Why Glock cracks funkists and how hits turn pistols into phallic metaphors

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No. 1 of the Top 50 Spotify Brazil, ‘Baby eu tava na rua da Água’ mentions a famous revolver in the lyrics of the genre, a choice that generates debates about the glamorization of violence and cultural demonization. The MCs (from left to right) Menor do RV, Oruam, Barca Na Batida and Danone Montage/Reproduction/YouTube Most listened to song on Spotify Brasil at the moment, “Baby eu tava na rua da Água” mixes elements from two aspects of funk: the so-called prohibition and putaria. The song, by MCs TR and Menor from RV, makes phallic references to Glock, a firearm. In the childish voice of RV, who is 13 years old, the verses of the chorus mention the pistol by name. “Baby, I was on Rua da Água/ in Glock, in radin/ you saw me out of nowhere/ arrived with the papins/ thought I’d fall for it/ asked me to sit down and work on the glockada.” Also in the Top 50 on Spotify Brasil, “Rolé na Favela de Nave” — by Oruam, with Didi and MCs K9, William and Smith — is another track that mentions the revolver: “putting the Glock to go rolé (in the Complex) / for sluts to see a volume”. This is not the first time that songs of this genre talk about the Austrian weapon. The object also appears, for example, in the hits: “Owner of Porsche (good morning princess)” “Glocked on the waist” “Sarra on the youngest who has a Glock on his waist” “Glock camouflaged they tie themselves” “Balance swings the Glock vs . start singing papum” “Deixa de Onda” “Pegada de Malvado” “Sento no bico da Glock” But, after all, why do so many funk songs mention the pistol? There are a few reasons why this happens. Why Glock cracks funkists Xerox of weapons Manufactured in 1979 by Gaston Glock, the revolver began to be used in 1982. First, by the Austrian army and, soon after, by the United States military forces. Made of polymer, the weapon quickly stood out in the arms market. It was considered highly durable, due to its structure, which is resistant to corrosion. Over time, she gained global fame, being seen glamorously by shooters. Glock 17 Reproduction Model It became a type of “Xerox of weapons”. Just as the American brand is synonymous with “photocopy”, the term Glock is used not only to refer to the model itself, but also to the concept of the pistol itself. This is what Roberto Uchôa explains, advisor to the Brazilian Public Security Forum, federal police officer and author of the book “Armas para Quem? The search for firearms”. “It became a reference”, says the expert. “Then it started to appear in pop culture. For example, ‘US Marshals – Os Fedais’ [1998] there is a scene in which the character tells the other to exchange his pistol for the Glock.” The weapon is also in famous scenes in films such as “Die Hard 2” (1990), “End of Days” (1999) and titles of series “007”, “Terminator” and “Matrix”. Scene from ‘Matrix’ (1999) Reproduction/YouTube Gangsta vocabulary In addition to gaining space in cinema, she established herself in the popular imagination through music. At the same time in that its prominence reached the big screen — between the years 1990 and 2000 —, games like “GTA” (“Grand Theft Auto”) and successful songs mentioned the model. This is how the Glock entered the vocabulary of American rap, especially in the gangsta aspect, which addresses issues linked to crime and life in the suburbs of the United States. Tupac in a music video for ‘Hit Em Up’ Reproduction/YouTube Among the songs with lyrics of this type are “Hit ‘Em Up”, by Tupac, with Outlawz, “Bring It On”, by Snoop Dog, and “Runnin'”, by Tupac. With worldwide success, tracks like these ended up inspiring artists from other genres. Decades of prohibition Originated in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1990s, the prohibition funk aspect was influenced by both gangsta and national rap. His works are full of explicit references to the violent context in which Brazilian favelas live and the operational mode of crime in the country. Scene from the music video ‘Glock camouflada elas se amar’, by MC Barca na Batida Reproduction/YouTube As shown in “Rap Das Armas”, by MCs Junior and Leonardo, the subgenre already made references to Glock even before the pistol arrived in Brazil ( by legal means), in 2005. (It is worth mentioning that, although the weapon has significant circulation in the country, it never surpassed Taurus’ national monopoly.) With letters mentioning criminal factions, drug trafficking and, as mentioned, carrying weapons , prohibition has always been the subject of debates about the glamorization of violence and cultural demonization. Funk in the crosshairs Many times, speeches that accuse funk of encouraging violence have caused the genre to be treated with censorship. In 2008, funk dances in Rio’s favelas became the target of the UPPs (Pacifying Police Units), which for years made the events unfeasible. In 2017, a legislative project defined funk as “a public health crime”. The text reached the Senate, but was rejected. Two years later, a survey published by g1 showed that, in that year alone, the Military Police had carried out at least 7,500 operations against beatings in the state of São Paulo. Scene from the music video ‘Balança swings the Glock vs. boot to sing papum’, by MC Jajau Reproduction/YouTube From verses to reality “All of this is legally unsustainable”, says Salah H. Khaled, president of the Brazilian Institute of Cultural Criminology and professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande. “Freedom