justi, “Me Come E Some”
Leo Justi brings the Heavy Baile heat on this track with funk legend Valesca Popozuda and producer Larinhx.

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d.silvestre, MC Zudo Boladão, MC DDSV, MC Lele 011, “Beat Matemático”
São Paulo-based d.silvestre’s 808-heavy take on baile funk is industrial, hypnotic and brutal.

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Noize Men, Klean, “Damelo”
Klean and Noize Men fuses baile funk, techno, electro and more in this head-rattling 2022 track.

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SPEEDTEST, Gabrieu, “VOLT MIX 8000”
DJ/producer Gabrieu dropped this electro-charged 2024 track on SPEEDTEST RAVE’s impactful compilation celebrating the Volt Mix beat.

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Mac Júlia, Pepito, MC Pelé, “Beijo na Boca”
After helping to re-popularize the Miami bass beat alongside VHOOR on their track “Se Ta Solteira,” Mac Júlia revisits the style on this 2025 track.

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Th4ys, Yuri Redicopa, DJ Caio Santos, “CYPHER DA BOLHA” feat. Bia Soul, Cunha, Hidv
A stacked collaborative affair, including DJ Caio Santos and MC Yuri Redicopa, the track highlights the innovative beat Bolha.

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LISTEN TO THE BAILE FUNK’S EVOLUTION PLAYLIST ON SOUNDCLOUD

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