The stories, beats and perrengues of Vhoor, a DJ from Minas Gerais who has studied funk since he was 15

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In recent months, the 25-year-old producer has played at The Town and sold out clubs in the US, Canada and Europe. To g1, he talks about how conceptual funk made him ‘stop being a nerd’ and ‘help his family’. DJ Vhoor talks about how funk changed his life When a funk beat plays in a nightclub outside of Brazil, there’s a good chance that the person responsible for it is the calm and shrewd DJ from Minas Gerais in the video above. Vhoor, codename for Victor Hugo de Oliveira Rodrigues, is one of the main exporters of Brazilian funk to other markets. In recent months, the 25-year-old producer has packed clubs in the United States, Canada and European countries. He also had time for a performance at the Boiler Room, a prestigious English platform with DJs playing live, a reference for those who enjoy electronic music. The beginning was about 10 years ago. “I would go to the course, study a little, come home and stay until night studying how to produce, watching videos on YouTube, trying to do everything myself. Until things progressed little by little”, recalls Vhoor to g1 (see excerpts in the video above). Vhoor, codename for Minas Gerais DJ Victor Hugo, plays on the English platform Boiler Room Disclosure At that time, he joined his cousin and some friends to understand how music of different styles was produced. In Facebook communities and video game fan forums, he ended up receiving tips on how to download and use programs like FL Studio. As a teenager, Vhoor didn’t dedicate himself 100% to the beats because he also worked and studied for the Economics entrance exam. When he was a minor apprentice at a logistics company in Belo Horizonte, he created parties with friends from offices and banks. They were the dances “of the people who worked”. “We pooled the money we had and made these reviews. It was right at the time that ostentatious funk was starting to break out. So, I got to know several of these funks. I fell in love, because it was a moment when I was leaving home, stopping being a nerd, stopping being in front of the computer. I started hanging out with my friends.” The DJ and producer from Minas Gerais Vhoor Disclosure The income of a minor DJ ended up becoming higher than that of a minor apprentice. “My father came to me and said: ‘Depending on the situation here, I’m going to need you to find a way’. My mother found a job nearby and we were already thinking about, like, starting to sell candy on the street.” In 2014, Nike used a song by Vhoor in a video for an advertising campaign for the NBA, the North American basketball league. The song was removed from the then 16-year-old boy’s Soundcloud profile, without him knowing. Victor only received the royalties after claiming them, but without stress or legal disputes. “It was the episode that showed that it was possible to make a living… Everything happened in my life at the right time.” And you still won in dollars, right? He responds with a laugh: “It was very funny, me having to go to the bank to talk about international transfers, wearing flip-flops and shorts. I didn’t know anything. I went there, I had to pay, but it was a stop that allowed us to get things done inside the house.” “I lent a good amount to my father, because he needed to sort out some things and I bought my first reference monitor to continue producing. I had just finished a minor apprenticeship. ‘Ah! Now I need to find something to be able to work ‘. At home, we were having difficulty, because it was right at the time of the crisis, right? So, my parents were unemployed. So, I said: ‘No, I’m going to focus on this here to be able to help the family a little. and be able to develop myself’.” Two moments from the childhood and adolescence of DJ Vhoor from Minas Gerais Personal Collection Before, he had bought a pair of headphones with the money left over from one of the course’s monthly fees. The godfather worked in construction in the United States and sent R$400 every month. “It was my first production headphones.” He was even lucky enough to keep the transport card from that logistics company. That R$ 1,000 in credit broke some serious ground when it came to throwing parties and going out around BH. Around the same time, he ended up meeting other young DJs who would later become partners, such as the duo Deekapz, with whom he performed on the electronic stage of the 2023 edition of the São Paulo festival The Town. “I was always very embarrassed to show other people the things I did, until one day my father heard him and said: ‘Okay, cool… you produce’. But you have to look for people who do the same thing as you to be able to fit in.” From New York to Jaboticatubas Born and raised in the Venda Nova region, in Belo Horizonte, Victor Hugo had contact with music since he was little. His father gave guitar lessons and was a member of bands at proms, debutante parties and other gatherings in general. “I grew up with this routine of waking up often and helping my father get downstairs with the speaker and go play in places.” The miners FBC and Vhoor: duo created the album ‘Baile’ Rafael Barra/Disclosure “My father liked to listen international radio, he was always a bit crazy about music. He got these cell phone apps and there was New York radio, London radio. He always liked researching music, so I always thought about that trend. Wow, how can I mix my music with what’s going on outside?” Since then, all of Vhoor’s projects have tried to answer this question: his albums and sets are conceptual. “Maré”, an EP released last August, reflects the calm of the interior of Minas Gerais, especially Jaboticatubas, a city full of waterfalls and with little more than 20 thousand inhabitants, 60 kilometers from BH. There is a beat that represents the sound of birds flying through the foliage and an arrangement halfway between house music and forró. “In Minas Gerais, in these interior cities, it is very common You see an old man in the little square there, perhaps the whole afternoon in peace, drinking his coffee, cheese bread… these are things that I value, important to my upbringing.” The cover of the album ‘Baile’, by FBC and Vhoor Reproduction The next project should be a much more urban album. The idea is “to talk a little about the hip hop culture of Belo Horizonte and the entire Santa Teresa viaduct movement” . On the album, which still has no release date, the partnership with FBC, also from Minas Gerais, should be repeated. Together, he and the singer released the album “Baile”, in 2021. “It was a research work on the funk cultural scene in Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro.” The idea was to talk about parties, dancing, police violence, family, love and other themes present in the life of a young man from the outskirts of BH. The intense lyrics and nostalgic beats reminiscent of Rio funk from the 90s became trend on TikTok through the dances of celebrities like Maísa, Larissa Manoela and Virgínia Fonseca. A bit averse to social media numbers and dancing in general, Vhoor seems to have other concerns. “Maybe the biggest achievement is being able to work with music, you know? Being able to do what you like, get paid for it and have recognition is a privilege for very few.”

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