Top Flight with Chal Ravens – Brazil’s Funk Evolution

Every week on Top Flight, journalist Chal Ravens explores the best new music from the world of bass, breaks and riddims. With Carnival around the corner, she turns the spotlight on São Paulo to hear about the recent evolution of funk – the raw, raunchy and sometimes controversial music from the Brazilian favelas. Local expert Carlos Costa introduces us to 150 funk, the frantic new update pioneered by DJ Polyvox, and explains Brazil’s unique musical ecosystem. Then, São Paulo’s hottest new talent Badsista introduces her iconoclastic style, which fuses homegrown funk with everything else, from Kelela to Evanescence. And with the country in the grip of political upheaval, she considers what the future holds for Brazil’s musical communities in the Bolsonaro era. Expect to hear tracks from artists like Linn da Quebrada, MC Bin Laden and Pininga, plus all the essential new releases from the rest of the bass underground.