O Rappa

O Rappa fuses samba and dub with drum'n'bass and funk, foregrounding social criticism, racial awareness, and assaults on police violence as its defining traits. Recognition for the debut release O Rappa (1994) stayed confined to narrow circles of devotees, chiefly within Rio de Janeiro’s working-class suburbs. Commercial traction finally arrived via the third album, Lado B Lado A (1999), which moved 150,000 copies inside three months. That same year the video for “Minha Alma” received seven nominations at MTV Brasil’s Vídeo Music Brasil, capturing six wins, and also took the prize at the Seventh Multishow Music Awards. In November 2000 drummer/composer Marcelo Yuka was shot and left paraplegic after he attempted to escape an assault by driving his car into the attackers. August 2001 brought three further Video Music Brasil victories for “O Que Sobrou do Céu,” in Best of the Year, Best Direction, and Best Photography. The same year the band issued its first live album, Instinto Coletivo, featuring a pair of studio tracks and guest appearances by Sepultura and Asian Dub Foundation.