Clowns, wizards and witches? Discover the symbolism behind the nicknames that dominate funk

Clowns, wizards and witches?: Discover the symbolism behind the nicknames that dominate funk ????Far beyond the bass and accelerated beats, São Paulo funk also built its own visual and symbolic universe. In recent years, especially with the rise of the so-called funk witchcraft, an aspect marked by dark productions, elements of suspense and intense timbres, DJs and MCs have started to adopt nicknames such as Bruxo, Mago, Coringa and Mandrake, creating characters that go beyond music and help define each one's artistic identity. On National Funk Day, g1 delved into one of the fastest growing subgenres on the São Paulo scene in recent years to understand why artists began to adopt these unique nicknames. More than nicknames, these characters have become a mark of visual and sound identity through a style that influences music, fashion and audiovisual from the outskirts of the capital to the interior of São Paulo. ? Join the g1 Sorocaba and Jundiaí channel on WhatsApp To do this, the report went after artists from the interior of SP, experts from the University of Sorocaba (Uniso) and DJs who will be performing in the region in the coming days to understand the origin of the nicknames that dominate funk. The date, celebrated on July 12, was made official in Brazil by Law No. 14,940 and exists to recognize funk as a cultural manifestation and pays homage to the historic "Baile da Pesada", held in 1970 in Rio de Janeiro. The rhythm, which was born in the outskirts, stands out for giving young people a voice, generating jobs and combating social prejudice. READ ALSO: Funk and mandrake aesthetics: understand how the movement influences the culture of the interior of São Paulo Umbrellas, funk witchcraft and bass echoing through the city: discover the dance that conquered the interior of SP From the set at Lollapalooza to the interior of SP: Skrillex performs a surprise show at a funk party for almost 10 thousand people With the popularization of the so-called funk witchcraft and the São Paulo mandelão, aesthetics began to play a role as important as the music itself. Popularized through major events focused on the genre, such as Submundo 808, which holds annual events in Sorocaba (SP), with striking beats and an unmistakable aesthetic. Covers with scary clowns, playing cards, cauldrons and wizards spread across DJ channels, dance stages and social media, creating a visual identity that is now recognized as one of the main brands of funk produced throughout the state of São Paulo. Clowns, wizards and witches?: discover the symbolism behind the nicknames that dominate São Paulo funk Reproduction/Mile.lab For those watching from the outside, the nicknames may just seem like flashy artistic names. However, for those who are part of the scene, they act as a creative signature and help communicate each producer's personality before the first beat even begins. "The nickname of wizard or wizard and all this aesthetic represent that the DJ uses magic and witchcraft in his productions, with mind-blowing beats that make it transcend as something playful and magical. That's always what I wanted to convey in my songs; that's why I adopted this aesthetic. For me, it's the most fascinating", explains DJ Blakes, one of the main names in the genre who will be performing in Bauru (SP) next Saturday (18). According to him, the use of these nicknames also helps the artist to stand out in an increasingly competitive scene. "Just like in rap and trap, many artists create a nickname to stand out and show their personality. In São Paulo's mandelão funk, whoever makes the most mind-blowing (or darkest) beat is in charge, if we think from the witchcraft funk side. So, the nickname witch is what makes perfect sense", adds the artist. DJ Blakes and his dancer dressed as Harley Quinn during a show Reproduction/Personal archive ?How did funk witchcraft come about? Funk witchcraft is an offshoot of mandelão paulista, a subgenre that gained strength in Baixada Santista, in the capital of São Paulo and throughout the interior of São Paulo throughout the 2010s, especially in street dances and in automotive culture. From In 2020, during the pandemic, thousands of young people started producing music at home using simple software and publishing their work on a digital platform. In this scenario, funk witchcraft emerged, which took sound experimentation even further. It reached most of the positions in the Top 10 on Spotify Brazil and maintained a constant presence among the 50 most listened to songs in the country, surpassing country music in different periods. The style incorporated aggressive synthesizers, metallic noises, laughter, sounds inspired by horror films and a dark atmosphere, causing DJs and producers to also adopt characters such as Wizards, Wizards and Clowns to represent this artistic identity. will impress. Just like magic, it communicates something dark and obscure that the audience will have to try to understand and unravel, as well as the message it is going to convey. It is not explicit, it is implicit in the form of musical production. And this choice came from my own identification with everything related to the figure of the 'Mago'", reveals DJ Blakes. Clowns, wizards and witches?: discover the symbolism behind the nicknames that dominate funk Reproduction/Mile.lab The DJ also says that the figures are the visual representation of the sound. "In addition to the entire visual experience, these figures are representations of what the sound of the São Paulo mandelão is. In many songs you hear laughter that immediately becomes associated with the image of clowns, the high-pitched or extremely low-pitched strident beats that seem to have come out of a scary horror film, where the visual figures would