Stories Archives - FELIPE MAIA https://maiafelipe.com/category/stories/ Journalist, ethnomusicologist, d.j. Wed, 22 Oct 2025 13:51:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.1 https://maiafelipe.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-logo-novo-150x150.png Stories Archives - FELIPE MAIA https://maiafelipe.com/category/stories/ 32 32 129479425 Liner notes: funk.br – sÃO PAULO https://maiafelipe.com/liner-notes-funk-br-sao-paulo/ Wed, 22 Oct 2025 13:47:43 +0000 https://maiafelipe.com/?p=5122 This essay was first published as the liner notes of “funk-BR – São Paulo“, the São Paulo baile funk compilation released by NTS in 2024 curated by me and Jonathan Kim. A tale of one city: São Paulo and the rise of funk mandelão Chances are, by the time the needle drops onto this record […]

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]]> 5122 [boiler room] From carnival to carnaval: how rio reinvented the party https://maiafelipe.com/boiler-room-from-carnival-to-carnaval-how-rio-reinvented-the-party/ Thu, 22 May 2025 16:56:04 +0000 https://maiafelipe.com/?p=5071 This is a story assignment for Boiler Room. It was first published as an edited and shorter version in May 2025. Rio is the life and soul of the party. But party here is not a gringo-tainted tropical dream where hollow joy shines from an AI-generated, feather-headed golden face smiling on a magazine ad. Party […]

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]]> 5071 [Remezcla] Meet Lyzza, the Brazilian Artist Shaping Club Music While On a Quest to Find Herself https://maiafelipe.com/remezcla-meet-lyzza-the-brazilian-artist-shaping-club-music-while-on-a-quest-to-find-herself/ Thu, 11 Jan 2024 20:20:15 +0000 https://maiafelipe.com/?p=4900 This is a story assignment for Remezcla. It was first published in September 2022. If your last name is Silva, chances are you might be Brazilian. Like Smith in the U.S. or Hernández in Mexico, Silva is a common family name in Brazil. And yet, it took a while for one member of the clan […]

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]]> 4900 [Remezcla] Meet Dricka, the Brazilian MC Redefining Baile Funk https://maiafelipe.com/remezcla-meet-dricka-the-brazilian-mc-redefining-baile-funk/ Thu, 11 Jan 2024 20:15:03 +0000 https://maiafelipe.com/?p=4897 This is a story assignment for Remezcla. It was first published in May 2022. By the side of her gamer chair and her brand new PlayStation 5, Dricka looks at her closet filled with fancy clothes. She’s packing for her first European tour, and only the most flashy clothes by brands like Lacoste and Tommy […]

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]]> 4897 [Remezcla] Despite Political Censorship, Female & LGBTQI+ Performers at Lollapalooza Brazil Raised Their Voices https://maiafelipe.com/remezcla-despite-political-censorship-female-lgbtqi-performers-at-lollapalooza-brazil-raised-their-voices/ Thu, 11 Jan 2024 20:12:14 +0000 https://maiafelipe.com/?p=4894 This is a story assignment for Remezcla. It was first published in April 2022. When Brazilian popstar phenomenon Pabllo Vittar grabbed a flag from the audience at Lollapalooza Brazil, she was unaware that this move would echo beyond the enormous Interlagos race track, where the festival took place from March 25 to 27. The rugged […]

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]]> 4894 [Remezcla] Red Bull Batalla U.S. Finals: The Five Rappers To Not Sleep on https://maiafelipe.com/remezcla-red-bull-batalla-u-s-finals-the-five-rappers-to-not-sleep-on/ Thu, 11 Jan 2024 20:06:05 +0000 https://maiafelipe.com/?p=4890 This is a story assignment for Remezcla. It was first published in September 2021. Over the past 14 years, the Red Bull Batalla grew as one of the leading global hubs for Spanish-language freestyle rapping. The event gathers artists from Spain to Nicaragua, crossing the American continent and finding talent in every street corner where a […]

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]]> 4890 [Remezcla] Watch Feid’s New Video For His Emotional Reggaeton Single “Tengo Fe” https://maiafelipe.com/remezcla-watch-feids-new-video-for-his-emotional-reggaeton-single-tengo-fe/ Thu, 11 Jan 2024 20:03:20 +0000 https://maiafelipe.com/?p=4887 This is a story assignment for Remezcla. It was first published in September 2021. From popular names like Shakira, Maluma, and J. Balvin to newcomers like Lalo, Colombia has yielded notable contributions to Latin and global pop music. And yet, the creativity flowing from cities such as Cali and Bogotá seems to be far from […]

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]]> 4887 [Remezcla] At the Top of Mexico’s Rap Game, Gera MX Embraces His Roots https://maiafelipe.com/remezcla-at-the-top-of-mexicos-rap-game-gera-mx-embraces-his-roots/ Thu, 11 Jan 2024 19:57:59 +0000 https://maiafelipe.com/?p=4884 This is a story assignment for Remezcla. It was first published in June 2021. There’s only one place Mexican rapper Gera MX loves as much as the stage: the soccer field. The 26-year-old, Monterey-born artist is also a forward in a local league and proudly tells us, over a Zoom call, that his team is the first […]

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]]> 4884 [Remezcla] Don’t Sleep on Brazil’s Febem & His Latest Contribution to a New Wave of Brazilian Hip-Hop https://maiafelipe.com/remezcla-dont-sleep-on-brazils-febem-and-his-latest-contribution-to-a-new-wave-of-brazilian-hip-hop/ Thu, 11 Jan 2024 19:28:46 +0000 https://maiafelipe.com/?p=4880 This is a story assignment for Remezcla. It was first published in May 2021. It’s hard to keep track of Febem’s music endeavors. If he were to have only a couple of yearly releases and loose tracks, any Google Alert would do the trick. Febem’s sound, however, has had a few alter-egos in the past […]

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]]> 4880 [The Guardian] ‘If it doesn’t smell like funk, something’s wrong with your recipe’: Brazilian baile funk goes global, again https://maiafelipe.com/the-guardian-if-it-doesnt-smell-like-funk-somethings-wrong-with-your-recipe-brazilian-baile-funk-goes-global-again/ Thu, 11 Jan 2024 19:16:04 +0000 https://maiafelipe.com/?p=4873 This is a story assignment for The Guardian. It was first published in November 2023. Harsh, thunderous kicks; offbeat, crispy cymbals; powerful – sometimes incomprehensible – vocals, all preferably blasted out of sturdy speakers. This is the sound of baile funk, an electronic music born 40 years ago the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and […]

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