Rap das Armas

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"Rap das Armas"
Cidinho & Doca
from the album Elite Squad (Soundtrack)
Released2008
Recorded2007
Genre
Length3:27
Songwriter(s)MC Doca, MC Cidinho
(2008 version)
MC Júnior, MC Leonardo
(original 1990s version)
Music video
"Rap das Armas" on
YouTube

"Rap das Armas" (English: "Rap of Weapons") is a 1990s song originally written and performed by Brazilian duo Júnior e Leonardo. It has lyrics in Brazilian Portuguese written on the melody of the 1986 song "Your Love" by the English rock band The Outfield.[1]

Brazilian duo

MC Doca, recorded and released a cover of the song, making it an international hit both in 2008 and in 2009. The duo are two prominent proibidão
rappers in Brazil, proibidão referring to songs which are prohibited airplay by order of the Brazilian courts due to alleged crime apology.

The song enjoyed a considerable amount of success in the mid-1990s. It resurfaced when it was used as the soundtrack of a popular Brazilian film released in 2007, Elite Squad (Portuguese: Tropa de Elite), but it was withdrawn two weeks after its release.

Following the song success, the record has been subject to many remixes from 2008 to at least 2011, like that of

The Netherlands and in Sweden
.

Early-to-mid 1990s original version

The song is considered as part of the "

automatic weapons. Leonardo said he picked the names of these weapons in his day job as a newsstand attendant.[3] The refrain of the record was taken from a 1986 song, "Your Love" by the English rock band The Outfield, replacing the lyrics with the sound of a machine gun, imitated by the rendition "pa ra pa pa..."[3]

2000s Cidinho e Doca version

Since then, MCs

.30 calibre weapons. But Júnior and Leonardo criticized the new version, saying it went for the opposite message they were seeking, and the new version seemed to praise violence instead of criticizing it.[4] Cidinho and Doca were not sued because that version "was not commercialized", due to its lack of recorded version and radio airplay.[5]

2007: "Elite Squad" film soundtrack

The 1990s song was reused with amended lyrics as soundtrack of the 2007 film Elite Squad, directed by José Padilha. This film soon became the highest-grossing one of that year in Brazil. The film version of the song as interpreted by MCs Cidinho and Doca became very popular as a result.

The lyrics of the remixed version were modified in order to make it sound like a social protest, which was not the intention of the original 1990s version. The music was also inspired by kuduro, informally known as "funk carioca of Angola". The filmmakers still preferred using the original version of MCs Júnior e Leonardo.

The song vividly illustrates the daily invasion of

drug trafficking, as it is clear from its own title.[6]
Its lyrics reference the fireweapons popular among drug dealers and police officers.

Despite its popularity, "Rap das Armas" was never played on the Brazilian radio due to its controversial nature and it was abruptly removed from the Elite Squad film soundtrack album two weeks after its release, because it allegedly praises drug consumption, and seems to defend drug dealers and criminal factions side in Rio de Janeiro's war on crime.

2008-2011: "Rap das Armas" song remixes

European

DJs made many remix versions of the song based more on the Cidinho and Doca
rendition rather than the original Júnior e Leonardo one.

The first well known remix was made in Portugal in 2008. Consequently, it became a huge hit there. This version appeared in many European countries and was a big hit almost everywhere.

The Netherlands
in February 2009, staying at the top of the chart for 2 weeks.

"Rap das Armas" was an even bigger hit in Sweden, where it stayed at the top of the Swedish singles charts for a total of 4 weeks in the summer of 2009. The supporters of Stockholm football team Djurgårdens IF Fotboll like to sing the machine gun-like chorus during the games of their club.[7]

In 2011 rapper Flo Rida released music with samples of this song, with the recording being produced by DJ Frank E. However, it has not been included in the Flo Rida's 2012 album Wild Ones.

Other versions and parodies

The song has been subject to many versions, remixes and even parodies by various disc jockeys throughout Europe.

Well-known versions include a dance one known as "Lucana Club Mix", a remix by "Rockstarzz featuring Antoine Montana and DJ Bo", "Parapapa" by "DJ Jan" and a parody by "DJ Maurice and Boldheadz", entitled "Parapapaprika".

South African artist Snotkop used the chorus and the melody in his song "Parapapa", though the lyrics in Afrikaans have no connections with the original ones.[8]

There is also a Greek version entitled "Πάρα πολύ" (Very much), by Laïko music singer Giorgos Tsalikis, but it also hasn't lyrics related to those of the original song, which are instead rewritten in Greek language.[9]

Charts

References

  1. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Rap das Armas x Your Love. YouTube.
  2. ^ Stamboroski, Amauri. "De James Brown ao 'Rap das armas', veja a linha do tempo do funk carioca" (in Portuguese). G1, September 9, 2009
  3. ^
    Folha de S. Paulo
  4. ^ Versão pirata levou funkeiros a dar explicações à polícia civil, (in Portuguese) Extra
  5. ^ Góis, Ancelmo. A miséria do funk Archived 2012-10-12 at the Wayback Machine. (in Portuguese) O Globo
  6. ^ Yúdice, George. “The Funkification of Rio”. In Microphone Fiends, 193-220. London: Routledge, 1994.
  7. ^ Abreu, Alexandre. O sucesso do filme “Tropa de Elite” na primeira divisão sueca (in Portuguese). G1, September 10, 2009.
  8. YouTube
  9. ^ Πετρωτού, Ελευθερία (2022-11-21). "Τριάντα ελληνικά τραγούδια που είναι διασκευές ξένων - Οι εκπλήξεις της λίστας (vids)". mynews.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  10. ^ "Cidinho e Doca – Rap das armas" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  11. Ultratip
    . Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  12. ^ "Cidinho e Doca: Rap das armas" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  13. Les classement single
    . Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  14. ^ "Media Forest: Airplay chart". mediaforest.biz.
  15. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 7, 2009" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  16. ^ "Cidinho e Doca – Rap das armas" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  17. ^ "Cidinho e Doca – Rap das armas". Singles Top 100. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  18. ^ "Cidinho e Doca – Rap das armas". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  19. ^ "SloTop50 – Slovenian official singles chart". slotop50.si. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  20. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 2009". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  21. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2009" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  22. ^ "Årslista Singlar – År 2009" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved April 21, 2020.

External links

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