certainly be and hallucinating beats that seem like a magic touch played by a wizard next to his cauldron", he adds. The phenomenon also reached the interior of São Paulo. In Sorocaba, DJ Will BR, who adopted the nickname "Bruxo dos Mandelão", states that the visual identity has become part of the funk experience. "I have always followed the evolution of funk from São Paulo and saw that, in addition to the music, the image also started to tell a story. I wanted to create an identity that represented the energy of my show and funk witchcraft, the masks, costumes and visual elements help transform each performance into an experience, reminding the audience of DJ Will BR not only through the sound, but also through his presence on stage", he says. "São Paulo funk has always sought innovation, both in sound and aesthetics. These characters attract attention, arouse curiosity and help the public to quickly identify a musical style. Today the image is part of the culture of the movement and further strengthens the personality of each artist", adds the artist. ?The 'Mago ??dos Magos' and Mandrake, the Magician DJ Blakes and DJ Mandrake during show Reproduction/Subverse Although there is no "official creator" of funk witchcraft, producers such as DJ K, DJ Mandrake, DJ Arana, DJ Blakes and several artists linked to Mandelão were fundamental in consolidating this aesthetic that today influences not only the sound, but also the audiovisual, fashion and covers of the releases. An important characteristic is that "witchcraft" does not refer to religion, but rather to the idea of ??"performing magic" in music production: creating surprising, unpredictable beats capable of hypnotizing the audience. One of the biggest DJs and music producers in Brazil, DJ Mandrake 100% Original, who influenced several DJs and funk producers from Sorocaba (SP) becoming a reference figure in the segment and had his nickname inspired by the famous comic book character created in 1934 by Lee Falk, "Mandrake, the Magician". A powerful illusionist who uses mental powers and hypnosis to fight crime. "I was inspired by the real Mandrake. The guy who did magic and today I'm the guy who does magic on the beats. So I'm a reincarnation of Mandrake. An illusionist, a magician, a wizard, that's what I do here in my day job and that's why I'm known as the wizard of wizards", says DJ Mandrake. "When I see that something is very outdated, I go there and reinvent myself, I create something new, so people will always say: 'Mandrake is revolutionary, the guy has already revolutionized funk and continues to revolutionize it'", he adds. Clowns, wizards and witches?: discover the symbolism behind the nicknames that dominate São Paulo funk Reproduction/Mile.lab Why are 'villains' so successful in funk? Although these characters have established themselves as brands of São Paulo funk, the choice goes beyond aesthetics. For scholars of peripheral culture, these figures help to translate experiences lived by young people who grew up in territories historically marked by inequality and social exclusion. The researcher, professor of Classical Music and PhD in Funk from the University of São Paulo (USP), Thiago de Souza, explains that the presence of these characters can be understood based on the concept of "social distinction", developed by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. According to him, groups that live on the margins of society often give new meaning to symbols traditionally seen negatively, transforming them into elements of identity and belonging. "The issue of the villain in funk is, deep down, a game of social distinction, as Pierre Bourdieu explained. Admiring the villain is purposely inverting the dominant values ??to provoke society. The marginalized population is excluded from consumer society and experiences the side effect of the wealth of the few: the poverty of the many", explains Dr. Thiago de Souza. In practice, this inversion happens because the periphery lives daily with economic and social inequalities. For the researcher, characters like the Joker no longer represent just the antagonist of comic books and start to symbolize someone who challenges an order considered unfair. Clowns, wizards and witches?: discover the symbolism behind the nicknames that dominate São Paulo funk Reproduction/Team DJ Blakes "When society is unfair, the villain can appear as a kind of vigilante, or even a hero. The Joker is a good example. In the film with Joaquin Phoenix, we see how the villain is born who will later be condemned by society itself, the villain does not appear out of nowhere: he is produced by a violent and unequal society, and not an essentially evil being", complete. This reading helps to explain why the figure of the clown gained space not only in São Paulo funk, but also in other cultural manifestations produced by young people from the outskirts. According to the researcher, this symbolic appropriation is part of a larger process of identity construction. In historically marginalized groups, pop culture characters and references come to represent resistance, strength and belonging. At the same time, it recognizes that this resignification can reinforce prejudices against the movement. "Often, admiration for the villain ends up fueling the stigma of funk for those who see it from the outside. While the media tends to condemn the figure of the bandit, in funk the expression 'thug' can mean beauty, grandeur, style and even vocal excellence. Explaining this symbolic inversion to those who don't know this universe is not always simple", he says. According to DJ WILL BR, one of the main purposes of this visual identity is not about representing a specific character, but creating an atmosphere. "The elements of São Paulo funk symbolize attitude, mystery, impact and authenticity [...] The