This story is taken from the spring 2026 issue of Dazed, which is on sale internationally now. Order a copy of the magazine here.

Sometimes it sounds muffled, coming from kids’ bedroom studios tucked along narrow favela alleys. Sometimes it’s overpowering, blasting from huge itinerant sound systems (paredões) on the outskirts of major Brazilian cities. From Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo to the world, baile funk is at the peak of its global influence. The infectious beat – which now lives inside a vast sonic palette of mutations and offshoots – can be heard on dancefloors and phone speakers across the globe, from TikTok fashion girls riding the so-called Brasilcore trend to SoundCloud DJs dropping endless baile edits online. The genre is pushing boundaries across continents, infiltrating charts and festival lineups – and yet, at the same time, the baile funk scene is under threat from establishment powers in Brazil.

In 2025, Brazilian politics became the stage for a series of legal measures targeting baile funk artists and their cultural practices. Notable examples include a São Paulo parliamentary commission inquiry into street parties (bailes) and a controversial bill barring Dazed cover star Oruam – who moves between baile funk and trap – from performing at government-funded concerts. Most of these actions were driven by a conservative political agenda, with baile funk serving as an easy target for politicians eager to farm votes through inflammatory social media videos painting the genre as morally corrupting. 

On the streets, violence in the neighbourhoods where baile funk flourishes is rising. São Paulo State’s Prosecutor’s Office reported a 46 per cent increase in deaths caused by police officers from January to November 2024, while Rio saw a rise in police brutality in the early months of 2025, according to Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Security. In October, a police raid was responsible for the deaths of 132 people in the favelas of Penha and Alemão in Rio, birthplaces of important baile funk artists like Rennan da Penha. 

Still, baile funk’s youth persevere with resilience and creativity. Be it pushing traditional baile funk forward or providing platforms offering safe spaces and dancefloors (such as the party label Submundo), the funkeiros and funkeiras continue to thrive and innovate despite systemic repression. To understand how baile funk prevails against all odds, we asked artists, producers and cultural actors on the frontlines of the scene to share their thoughts. As a not-so-old saying goes, the baile doesn’t stop – and probably never will.

MC CABELINHO, 29, RAPPER AND ACTOR

“I’m a funkeiro, a rapper and a musician. I face prejudice every day, every hour. We’ve been persecuted – that’s crystal clear. It leaves us gutted, but it also awakens our rebellious side. We keep moving forward, working, singing our reality. We show through the music what it’s really like inside the favelas. There are a million different realities.

“The state doesn’t carry out operations in favelas with tact. A lot of people think that everyone here is a criminal, but there’s the kid going to school, the aunt who wakes up at 5am to work at the rich people’s house. This war-like approach generates anger in the community. When a child sees a cousin or a mother getting shot, they see the state as the villain. There’s no way to explain that to a child.

“I believe our future is to keep growing and break through the bubble. I’ll be really happy if everyone learns to educate themselves about funk and trap. We still face a lot of judgment.

VICX, 24, DJ 

“Many people outside Brazil just feel the genre without knowing its history, while here in Brazil people know where it comes from but don’t feel the music or understand the culture – it’s almost the inverse. It’s up to us as artists to educate both audiences so that they can listen and understand our struggle.

“I just want to make my music and let people enjoy themselves. I want my sound to reach more people and, through that, educate them. If I don’t make the music that I want to listen to–to heal myself and help others feel good–then who will? I want to make music that improves something. I don’t know what that will be yet–we’ll discover it along the way. Maybe it helps someone, maybe someone messages their loved one saying how much they love them.”

TAÍSA MACHADO, 35, RESEARCHER AND WRITER

“Funk is still treated as [a taboo] in every sphere. Those who are victims of police brutality, incarceration and persecution are those who live funk at the bailes – both artists and the public. The baile has enormous resistance within it. And more importantly, it’s a great cultural source.

“At the baile, new slang is born, new fashion trends begin and new dance moves are invented. That’s where the music gets stronger. Sadly, bailes keep declining. Ten years ago, there were over 70 bailes in Rio. Today, there’s only three or four every Saturday – it’s decreased massively.

“When we see our culture as a whole, we see connections with the entire world, and that gives me enormous hope. But when I see there’s still political persecution against it – like the anti-Oruam bill – when so many people are making money from baile funk, I feel very conflicted. There’s a government plan to kill the culture, and I don’t know what the future holds for baile funk. But I know it won’t end.”

