What is Brazilian Phonk?

Lo-fi rap subgenre rooted in 90s Memphis tapes — cowbells, distorted vocals, slow chopped soul samples.

The faster, harder, Russian-revival branch built for car drift videos. Heavy cowbell, sawtooth bass, 4-on-the-floor.

Portuguese: Phonk brasileiro

Brazilian take on phonk that fuses funk's tamborzão pattern with phonk's cowbells and distorted 808s.

Portuguese: Automotive funk

Ultra-loud, high-BPM funk produced specifically to be played on paredão car sound systems.

In the wild: Often titled things like 'MEGA FUNK AUTOMOTIVO 2024'.

Portuguese: Witchcraft funk

Dark, witch-house-flavored funk subgenre. Detuned synths, occult imagery, heavy bass.

Portuguese: From São Paulo's east side

Aggressive São Paulo funk variant — boomy 808s, hyped MC chants, hard percussion.

Portuguese: 'Montage'

Funk style built from chopped, layered vocal samples stitched into a collage over a beat.

Production trend: pitch tracks down ~10-15% and drench them in reverb. Common across phonk and funk on TikTok.

Portuguese: 'Big drum'

The signature syncopated kick-and-clap rhythm pattern that underpins almost all Brazilian funk.

Portuguese: 'Big beat'

The instrumental. A producer is often credited as 'DJ X no beat' — 'DJ X on the beat'.

The deep, sliding sub-bass sound (named after the Roland TR-808 drum machine). The thing rattling your trunk.

The signature percussive 'clank' on top of nearly every phonk drop, lifted from Three 6 Mafia-era Memphis tapes.

The moment the full beat kicks in. Phonk and funk both lean hard on a long buildup before the drop.

Beats per minute. Phonk lives around 130–150 BPM; funk automotivo often pushes 150+.

A high-pitched Brazilian friction drum. Its 'squeak' shows up sampled across funk subgenres.

Onomatopoeic ad-lib used as a hype call — roughly 'boom boom'. You'll hear it on countless funk drops.

Vocal percussion / ad-lib mimicking a hi-hat or clap. Pure rhythmic flavor.

Portuguese: 'You're taking it'

Common boast / hype line shouted by MCs during a drop.

Portuguese: 'Watch the pull-up'

DJ tag — the MC announcing that the DJ is about to rewind / re-drop the beat.

Portuguese: 'It shakes'

Hype call: the beat shakes / hits hard. Often shouted before a paredão drop.

Portuguese: 'Big wall'

Massive car-mounted sound system, often a hatchback's entire trunk converted to speakers. Funk automotivo is built for paredões.

Portuguese: 'Funk dance'

The street party / open-air dance where funk is played. Birthplace of most Brazilian funk subgenres.

Informal Brazilian neighborhood — the original incubator of funk culture in Rio and São Paulo.

Portuguese: 'The block / hood'

Your neighborhood, especially in São Paulo slang. Shows up in track titles constantly.

Portuguese: 'Crew' (literally 'tram')

A collective or crew of MCs/producers/dancers that roll together.

The rapper / vocalist on a funk track. Almost every funk artist's name starts with 'MC'.

The producer behind the beat. In funk, the DJ is often the actual hitmaker — MCs cycle on top of a DJ's batidão.

Portuguese: 'Producer'

Same role as DJ, used when the person didn't perform live — they made the beat.

Slang for São Paulo's east side / outskirts, source of the mandelão sound.

Portuguese: 'Native son/daughter'

Someone born and raised in a neighborhood. 'Cria da quebrada' = 'raised on these streets'.

Portuguese: 'Troop / squad'

Your squad — the crew you ride with. Common in track titles.

Portuguese: 'Shake shake'

Dance move and chant — the booty/hip shake that paredão funk is built to soundtrack.

Portuguese: 'Mid-air grind'

Signature funk dance move — a jumping pelvic thrust. Born at bailes, exported to TikTok.

Portuguese: 'Big slam'

The huge, room-shaking funk sound. Also a name for the genre style and the parties themselves.

Portuguese: 'A roll / outing'

Going out, especially to a baile. 'Vamos no rolê' = 'let's hit the party'.

Long, mashup-style funk megamix — common on Brazilian YouTube, often hours long.