visual identity arouses curiosity and makes people remember the artist. When it is aligned with the music, it creates a much stronger connection and the public starts to follow not only the songs, but the entire proposal and personality that the artist conveys", he states. The doctor in Multimedia and professor at the University of Sorocaba (Uniso), Thífani Postali, states that these symbols need to be analyzed within the context in which they appear. Cultural identities are constructed precisely based on differences in relation to the dominant culture, and the characters chosen by the artists are part of this process of creating their own narratives. According to the researcher, understanding the meaning of these symbols is fundamental to combating misinterpretations about gender. "Identities are formed from difference, from what is not hegemonic. Funk is a cultural movement in which young people from the periphery found a way to create their own stories, languages ??and ways of life", he says. "I'm prejudiced mainly about what I don't know. It is necessary to understand the cultures of the peripheries and the meaning of these elements so that these manifestations also make sense to those on the outside", adds the researcher. Clowns, wizards and witches?: discover the symbolism behind the nicknames that dominate funk in São Paulo Reproduction/Mile.lab Right to fantasy If for DJs and MCs the characters help to build an artistic identity, for those who create art through peripheral culture these figures carry an even deeper meaning. The founder of Mile Lab, a laboratory for creation and research of marginal culture, Milena Nascimento, tells how the imaginary of funk witchcraft is born from the mix of references from horror, fantasy and experiences on the periphery. "Society usually only sees the dark side of these symbols, but, for those who live in this universe, they represent transformation, creativity and power. A wizard, for example, is someone who does magic with almost nothing. In funk, it is the DJ who transforms a simple computer into a beat capable of moving thousands of people", he highlights. According to Milena, the use of these figures also dialogues with a historical process of resignifying symbols seen as negative. Through the 12 archetypes, the styles adapted and condensed Carl Jung's concepts of the collective unconscious to categorize universal human motivations and identity strategies. Citing her own image of the witch, Milena describes how aesthetics were appropriated by different groups as a form of resistance and affirmation of identity. "When my mother decided to assume the witch archetype, she took the power of that symbol out of the hands of those who offended her. I see something similar happening in funk. When a young person chooses to be the Joker, the Wizard or the Magician, he is claiming autonomy over his own image and transforming a stigma into power", says Milena. Clowns, wizards and witches?: learn about the symbolism behind the nicknames that dominate São Paulo funk Reproduction/Mile.lab For the researcher, the choice of these characters also challenges the way in which the periphery is usually portrayed. And how there is an expectation that peripheral artists only talk about violence, poverty or overcoming, while funk witchcraft claims the right to fantasy. "Historically, the art of the hood was pushed towards hyper-realism. It seems that the peripheral artist can only talk about his own pain. Funk witchcraft breaks with this by saying that the periphery can also create mythologies, imagine other worlds and play with the fantastic", he says. "The horror in my works does not represent evil. It represents what society hides, what causes fear precisely because it is unknown. It's a way of transforming our shadows into creative power", adds Milena. Aesthetic influence in Sorocaba In the neighborhoods and alleys of Sorocaba, funk fashion is not born from imposed trends, but from local experiences. Often, wearing 'the aesthetics of the hood' is reaffirming one's own origin. DJ Shayy, one of the main female names in the Sorocaba scene, grew up surrounded by this aesthetic and says that her relationship with fashion is above all emotional. "The broken aesthetic sells a lot. We see it on social media, in the way that foreigners see us in soap operas, in magazines, everywhere. The broken aesthetic sells a lot, but it's not just an aesthetic, it's an experience. It's something that I grew up seeing, consuming, and that's part of my history", he says. Clowns, wizards and witches? Discover the symbolism behind the nicknames that dominate funk Reproduction/adjshayy The artist also observes how young people from the interior absorb influences that come from the capital and other regions. This mix creates its own aesthetic, which combines relics, iconic brands and elements that circulate especially among the outskirts. "As younger people consume funk from the capital and region, whether by going to a party there or seeing influencers, they evolve the way they express themselves. And this appears in the kits, with relic pieces, with top brands, an Oakley magnifying glass, a Cyclone, Quiksilver, Planet, Kenner... It's the way they find to show that they are part of this culture too", explains the DJ. If in the 1990s funk was recognized for its passinho and dances, and in the 2010s for its ostentation, the generation of mandelão and funk witchcraft began to build an identity based on symbols, characters and archetypes. Wizard, Wizard and Clown are no longer just nicknames to represent their own aesthetic, which today influences music, fashion, audiovisual and the way in which a new generation from the periphery chooses to tell their stories. *Collaborated under the supervision of Gabriela Almeida See more news from the region on g1 Sorocaba and Jundiaí