RAY, 32, DJ

“When I was a teenager, I used to go to baile funk parties in the favelas and I remember running away from police raids. Many of these operations take place because of alleged drug use by the baile funk youth. However, at sertanejo [traditional Brazilian pop music] parties or raves, drug use doesn’t seem to be a problem – you don’t see police there. The noise disturbance that is often cited as an issue at baile funk parties is also observed at other parties. The party is a celebration and they want to silence it, but these street parties are a reminder that we’re alive.

“To me, everything is political. Art can’t be separate from politics. My art is a political tool; being a DJ is a political tool. We’re reaching many people with our music, and I love this feeling of community, of celebration. I love partying and having fun with my people. Celebrating the lives of people who go through struggles is a moment of happiness. When I play funk, I have this feeling. That’s political.”

RD DA DZ7, 18, PRODUCER AND DJ

“My dad says, ‘funk is dirty’. But I tell him, ‘That’s what we are.’ I reckon many people haven’t properly listened yet because they think funk is dirty. They don’t know what’s behind the artists and the music today. Funk is very diverse; it [changes] massively in terms of the styles artists keep bringing to the table. Funk-hall – funk with dancehall – funk techno... there’s so much coming. The mandem are making all sorts – look at SoundCloud, there are loads of track titles and subgenres. They’re going mad every day.

“I see a future where artists like me thrive. Because funk is evolving, and I’m talking especially about DJs here – they’re all coming with something different. Some bring back old baile elements, beats that we recognise just from hearing the first notes. Others are on a fast-forward move, they’re working in a way that adds new value to the music. And fans are genuinely listening to the music. Today, nobody listens to funk just because they like the beat alone: they’re paying attention to everything.”

VITÓRIA MACHADO DE SOUZA, 25, PASSINHO DANCER 

“Many people don’t understand what’s behind the passinho [dance style developed in the baile funk parties of Rio]. They see funk as being just for fun, but they don’t know the struggle behind it. People need to understand this is the reality we live. When Oruam writes about police and criminals, he’s talking about what actually happens in favelas. We know that, with proper investment, with more attention, there could be different perspectives in our culture. Instead, the regular approach towards us is: let’s go into the favelas, kill however many bandits, and make the media and upper classes happy. 

“If there is a police operation in the favela where I live, I can’t leave for work. If I tell the police that I’m going to work to dance, they don’t care. Art, culture and funk take us to places very different from our reality.”

RAFAEL SANTOS, 31, FLUXOS RECORDS CEO

“Bailes are a cultural manifestation. For decades, this was the only space to gather and listen to funk. Private venues took their time accepting it, and the genre went through a persecution process mirroring the history of samba, capoeira and rap. We need legislation and public security measures so people like me can exercise our right to leisure with what we actually enjoy – the sound-system baile funk culture. We need regulation for those working in funk events, and to gather data on funk’s creative economy, because only then will we have solid evidence for public policies for funk’s youth. Look at how K-pop was used in Korea to boost the economy.

“Just because the government treats artists like criminals doesn’t make funk a crime. These artists are storytellers and funk is their creative expression, source of income, form of self-care and act of resistance. Criminalising it further marginalises youth from the ends. We’re fighting for respect, space, recognition and the right to culture.”

Taísa, Vicx, Vitória: hair and make-up Piu Gontijo at No Title Management, photographic assistant Flavio Marques,
hair and make-up assistant Tom Souza, production Emmanuelle Atlan at Farago Projects, production manager Giulia Muller.

MC Cabelinho, Rafael, Ray, RD da DZ7: hair and make-up Helder Rodrigues at Capa Mgt, photographic assistant (Rafael, Ray, DJ da DZ7) Renan Martins, (MC Cabelinho) Marcio Marcolino, hair and make-up assistant Gisele Santana, executive production Emmanuelle Atlan at Farago Projects, production Marc Edenburg at Farago Projects, production manager André Gustavo.

Gallery above: Styling Zazá Pecego, hair and make-up João Miranda at Beltrame MGMT, talent Bebelsito, Bruna Soares, Da boca, Dabren, Diaba, Evelyn, Fox, Gabriel Johnny, Gisele, HUD, Jamile Martins, Juan, Keyte, Kblean, Leskill, Maha, Muito Louca, Nattan, Tago Oli, Vitória Machado, photographic assistants Flavio Marques, Patrick Eloy, styling assistants Lucia Souza, Ruan Alexander, Marcelo Borgeth, Hannah Rodrigues, Lene Cruz, hair and make-up assistants Carlos Henrique Silva, Andressa Xavier, Ro Resende, Ygor Oliveira, production Emmanuelle Atlan at Farago Projects, production manager Giulia Muller, casting Tago Oli, Bill Macintyre, Lenita Tropical

This story is taken from the spring 2026 issue of Dazed, which is on sale internationally now. Order a copy of the magazine here.