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Music Review: Anitta welcomes listeners into her 'Funk Generation' on new album

First, she took over Brazil

Maria Sherman
Friday 26 April 2024 09:17 EDT
Music Review - Anitta
Music Review - Anitta

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First, Anitta took over Brazil. Now, the world. The trilingual Brazilian pop star has returned with a new album, the club-to-bedroom ready ā€œFunk Generation.ā€ It is an infectious collection of dance songs celebrating a once maligned genre that also manages to experiment beyond its confines. But those searching for more mainstream pop music should look elsewhere.

Anitta is arguably Brazilā€™s most recognizable global pop singer since Astrud Gilberto sang ā€œThe Girl From Ipanemaā€ nearly 60 years ago. (Fitting, because one of her biggest international hits, 2021ā€™s ā€œGirl From Rio,ā€ interpolates the bossa nova classic. ā€œHot girls, where Iā€™m from, we donā€™t look like models,ā€ she sang. ā€œTan lines, big curves, and the energy glows.ā€)

When her 2022 album ā€œVersions of Meā€ dropped, she was already a superstar known for meddling Brazilian sounds with a variance of genres: reggaetĆ³n, pop, yes, funk, but even pop-punk, lest anyone forget her boot-stomping ā€œBoys Donā€™t Cry,ā€ as inspired by Panic! At the Disco.

But ā€œFunk Generation,ā€ truly, is what Anitta has been working towards. There are no attempts at mimicking mainstream pop music trends, rather, her pop sensibilities arise only where they can amplify the funk she's centered her life around. And when she says ā€œfunk,ā€ she means Brazilian funk, what is frequently referred to as funk carioca or baile funk and is heard in favelas around Rio ā€” a combination of Brazilian rhythms, African and electronic music, and rap.

Like hip-hop and reggaetĆ³n before it, funk in Brazil has been stigmatized for its lyrics about everyday realities: sex, violence, drugs. But music is storytelling, rhythms can bring about change, and Anittaā€™s new album makes it clear.

ā€œFunk Generationā€ is made for late nights on the dance floor, not mainstream radio: ā€œLose Ya Breathā€ is all heavy sighs, cheery chants and nylon string guitars; ā€œFunk Raveā€ is an almost euro-pop mix of her 2023 track of the same name.

ā€œFria" ushers in Latin R&B-pop, the not-safe-for-work electro-funk single ā€œDouble Teamā€ brings back collaborators Brray and Bad Gyal (Thought ā€œBota NiƱaā€ was idyllic reggaetĆ³n-pop? The power of those voices intertwined knows no bounds.) ā€œSavage Funkā€ delivers on the premise of the title ā€” with lyrics even more provocative than the bed-squeaks of ā€œI'd Rather Have Sexā€ from ā€œVersions of Me.ā€ ) At every turn, on every song, Anitta understands her role: To make people dance.

The variance of genre may come across disjointed to some listeners, but since when does any DJ stick to one style? Here, Anitta's doing a lot; she doesn't want to be the life of the party, she wants to be the party.

When ā€œFunk Generationā€ was first announced, Anitta described it as ā€œan album where I celebrate my roots. Itā€™s where I express the power of Rioā€™s funk in every track ā€” its unique, danceable, and sensual beats,ā€ she said in a statement. ā€œItā€™s a rhythm born in the favelas, where I grew up, and it exudes resistance and art in every community.ā€

It does that, sure, but sheā€™s not just a vessel. This is Anittaā€™s funk, a combination of global sounds that reminds everyone Brazil knows how to have a party. Everyone else would be wise to listen.

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