AnitaRichie Talboy
Published 04/27/2024 06:00
Rio – Anitta released her sixth studio album, “Funk Generation”, this Friday (26). With a striking sound of Rio funk, the album represents a return to the singer’s roots and highlights the sounds and influences that inspired her, aiming to reach a global audience.
In an interview, the singer expressed the cultural and personal importance of funk, especially for those who live in peripheral communities in Brazil. She emphasized her origin and the incorporation of characteristic elements of this musical style, which shaped her identity.
“Funk has a million nuances, right? And it also has enormous cultural importance for those who live in the country’s favelas, suburbs and outskirts. In this work, I pay homage to the place where I came from and make a selection of some elements, with all the power of this sound”, he defines.
The album cover, designed by creative director Franc Fernandez, known for emblematic works such as the meat dress worn by Lady Gaga in 2010, symbolizes the journey to insert funk into the international music scene, as explained by Anitta herself.
Sound experiments
“Funk Generation” opens with “Lose Ya Breath”, a sound explosion inspired by Miami bass and electro, subgenres of electronic music that influenced the emergence of Brazilian funk. “Grip” follows this same sound, adding sensual lyrics that portray a dominant female figure.
“This thing about explicit sexuality, without mincing words, is very characteristic of funk. And I think that, when we women sing about it, music becomes a form of liberation, right? My idea is to inspire us to be sexually free” , evaluates.
The music video, recorded in a warehouse in Rio de Janeiro, reflects the typical festivities of Brazilian outskirts, involving 180 people in its production and directed by GINGA Pictures. The album also features sonic experiments, such as “Savage Funk”.
Lyrics that address themes such as sex and female empowerment are evident in songs such as “Puta Cara” and “Double Team”, where Anitta stands out for her frankness and freedom in expressing her experiences and desires. “Ahi”, a duet with Sam Smith, combines pop and funk elements.
In the process of creating “Funk Generation”, Anitta counted on renowned Brazilian collaborators, such as DJ Gabriel do Borel and the Brabo Music team, as well as international artists such as Diplo, Stargate and Julia Lewis, who contributed to enriching the album’s sound. and expand its global reach.
“My main objective with this album was to show how Brazilian funk is made in English and Spanish. I didn’t want to do something aimed at what foreigners are used to hearing. I wanted to give this sound direction, but in a language for those from outside and familiar to those here”, he highlights.
The singer also mentioned the motivation behind it. “I wanted to take a risk again, it was necessary to open this door, which didn’t exist. I still don’t know if people will receive the album positively. But I’m calm. I’m relaxed and without internal pressure. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be had just launched.”
To achieve this objective, Anitta brought all aspects of Rio funk to the album, from melodic to explicit funk. In this sense, the songs contain an amount of swearing above what their audience had ever seen. In “Savage Funk”, one of them is repeated 50 times.
“We had to find words that had an impact and it’s not always easy to do that in another language. Often, the number of expressions is smaller. So the swear words, there’s a lot of it because of that. We tried to make several letter options and nothing was as cool as the explicit. People think that prohibition is empty, but it is even more difficult to write, because I have to think about how people will dance and sing in a way that is pleasant”, he explains.
For the production, Anitta reveals that she presented Rio funk songs from different eras to the composers, who speak in English or Spanish. “The production of the album was also based on their perception of our culture”, she comments.
When asked if she feels complete in her career, Anitta was emphatic. “Two years ago, I worked so much that I started to get really sick. I couldn’t even climb the second floor of my house. So, I wrote this album as if it were my last and without any pretensions. It doesn’t follow a commercial logic. I just did everything I wanted to do. Does that mean I’m going to retire or something? No. But now I feel free to take a break whenever I want,” he concludes.