of expression is a fundamental right.” “Any hypothesis that supports a causal link between artistic expressions and real violence is unfounded. They have tried to prove this, but no support has been found. [da teoria].” “This is a way of simplifying the discussion and redirecting a debate that involves issues such as, for example, access to firearms. Gun songs don’t kill. Guns kill.” Scene from the music video ‘Faixa de Gaza 2’, by MC Orelha Reproduction/YouTube Brasil, a violent country Salah emphasizes that, even so, this is a delicate discussion. Unlike games, for example, access to music is much more expanded and simple. Even though “explicit content” labels (from digital platforms) are on part of the tracks with lyrics of this type, they can all be easily heard by children, which, if misaligned with pedagogical conversations, can distort the listener’s understanding of the real concept of any weapon: to wound and murder. Data from the Violence Monitor, created by g1 to measure national homicide rates, show that in the first half of 2023 alone there were almost 110 murders per day. The Public Security Yearbook published this year reveals that 76.3% of murders committed in the country in 2022 were committed with firearms. Scene from the music video ‘Faixa de Gaza 2’, by MC Orelha Reproduction/YouTube “There is only one reality: our society is extremely violent”, says Roberto Uchôa. “What these songs are showing is what society has been experiencing for decades.” Currently, Brazil has almost 2.9 million firearms registered with the Federal Police in the name of civilians. Of these, more than half have irregular registrations. In 2023, almost 940 thousand CAC weapons (Hunter, Sports Shooter and Collector) were reregistered following a determination by the federal government. They were acquired between 2019 and 2022, a period in which decrees from the Jair Bolsonaro government facilitated access to weapons. PSL candidate for president, Jair Bolsonaro, makes a gesture representing a gun during a motorcade in Ceilândia, in the Federal District, in a photo taken in 2018 Fernanda Calgaro / G1 “They demonize funk so much for talking about these issues, but the population elected a president who he made a little gun signal at a rally”, says Tamiris Coutinho, researcher of the genre and author of “Cai de Boca no Meu B#c3t@o: Funk como Potência do Empoderamento Feminino”. “I know, it’s complicated for a child to sing about Glock. We must be careful not to romanticize it,” she says. “At the same time, if she’s singing that, it’s because she has access [à temática].” “It’s a reality on the outskirts. It’s common to see people carrying weapons. Be it a police officer, a drug dealer or a militia member.” (From left to right): Oruam and MC Ryan SP Reproduction/YouTube Glock beyond the gun Salah H. Khaled explains that mentioning the Glock in a lyric is not necessarily a reference to the weapon itself. It can be an allusion to power, social ascension, status, virility, masculinity and phallus. “In a consumer society, objects are not valued for what they are, but rather for what they represent. It’s different to take a Xiamoi cell phone out of your pocket and take out a state-of-the-art IPhone.” “There are highly stylized versions of the Glock,” he says. “It’s a pistol designed to be sexy, attractive.” Cover of the song ‘Sento no beak of the Glock ‘, by DJ Gabriel do Borel and MCs Lucy and Rogê Reproduction In fact, several proibidão songs transform the revolver into a phallic object. These are cases in which, based on metaphors, the subgenre joins funk putaria. “I only know one song that has a woman singing about rubbing a gun in a man’s face. It’s ‘Glock’ by Muse Maya. All the others are about sarcastically or sitting on some man’s Glock,” says Tamiris. “It’s an extension of the phallus, of masculinity.” Here are some verses that follow the idea: “The junk guy with the camouflaged Glock/ saw me in the alley, she got her pussy wet” (“Glock camouflaged, they tie themselves up”) “She saw the Glockada on her waist/ the young girl felt horny/ she saw that the junk has money/ I could see it by the string” (“Glockada na Cintura”) “I’m going to introduce you to my 30-shot Glock/I doubt it, girl, you won’t stay with me/ Messing with your pussy in your mouth” (“Pegada de Malvado”) “I like it when you sit down strong/ and you come raging on my glock/ that today I’m going to pierce you” (“I sit on the beak of the Glock”) “Throw the glock on your waist and let the penton appear/ and the women will soon mark their condition” (“Hero or Villain”) MC Menor from RV in music video ‘Baby eu tava na rua da Água’ Reproduction/YouTube Na rua da Água It is also the case of the hit “Baby eu tava na rua da Água” — whose chorus is described at the beginning of this report. The work is a funk song from Belo Horizonte that uses interpolation (resource to compose music based on some existing harmony) from “I’m Good (Blue)”, by Bebe Rexha and David Guetta, a song that is an interpolation of “Blue (Da Ba Dee)”, by Effeiel 65. The lyrics do references to Rua da Água, the point of many funk dances in the capital of Minas Gerais. According to MC TR, he and Menor da VR received criticism for the use of the word “Glock”, mainly because there was “a child singing”. The funk singer attributes this to a prejudice against the genre and denies that his music is a glamorization of violence. The musician also says that, despite the criticism, both singers hear many more positive comments about the hit.

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