A Filial To Release $1,99 On Verge Records

A Filial - Gosto Tanto

This post about Brazil's A Filial at World Hip Hop Market caught my eye partly because I'm into Brazil and partly because these aren't playboys.  They're working their way up in a very difficult economic setting:

"In a room on the edge of a tropical forest in Rio de Janeiro, five friends lay down tracks on hacked software, coordinating their takes with the purring of fist-size cicadas and the occasional cry of a monkey. The sounds of this global city bleed through every beat on Rio hip hop crew A Filial's $1,99, out December 2, 2008 on Verge Records..."

"Unlike the harder-edged sound of Brazilian rap crews from São Paulo, Rio's bohemian scene has sparked hip hop that is perhaps more Brazilian and more cosmopolitan. A Filial's distinct vibe is reflected on their home turf, the neighborhood of Santa Teresa where most of the crew, including founding MC Edu Lopes, grew up. Here, up on a mountain overlooking the rest of the city, sunny exuberance melds with dire poverty. Artists live next to favela dwellers, and a democratic spirit of the neighborhood underpins the music on $1,99. The album title refers to Brazil's equivalent of the American ninety-nine cent store, where you can get almost anything you need and which is accessible to anyone."

"A Filial came out of Rio's skateboarding scene and a hip hop circle known as the Hemp Family. 'Our first tape was made using a Playstation, a karaoke set, a $10 mic, a toy that made music, and a used cassette,' Lopes recalls."

A Filial - Quem Menos Tem E Quem Mais Oferece

Here's the cover of A Filial's previous release, Quem Menos Tem E Quem Mais Oferece.

Hey, didn't they get the memo that hip hop artists are not allowed to smile on album covers, even in drawings?

MySpace: A Filial