What happens when a country\u2019s grassroots music meets algorithmic globalization? When local culture collides with global algorithms, we get a tension: Phonk<\/a> may rack up streams and guarantee virality, but funk carries the weight of history, politics, and community. If we don\u2019t try to understand their relationship, we risk flattening the art. We mistake two distinct phenomena as continuous and interchangeable, rather than recognizing the tension created by the simple fact of influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To one group, that flattening is experienced violently. To the other, it\u2019s experienced as a revelation\u2014having found an art you resonate with and can build upon, something you didn\u2019t know was out there but had always longed for. To one group, it\u2019s appropriation and lack of acknowledgement; to another, it\u2019s the deepest form of flattery and appreciation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This will be aided by now table-stakes creation tools like stem separation and the continued sophistication of recommendation systems. It will become even easier to grab bits and pieces of sounds we like while knowing almost nothing about their origins. Phonk is just a harbinger, an early case study of structural changes in the process of influence and creation already underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Splice\u2019s internal stats have been telling us two distinct stories: Both \u201cBrazilian funk\u201d and \u201cBrazilian phonk\u201d have been gaining momentum via downloads and searches consistently in the last 18 months. We believe users sometimes use them interchangeably. The genre is hotly contested on Reddit.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n In late 2024, a small Splice team traveled to S\u00e3o Paulo for a week\u2019s worth of studio sessions and research. Prior to the trip, we identified BADSISTA as our guide and curator and were lucky to see the city through his eyes. I asked him twice to help us find Brazilian phonk producers, to which he politely replied, \u201cI don\u2019t really know that many.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the course of the week, we spoke with 12 producers, artists, and DJs across Brazilian funk, including d.silvestre,<\/a> IDLIBRA,<\/a> BADSISTA,<\/a> Zopelar,<\/a> Clementaum,<\/a> and EVEHIVE<\/a> about the state of music in Brazil and their hopes for its global future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New subscribers can try all of Splice\u2014including 200 monthly sample download credits, full access to all premium INSTRUMENT presets, and more\u2014for $4.99\/mo.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Brazilian funk music is loud, raw, and proudly from the periphery. It started as a hyper-local form of expression, but has evolved into a globally recognized force in electronic music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cS\u00e3o Paulo is concrete, busy; there\u2019s no space, it\u2019s fun, and aggressive,\u201d BADSISTA says. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t give you time at all. Our sound reflects this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Common components are blown-out car speakers,<\/a> metal<\/a>\u2014sometimes cool sexy metal<\/a>\u2014and across many of its subgenres, tracks that feature an MC. It sounds urgent<\/a> and relentless.<\/a> At moments it sounds atonal, and one of the more reliable sounds you\u2019ll hear from many producers is a bubble,<\/a> a defining feature of the \u201cbeat bolha\u201d subgenre. It uses best-in-class sound design<\/a> and demands commitment to the crafts of resampling, chopping, and distortion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also known as funk carioca, its roots are in Miami bass<\/a> and freestyle music, which made their way to Brazil in the 1980s through DJs and imported tapes. A defining element is the tamborz\u00e3o rhythm created in 1998 by DJ Luciano,<\/a> which stemmed from capoeira and maculel\u00ea, an Afro-Brazilian dance with sticks. Before that, funk consisted of MCs rapping over sampled breaks from Miami bass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over time, Brazilian producers added their sound, looping rhythmic elements,<\/a> layering words,<\/a> integrating prescient social messages,<\/a> and having<\/a> unedited<\/a> fun.<\/a> Its tempo often ranges anywhere from 120 – 135 BPM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe first steps of funk were brought from Miami bass, electro, and proto-house\u201d, says ZOPELAR. Funk\u2019s modern incarnation can be linked to a sample from a little-known American \u201880s electro single called “Volt Mix.”<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWith time, funk has evolved into more organic sounds, with a growing use of vocals and sampled percussion to build the beats. But, without a doubt, one of the most crucial elements in funk is the voice and rhymes, which are normally part of the rhythm of the song.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n An MC is a crucial component of almost all subgenres across funk, and Clementaum echoes the importance of the vocal: \u201cAll across Brazil, there are different types of funk, but they all share a strong vocal presence. Megafunk, bregafunk, and bruxaria are completely different\u2014they can all sample the exact same vocal, but they make it work for their own styles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Outside of S\u00e3o Paulo, the highest downloads of Brazilian funk are in Brooklyn, Paris, Berlin, Sydney, Istanbul, Los Angeles, Montreal, Barcelona, Cologne, and Queens. For the last two years, searches for the genre on Splice Sounds<\/a> increased by an average of 15% each month. Its growth has yet to slow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brazilian funk has found fans in Europe, Asia, and North America, where DJs and producers are incorporating its rhythms into club music, pop, and electronic hybrids. Major outlets like Boiler Room and Rinse have focused on artists producing and DJing in this genre, and google searches are up for the genre by 23%<\/a> year over year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For many Brazilian artists, that kind of international audience is exciting\u2014but there\u2019s also an interest in preserving it for Brazil as the sound spreads worldwide. \u201cIt would be nice to see funk continue to reach more and more audiences; I\u2019m happy to see the evolution of this genre, and proud that it is recognized as true Brazilian music,\u201d says ZOPELAR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Phonk is a bass-heavy style that draws from Memphis rap<\/a> and the sound that Three 6 Mafia and DJ Paul<\/a> architected. It was taken to a new aesthetic level when producers in Eastern Europe doubled down on the now quintessential 808 cowbell as a lead and included even more horrorcore elements with the blown-out mixing aesthetic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA core emotional trait of the genre is that it\u2019s about feeling powerful,\u201d says sound designer Taylor Shechet. \u201cIt\u2019s about defeating overwhelming odds. On the surface, it’s not difficult to produce, but its hyper-modern mixing aesthetic can be tricky and often defies conventional rules.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Phonk\u2019s tempo often ranges anywhere between 90 – 110 BPM, with recent iterations going as high as 150 BPM. Its instrumentation often features pitched 808 cowbells,<\/a> blown-out kicks,<\/a> phased risers,<\/a> plucky polyphonic stabs,<\/a> vocal chops,<\/a> and horrorcore elements.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Phonk is native to the internet; one doesn’t need to travel to understand its history and evolution. When people are referencing phonk today, it\u2019s likely that they\u2019re talking about drift phonk, but there are several subgenres continuing to emerge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though its roots link to Memphis, the genre hit new highs once it was reimagined in Eastern Europe. Kaito Shoma\u2019s \u201dScary Garry\u201d is credited with popularizing today\u2019s version of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nWhat is Brazilian funk music?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nCharacteristics of Brazilian funk<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Bregafunk<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Bruxaria<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Funk mandel\u00e3o<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nAt Splice and in the wild<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nWhat is phonk music?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nCharacteristics of phonk<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Memphis phonk<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Drift phonk<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Aura phonk<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Automotivo phonk<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nPhonk at Splice and in the wild<\/h2>\n\n\n\n