Super Heroes Walking on Water International. . .

I realized now that there are a few people holding it down around the globe that need to be mentioned. So this is just a roll call of some people who march to the same beat.

Radiola Urbana is a Brazilian website dedicated to all music funky-but with a specific focus on Brazilian music. The team who runs it is well informed and very much into what I like to call "good" music, or better yet, music that speaks to that funky beast inside us all.

Amplified Online is the UK version of Radiola Urbana, with a specific focus to that tasty music called brokenbeat.

Signtifics is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of Ghanian arts, music, culture, and society. It's run by a team of solid individuals who walk with the music gods and put the needs of their country first. I worked on their music restoration project-a project dedicated to digitizing and archiving the musical assests of not only Ghana, but West Africa. Imagine a future where all the tasty Fela breaks couldn't be tracked down to their originals. . . Exactly. These brothers are doing a good thing.

The guys at Soundway Records, Brighton, UK, don't need any hype or promotion from me. Their work is known and it speaks for it self. But I couldn't mention everyone else and not mention them. Check them out.

One last one for now, Tahira of the Groove Clan, Sao Paulo, Brazil, is perhaps one of the most solid DJ's I've met in my travels. This turntable samurai can mix Herbie Hancock with Fela Kuti and make it sound like it always should be that way. He's a photojournalist by day and a mastermind on the 1 and the 2 by night.

These links are gonna be thrown up on the side bar under a new heading. Click on them now and come back to check them out again in the future.

Going Public. . .

In an attempt to share tasty and funky music with the world, the super heroes who run this site are going to venture into the realm of record pushing. For now we're going to keep it light-pushing one record at a time. If you're intersted in the music you've seen on this blog you can go here to check out our first item for sale here.

The first item up is a super tasty 12" from Sergio Mendez and Brazil '77. Raizes, one of their most solid LP's in my opinion, is the group's interpretation of Afro-Brazilian sounds. If you thought their cover of Jorge Ben's "Mas, Que Nada" was sick-you want this record. I'll post up some sound bites soon. For now check out our hot wax over at the GEMM website. Also, we're going to link our shop on the side bar. Let's kick this off proper.

-Batman & Robin

Favela Funk, Caserio Reggae

Playero- Baby Rasta & Gringo

Bola De Fogo E As Foguentas-Atoladinha (Enterradinha)

After spending the last three weeks in Rio de Janeiro, it would be poor manners if I didn't drop one of these. This post is dedicated to those tasty beats home brewed in the rough tropical slums of Brazil and Puerto Rico.

Baile Funk is a type of Brazilian music that can be found in Brazil's Favelas, the "super slums" that can be seen in most of Rio's hillsides. The music reflects the culture and way of life of some of the people who live in Favelas-it's rough, gritty, and mostly talks about gang life, drug life, or women. The production is mostly composed of whatever sound bites, samples, or loops the producers can get a hold of-much like the way most of the buildings and houses in the Favelas are constructed. While some may find this stuff too loud or, if you understand Portuguese, too offensive, the reality of life in Rio and in most of Brazil is that Favelas do exist and life in the Favelas is rough.

A couple miles north and east of Rio, in the Caribbean, a similar movement started about 14 years ago in the Caserio slums of Puerto Rico. The world knows it now as Daddy Yankee's music, or Reggaeton. But back then it was a local phenomenon: raw, gritty, and grimy. Partly inspired by Reggae, partly by rap, and purely improvisational and creative genius, Reggaeton belonged to two crews when it first hit the scene: Playero and Da Noise. They could be compared to the Wu Tang Clan of Puerto Rico. These crews boasted 20+ rappers and the best producers. They would praise their Caserio, sing about how the police were corrupt, diss on other crews, or just flat out degrade women. Most people hated it, those of us who liked it would blast it loud from our cars or from our radios-much to the dismay of neighbours and families. Fast forward to 2001 and a much more watered-down version can be heard in clubs all over the world on the lips of everyone shaking their booty: "Da me mas gasolina!"

