Tag: drill

Brazil’s Urban Culture Is Thriving—And So Is Its Music

October 6, 2022

The artist Veigh poses in front of a wall covered in graffiti

Around the globe we’ve seen hip-hop and trap artists dominate the charts, and recently in Brazil, the already diverse and far-reaching sounds of urbano music have only gotten bigger. With urbano’s thriving culture and ever-growing roster of artists, its listenership in the country is at an all-time high. 

Hip-hop, trap, and pop make up the majority of the tracks and artists represented within urbano music, but artists pull inspiration from a wide range of genres that include funk carioca, funk ostentação, and R&B. 

Spotify has been supporting the call for more Brazilian urbano music by becoming the official partner of Brazil’s only trap festival, CENA 2k22, as well as partnering with Red Bull FrancaMente, the world’s largest rap competition. And almost two years ago, Spotify introduced the creme playlist, which celebrates the massive and diverse talent of Brazil’s urbano culture and how it pushes the boundaries of genres, cultures, and borders. Listenership of urbano music is up, particularly with Brazilian trap, which has seen Spotify streams increase by 33% in the past two years in Brazil alone.

Spotify has also featured some of the best up-and-coming artists in the urbano scene through RADAR, a program that represents Spotify’s commitment to new and emerging artists from all over the world. Through the RADAR Global playlist, artists like Rio de Janeiro’s N.I.N.A and São Paulo’s Veigh are bringing their unique rap and trap sounds to the world stage. 

“The growth of urban culture coincides with a period of intense social transformation in Brazil, with the empowerment and rise of audiences that, until recently, were not represented,” says Ellen Rocha, Marketing Manager of Spotify Brazil. “Artists of genres that encompass urban culture are spokespersons for a generation of young people—an audience that asks for personality and authenticity and that absorbs and reflects culture not only in speech, but also in the way they behave and dress.” 

For the Record sat down with RADAR-featured artists N.I.N.A and Veigh to talk about the rise of trap music in Brazil. 

The artist N.I.N.A poses in a studio in front of a white backdrop holding a snake

N.I.N.A

Rap and trap music have been on the rise in Brazil lately—why do you think so many listeners are drawn to these genres? 

N.I.N.A: The music is always renewed. Year after year we see our youth consuming a new style, having a new face, dancing with new moves . . . rap has always been very communicative, and I think this rise comes from the identification and plurality that rap and trap bring.

Veigh: Trap ends up attracting a lot of listeners, and it’s an aspect of rap that has been popular for a long time both inside and on the outskirts! It also has a strong connection with funk, and I think a lot of young people identify with that genre.

In what ways have you seen urban culture really grow and influence parts of life in Brazil? 

N.I.N.A: Those who come from the favela know the lives that urban culture impacts. There are several projects to rescue lives through music, and it’s where our talents are born. I’ve seen the art, culture, and music of the periphery save lives many times—including mine.

Veigh: I saw the culture grow inside where I live, where many portrayed the reality of that place through letters and other types of art. The culture ends up expanding to the whole world! 

Veigh

What was your experience like being a part of the RADAR program?

N.I.N.A: RADAR boosted my work in ways I couldn’t even imagine. Today I have a diverse audience that came from extremely different strands of drill, which is what I do. It was a great door-opening for me. I am extremely grateful and happy to be part of RADAR’s history!

Veigh: It was a very important milestone for me and for my people (Itapevi in the west zone of São Paulo), where many saw me on RADAR and believed it could be them soon. Being in a place where a lot of artists, whom I am personally a fan of, have passed through is amazing for me! 

The RADAR experience has taken my sound to bigger places and my art to more people! We know how difficult it is sometimes for our music to reach certain places. 

Celebrate the rise in urban Brazilian music by listening to the creme playlist:

Spotify Renames Our Rap Tuga Playlist Na Zona To Reflect the Evolving Sounds of Portuguese Rap

June 14, 2022

Wet Bed Gang standing within a square of neon light.

