MC Kevin o Chris ft. Sodré – Evoluiu
We Are Rioooooo too, as Carlos brings us one of Brazil’s biggest stars of 2019.
[Video][Website]
[5.29]
Carlos Calenti: The thing I’ll miss the much about living in Rio, where I moved from last month, is just absorbing the new funk hits that give life to the city. Dodging over Uruguaiana street market and listening to the JBL speakers blasting loud music, or just being at my old house, hearing the funk waves of the Pedra do Sal parties late Monday nights, I could always get updated in the new funk scene, kind of by osmosis. This year I didn’t hear anyone’s voice as much as MC Kevin o Chris. A true hitmaker, he’s the most known artist of 150 BPM funk, the super fast new iteration of the rhythm. I belive Kevin has gained so much mainstream success because he knows very well how to counterbalance the chaotic aggressiveness of 150 with mellower parts, where a song stretches itself sensuously before the beat kicks in and makes everybody quicar. This happens in “Evoluiu,” one of the biggest Brazilian hits of 2019. This year hasn’t been a good one for us, and this is especially true for Rio de Janeiro, a city in a very real economic and moral bankruptcy, ruled by a fascist mayor and governor, both partners in crime with Bolsonaro family. But, at the dancefloor, when Kevin sings “Eu sou o Riooo” (“I am Rio”), he holds the crumbling ground under our feet a little longer, enough time to all of us arrastar a ppk no chão (drag our pussies to the ground).
[8]
Kayla Beardslee: Farty beat that goes nowhere, whiny performances, and a male gaze music video. No thanks.
[1]
Oliver Maier: Efficient but seldom hurried, “Evoluiu” operates so completely by its own rules that its scrappy, lo-fi instrumentation barely feels scrappy or lo-fi. Rewires the brain or compels the feet, take your pick.
[8]
Ian Mathers: Why is the guy with the worst voice the one hollering the…. hook(?)? Why does the chorus stall the momentum entirely in favour of dialling up the digital distortion/slurring on the other guy’s voice (and why does it almost work?)? Why is the best part that kind of farty blare that only really shows up twice, including right at the end?
[5]
Will Adams: A song of three sections held together with Scotch tape, which itself isn’t that much a problem, except only one of the sections is good: a hyperspeed funk carioca break with an oddly satisfying gurgling horn. The other two: an ambient breakdown that does absolutely nothing; near-unlistenable acapella wailing.
[5]
Edward Okulicz: The use of silence as part of the beat is startling — in a good way. Kevin o Chris alternating between mumbling and braying tunelessly is startling too, I suppose. His voice is the only thread linking parts of the track, but it’s also the least compelling thing here.
[6]
Kylo Nocom: Begins with some truly horrendous bleating, but it’s not long before MC Kevin o Chris bleats, honks, and spits right into my heart. Just barely.
[4]
carlos your blurb is great!! it took me forever to figure out my feelings on this and even then i still shift between really loving the fun of it and not