The China Mail - Does Brazilian funk glorify crime? Singer's arrest triggers debate

USD -
AED 3.672865
AFN 69.832378
ALL 85.990063
AMD 382.948926
ANG 1.789679
AOA 917.000474
ARS 1187.515703
AUD 1.541
AWG 1.8
AZN 1.701286
BAM 1.712265
BBD 2.018819
BDT 122.217067
BGN 1.713299
BHD 0.37702
BIF 2977.158716
BMD 1
BND 1.286008
BOB 6.908836
BRL 5.585701
BSD 0.999869
BTN 85.609874
BWP 13.376515
BYN 3.272091
BYR 19600
BZD 2.008403
CAD 1.369225
CDF 2880.999478
CHF 0.82199
CLF 0.024241
CLP 930.229608
CNY 7.175987
CNH 7.18495
COP 4106.25
CRC 509.694079
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 96.534848
CZK 21.692898
DJF 178.047179
DKK 6.535685
DOP 59.033645
DZD 131.46028
EGP 49.6178
ERN 15
ETB 136.528076
EUR 0.87624
FJD 2.24925
FKP 0.736269
GBP 0.73828
GEL 2.729811
GGP 0.736269
GHS 10.248151
GIP 0.736269
GMD 70.49948
GNF 8668.131637
GTQ 7.684967
GYD 209.497133
HKD 7.846765
HNL 26.078811
HRK 6.597901
HTG 131.112959
HUF 353.227013
IDR 16305.5
ILS 3.49525
IMP 0.736269
INR 85.73685
IQD 1310.0689
IRR 42099.999811
ISK 126.339614
JEP 0.736269
JMD 159.713893
JOD 0.709012
JPY 144.260964
KES 129.260288
KGS 87.450385
KHR 4011.554116
KMF 430.50203
KPW 899.974754
KRW 1359.409706
KWD 0.30665
KYD 0.833209
KZT 510.037383
LAK 21586.065036
LBP 89586.240098
LKR 299.16786
LRD 199.46606
LSL 17.756056
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 5.445488
MAD 9.152097
MDL 17.232264
MGA 4510.481859
MKD 53.894366
MMK 2099.519446
MNT 3578.739557
MOP 8.080441
MRU 39.711792
MUR 45.610169
MVR 15.405031
MWK 1733.730141
MXN 19.12345
MYR 4.230499
MZN 63.949886
NAD 17.756056
NGN 1560.120168
NIO 36.805197
NOK 10.09861
NPR 137.00278
NZD 1.659544
OMR 0.384485
PAB 0.999869
PEN 3.625627
PGK 4.110381
PHP 55.759496
PKR 282.059909
PLN 3.75755
PYG 7983.505949
QAR 3.647076
RON 4.421106
RSD 102.667971
RUB 79.352111
RWF 1415.204166
SAR 3.750345
SBD 8.340429
SCR 14.67288
SDG 600.000236
SEK 9.604915
SGD 1.28662
SHP 0.785843
SLE 22.649905
SLL 20969.500214
SOS 571.51612
SRD 36.941995
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.750427
SYP 13001.828697
SZL 17.750366
THB 32.622497
TJS 9.884721
TMT 3.51
TND 2.965953
TOP 2.342098
TRY 39.236355
TTD 6.76616
TWD 29.947799
TZS 2629.999975
UAH 41.414164
UGX 3620.09569
UYU 41.559056
UZS 12777.636728
VES 98.299125
VND 26054
VUV 120.573366
WST 2.75029
XAF 574.166922
XAG 0.027647
XAU 0.000298
XCD 2.702551
XDR 0.716787
XOF 574.27751
XPF 104.409795
YER 243.302537
ZAR 17.76755
ZMK 9001.200416
ZMW 24.771325
ZWL 321.999592
  • RELX