Personally, I think this music has an important place in the cultures that they come from. I couldn't listen to it all day every day, but for me it's pretty interesting on several levels. First, both Reggaeton and Baile Funk got their start much in the same way as Hip Hop. Granted, when Hip-Hop first made its mark it wasn't violent or aggressive, that came later with gangsta rap. But, it was an expression of a part of society that had been marginalized for a long time. It was a voice for people who weren't being heard. That is exactly what Baile Funk and Reggaeton do for the Favela and Caserio respectively. These styles give a voice to a huge part of Brazilian and Puerto Rican society that is literally on the periphery of everyday life. Second, it's amazing what these producers do with minimal resources. They put together intense and multilayered beats, and while some may say that the beats are redundant and basic-no one can deny the effect the beats start o have on your legs and your booty.

So I'm going to post up these two tropical booty-shaking styles side by side. They come from different places, but they share many similarities. Hate it, Love it, or leave it alone --at least give it a try. If you like what you hear-check out Mr. Phipson, the Baile Funk Booty Beat connoisseur at www.mrphipson.de. He's always got fresh mixes and always keeps it funky.

Take it Easy my Brother, Charlie

Jorge Ben Jor-Take it easy my brother, Charlie

Jorge Ben Jor-O Telefone Toco Novamente

Jorge Ben Jor-Por Causa de Você, Menina

My trip to the musical Mecca of Brazil, Rio de Janiero, gave me the opportunity to see one of Brazil's musical greats live and in person. Jorge Ben Jor, perhaps one of the single most influencial MPB musicians, held it down old school style at the Circo Voador in Lapa, RJ.

Now I'm going to take some time on this one, because in my opinion Jorge Ben is an intersting chracter in the history of Brazilian music. I have to say-I'm just discovering how cool this kat is-so I don't claim to be a biogropher of the his work. But from listening to his music-I can say that I recognize the genius of his music.

Jorge Ben broke on to the Brazilian music scene in the early 1960's in the midst of the coup d'etat. When he drop his first LP, "Samba Esquema Nôvo," Brazil and the world were shocked by the fresh sounds this man was creating. Taking elements from Bossa Nova, throwing in some funky rock and some smooth blues, and making sure to keep grounded in his Samba roots-Jorge Ben hit the scene hard with his famous track "Mas Que Nada."

A side note here- "Mas Que Nada," is often confused to be a Sergio Mendez track. This is largely due to the fact that when Sergio Mendez introduced his Brazil '66 to the scene they made a killer version of the track. This track, which is more jazzier and has the female vocals became an international hit. The Black Eyed Peas have recently made another version with Sergio Mendez. But don't get it twisted-Jorge Ben deserves full credit. In fact he worked on the Sergio Mendez version as well, during a brief residence in L.A.

Jorge Ben had it rough in his early career because of pressures from his label and because his new musical style-weaving funk, rock, and blues into Brazilian music, and using electric guitars, was scene as anti-Brazilian. Purest like Bossa Nova/MPB great Elis Regina shunned him as being anti-Brazilian. But the man was just too funky to be held back- and his music inspired a new breed of left wing and super creative musicians from the Northern state of Bahia. When their movement picked up it became known as Tropicalia. The movement was small and short lived, but it was the intellectual and creative workshop for heavyweights like Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, and Gal Costa, who all joined the ranks of Brazil's finest.

Ok, enough of the history lesson. To be honest-the guys over at Brazilian Beat Brooklyn are the true experts on Jorge Ben Jor. For a brief, but informative, starters guide on Brazilian Music-check out the Brazilian Beat Brooklyn website and blog. Caz has broken it down nicely and it will put more of this stuff into a larger context. As for me, I just think Jorge Ben is wicked funky and his music is super tasty. So all I can do now is to hit you all off with a nice range of his music. Listen, take it in, and enjoy.