It was the middle of July and I was at a really sweaty warehouse party in Brooklyn. This hella cute boy walked on stage in a fitted cap and I was already feeling his down-South beats when he dropped some CRAZY remix of ‘Suavemente‘. I had to stop mid-twerk to ask some dude next to me who this was. Turns out, it was Sango. Sango? He’s from Grand Rapids, Michigan. MICHIGAN?! And so my love affair began. The latest release from Sango is the 13 track deep Da Rocinha 2, a continuation of his 2012 Da Rocinha, which translates into ‘Of Rocinha,’ one of the most well known favelas in Rio de Janeiro. Recognized as the birthplace of baile funk, Sango takes Da Rochina 2 to new heights, unafraid to mix what inspires him and what is considered, at the moment, ‘hot.’
In ‘Baile Somebody,’ an all too familiar Timbaland/Aaliyah collaboration is chopped up into seamless, yet jarring syncopated rhythms and isolated beat boxing. By ‘Oi (Interlúdio),‘ tracks flow in and out of one other in the most romantic way, but still keep us on our feet with 808s and rapping by Portuguese MC Taty. Among all the deep bass, baile funk and drums, you may not always understand what is being said, but Sango still finds a way to move you. It seems that baile funk is having a moment, and if this album was made for the worldly electronic hip hop-head, we’re definitely feeling it.