For almost five years, fans of Portuguese rap music have gone to Spotify’s dedicated playlist, Rap Tuga, to discover new artists and listen to the music they love—resulting in streams of the playlist growing 824% in that time. As Portuguese rap evolves to encompass new subgenres, sounds, and artists, the playlist is gaining new fans across the globe. So to reflect the genre’s increasing influence, Spotify has renamed Rap Tuga as Na Zona, meaning “the zone.” 

“We’re seeing a generational change among rappers in Portugal and, with that, an evolution of the genre. It’s no longer just rap or hip-hop; it’s trap, drill, and many other sounds that are merging under the Rap Tuga umbrella.” Melanie Parejo, Spotify Head of Music for Southern Europe, told For the Record. “We also see influences from the U.K. and Brazil entering the drill space—and from Portuguese-speaking Africa, with artists like Julinho Ksd rapping in Creole. Na Zona is a fresh project that follows the hype promoting Portuguese rap all over the world.”

In fact, a large portion of Na Zona’s fans come from Switzerland, France, Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde, with 48% of total streams coming from Gen Z listeners. 

As the genre continues to gain traction with fans, so too do the artists whose sounds have influenced Portuguese rap. 

Celebrating the Portuguese rap scene. Spotify is entering the Zone with our renamed playlist "Na Zona" which is honoring the best of "rap tuga" — a genre that is amassing more and more fans around the world each year.

For the past few years, Wet Bed Gang has topped the genre. Recently, Julinho Ksd, a performer with Cape Verdean origins who partly raps in Creole, has joined the ranks of Portuguese rap artists making it big. And ProfJam and Piruka have also been regularly featured on the playlists’ top lists since its launch.

In 2022, Na Zona’s most-streamed songs have included “Devia Ir” by Wet Bed Gang, “Fato treino do City” by Sippinpurpp, Ivandro’s “Lua” and “Moça,” and “Andalé” by Minguito 283. Fans can look forward to hearing more from these artists as the genre continues to grow. 

Quiz: This Week on ‘For the Record’

July 2, 2021

Think you're up-to-date on the latest in Spotify news, data, and trends? Take our quiz to test just how well you’ve been following along.

1. Spotify’s Songs of Summer predictions are here! Which of the following songs is featured on our playlist?
2. What advice did EQUAL artist of the month Barbara Pravi give other women artists?
3. The new Summer Breakouts playlist is made up of tracks that Spotify’s editorial experts predict will pop off this summer, while also ranking the order in which they appear to fit each user’s taste. How often is this playlist updated?
4. On June 21, Spotify launched “Enjoy Enjaami - Spotify Singles,” a collaboration between Dhee and DJ Snake. It marked the first Spotify Singles recording in which country?
5. This Pride Month, our on- and off-platform campaign encouraged LGBTQIA+ creators, artists, and Spotify employees to:
6. “Body - Remix” by Russ Millions and Tion Wayne and featuring ArrDee, Fivio Foreign, Bugzy Malone, E1 (3×3), ZT (3×3), Buni, and Darkoo, became the first-ever U.K. drill track to be featured on which playlist?
7. Which European contest did Italian rock band Måneskin win most recently?

How ‘Body’ Became the First U.K. Drill Track to Land Today’s Top Hits

June 28, 2021

Turn up the bass and 808s: U.K. drill has dug a space for itself on Spotify—and across the global music industry at large. The trap sub-genre’s share of listening has grown 351% on Spotify since 2017 across Europe, Australia, and Africa, and especially in cities and countries where listeners can relate to the genre’s unfiltered themes, booming sound, and direct lyrics. As it spreads, it takes root in different languages and locations, making it even more accessible. 

Though the trap sub-genre has been rising in the U.K. for several years—a staggering 442% listening share increase since 2017—2021 has taken it to a new level, complete with prominent features on Spotify playlists, a runaway global hit single, and increased presence in the U.K.’s annual BRIT Awards. 

