I don't even know where to start writing about this one. It's a Brazilian anthem, and the first funk carioca song to hit the charts there when it came out in 1994. Cidinho e Doca are often described as proibidão rappers - MCs who narrate the doings of the underworld (somewhat like the Mexican narcocorridos). But this track is pure sunshine: that minor-key chant is all about wanting peace and respect for the favelas:
Eu só quero é ser feliz
Andar tranqüilamente
Na favela onde eu nasci
É...
E poder me orgulhar
E ter a consciência que o pobre tem o seu lugar
Fé em Deus
All I want is to be happy
Walk quietly
In the favela where I was born
Yes...
And I could be proud
and know that there is a place for the poor
Have faith in God
I read a phenomenal article about funk carioca and attitudes to social inequality and abject poverty.
Going back to the music: this has that danceable rhythm that makes funk so popular across Brazil, and an instantly-familiar tune. And those voices are incredible: Brazilian Portuguese is such a beautiful language with all those "eesh" and "adje" sounds. The lyrics are brutal: 17 years on I think they'd still resonate with the part of the population left out of Brazil's economic expansion.
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