    -0.1000

    53.67

    -0.19%

  • RYCEF

    0.1050

    11.97

    +0.88%

  • VOD

    -0.0620

    9.895

    -0.63%

  • RBGPF

    0.4600

    67.96

    +0.68%

  • CMSC

    -0.0900

    22.15

    -0.41%

  • BTI

    0.2600

    47.73

    +0.54%

  • GSK

    -0.1300

    41.015

    -0.32%

  • AZN

    0.2500

    72.6

    +0.34%

  • RIO

    -0.3300

    58.9

    -0.56%

  • BCC

    -0.1300

    87.38

    -0.15%

  • CMSD

    0.0000

    22.2

    0%

  • NGG

    -0.0960

    70.904

    -0.14%

  • SCS

    0.0650

    10.44

    +0.62%

  • JRI

    0.0720

    13.042

    +0.55%

  • BCE

    -0.2250

    21.64

    -1.04%

  • BP

    0.1050

    29.17

    +0.36%

Does Brazilian funk glorify crime? Singer's arrest triggers debate
Does Brazilian funk glorify crime? Singer's arrest triggers debate / Photo: © AgNews/AFP

Does Brazilian funk glorify crime? Singer's arrest triggers debate

The arrest of a popular funk singer in Brazil on suspicion of glorifying a powerful crime gang has revived a long-standing debate over the criminalization of a genre born in Rio de Janeiro's gritty favelas, or slums.

Text size:

Unlike its US namesake, which was popularized by James Brown, Rio funk borrows more from hip-hop, blended with samba and other Brazilian rhythms.

The lyrics, seen by many as celebrating favela drug lords, have repeatedly led to calls for songs to be censored.

Last week, MC Poze do Rodo, one of the genre's best-known artists with 16 million followers on Instagram, was arrested on charges of glorifying crime and having links to Comando Vermelho (CV), one of Brazil's biggest gangs.

The authorities said his arrest aimed to send a message to those "who romanticize and help spread narcoculture."

The police argue that Poze's music "clearly condones" drug trafficking and illegal use of firearms and point to concerts held "exclusively in areas dominated by CV, with a notable presence of traffickers armed with high-caliber weapons."

After five days in preventive custody, the 26-year-old singer was released on Tuesday to a rapturous welcome from waiting fans, who swarmed his car in a column of motorbikes.

Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the crowds.

Speaking afterwards, the singer claimed he was the victim of police discrimination.

"Rio de Janeiro police don't like me... because I'm black? Because I'm from a favela?"

- 'Singers are not criminals' -

Marlon Brendon Coelho Couto was born in the favela of Rodo, one of the biggest in western Rio.

He has admitted to selling drugs in his youth but says that he abandoned crime to devote himself to music.

Police footage of his arrest at his current home in the upmarket Recreio dos Bandeirantes district, cuffed and shirtless, surrounded by heavily armed officers, caused an outcry among his fans.

Fellow musicians took part in a campaign for his release, organized by his wife, influencer Viviane Noronha, on the grounds that "funk singers are not criminals."

Erika Hilton, a Congress member, argued that by arresting Poze the authorities were seeking to "project all the sins of the world onto black people."

But many rejoiced at seeing the star behind bars, including former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, an ex-army captain, who posted a picture of the singer with a clown emoji on his Instagram account.

- Arresting the messenger -

Funk describes the reality of life in Rio's crime-blighted favelas.

Poze's lyrics have regularly caused controversy.

In his 2023 track "Homenagem Pra Tropa do Rodo," he pays tribute to men killed "shooting for Comando Vermelho."

The debate surrounding funk's role in crime mirrors long-standing discussions in the United States over the links between rap and violence in Black communities.

Over a decade ago, authorities in the northeastern Brazilian city of Fortaleza passed a law banning venues from hiring artists that incite violence.

Similar anti-Oruam bills, as they are known after the rapper son of a famous drug lord, are now also being debated by several other cities and state parliaments.

Danilo Cymrot, a doctor in criminology at the University of Sao Paulo, pointed to a "gray area" in the definition of glorification of violence, relating to artistic content.

"The artist doesn't necessarily agree with his lyrics," Cymrot, author of a book about Rio funk, said.

He added that "oftentimes, the police and the judiciary have a hard time understanding funk as a work of art."

As a result, he said, the artist's origins are often used to determine whether he condones violence.

"It's less the message itself and more who is singing it."

R.Yeung--ThChM