“Body” then became the first-ever U.K. drill track to be featured on Spotify’s global Today’s Top Hits playlist. This song, which emanated from Spotify’s U.K. rap and hip-hop playlists, then started traversing the globe as a cross-continental remix. Its journey is a strong reflection of the story of drill in the industry as a whole. 

A place on playlists

Drill has long been a feature on U.K. hip-hop playlists like Who We Be and Rap UK, which have been two of the top three playlists in the country since they each launched. New playlists, like Just Dropped, are also increasing in prominence week after week, and the biggest episodes of the Who We Be TALKS_ podcast continue to be ones featuring drill and rap artists. Rap UK has even become the region’s biggest export playlist for U.K. hip-hop.

“Streaming allows the audience to decide exactly what they want to listen to and when. We are seeing this reflected in consumption on platform,” says Safiya Lambie-Knight, Artist & Label Partnerships Lead at Spotify for the U.K. and Ireland. “It has also allowed for the birth of new drill scenes across the globe from Australia to Ghana. Playlists like City to City are great examples of global drill and the audience’s appetite for the genre on an international level.” 

“Body” takeover

“Body,” originally by Russ Millions and Tion Wayne, came out in March 2021, complete with a dance challenge. The next month, the duo released “Body (Remix)” featuring a number of U.K. and U.S. artists, including a new artist from Brighton named ArrDee, U.S. drill artist Fivio Foreign, Bugzy Malone, E1 (3×3), ZT (3×3), Buni, and Darkoo. The track quickly took over, hitting close to 600,000 streams daily in the U.K. and 200,000 daily in the U.S. and Australia. It jumped from its spot on Rap UK, Who We Be, and Hot Hits UK to Australian hip-hop playlist A1, where it cemented its place as the biggest song in the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand—the first drill song to ever do so. 

Then, overnight, the song was added to Today’s Top Hits, which contributed to the track’s success: It’s now been streamed over 58 million times, in addition to having been streamed over 1 million times in a single day. It also garnered multiple other remixes, featuring artists from all over the world helping to drive more international growth and top 10 prominence in Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Norway.

“U.K. rap has dominated the mainstream for some time now, but ‘Body’ reaching the top of the charts in the U.K. and Australia simultaneously is incredibly significant for drill,” says Safiya. “It shows not only the importance of the U.K. as a key market, but also the export and international potential that U.K. rap now has.” 

2021 BRITs and beyond

While “Body” became the first drill track to reach the top slot, U.K. rap has been topping the charts in the U.K. frequently for many years. The BRITs nominations this year, therefore, were a reflection of the appetite for U.K. rap in popular music culture—featuring the biggest as well as newest names in rap nominated across all of the categories. 

“It’s important that institutions like the BRITs recognize the hip-hop talent they have here and reflect that in awards,” says Joel Borquaye, from Spotify’s U.K. and Ireland Editorial team. “At Spotify we have worked closely with a number of the artists nominated over the past year. This included emerging artists like S1mba, whose support began early on in our playlist Who We Be, and Young T & Bugsey, who were our first RADAR artists in the U.K., as well as album campaigns with Headie One, AJ Tracey, and J Hus, the latter of whom won the coveted male solo artist of the year award.”

Since we launched the Spotify U.K. charts, the popularity of rap has been clear on Spotify. Now, the U.K. music industry has caught up—and the world is next. 

“Rap has always been fast moving and agile, and that has been more evident over the past year with the capacity of releases that we saw on Spotify,” says Safiya. “Consumption habits have evolved, too, and it isn’t just the data that shows us this—it’s culture. Look at the way music spreads across social media. There’s a lot of support across the music and artist community and there’s a huge engaged, young fan base watching that and wanting to be part of it and creating their own content to be involved in the conversation. Artists now know where their audience is and music can travel more easily now than ever.”