“Rap das Armas,” or, Parapapapapapapapapapa

Rap das Armas by Cidinho and Doca

Rap das Armas” (1990s) by MC Cidinho and MC Doca

MC Cidinho and MC Doca

Rap das Armas (Rap of Weapons) is a Brazilianproibidão” song by that has become very popular through the film 2007 film Tropa de Elite, however the original song was already very popular in the early 1990s (there is no info on original release dates on discogs). The song illustrates the elite police who invade the favelas (shantytowns) on a daily basis to fight the drug dealers, with lyrics about fireweapons such as the AK47 popular among said dealers and their confronts with the police and other drug dealer factions, but clearly being on the side of bad guys.

Because of the allegations that the songs are an apology for crime, they are  banned from recording and broadcasting. The obvious analogy here is with its American counterpart gangsta rap.

The song was produced by MC Cidinho and MC Doca. The song, despite its popularity, is never played on the radio, and was taken out of the movie’s soundtrack after 2 weeks. The motive behind this was that the lyrics in “Rap das Armas” praise the use of drugs, the criminal factions of Rio de Janeiro, and the drug dealers themselves.

The song illustrates the violence of everyday life in the favelas. Brazilians are in danger not only when they take drugs but also when they take the bus or attend funk dances.

Proibidão, which literally translates to “strongly prohibited,” is a genre of Brazilian funk (pronounced “funkee”) music originating from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro where it began in the early 1990s as a parallel phenomenon to the growth of drug gangs in the many slums of the city. The drug gangs sponsored DJs and baile funks in the favelas they controlled to spread respect and love for their gang as well as hate to the other gangs. The music that resulted is proibidão and its most famous example is Rap das Armas.

I’ve been repeatedly listening to this song, enthused by the sheer simplicity of it. Researching its history brings memories of the film Pixote (1980) by Hector Babenco, an arthouse hit when it came out and my first exposure to the favelas. The favelas were recently depicted in Cidade de Deus, one of the best films of the 2000s.

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrAZ48gHJII&]

Parapapapapapapapapapa,

papara papara papara clack bum,

Parapapapapapapapapapa!

The original lyrics:

Morro do Dendê é ruim de invadir
Nós com os alemão vamos se divertir
Porque no Dendê eu vou dizer como é que é
Aqui não tem mole nem pra DRE
Pra subir aqui no morro até a BOPE Treme
Não tem mole pro Exército, Civil nem pra PM
Eu Dou o maior conceito para os amigos meus
Mas morro do Dendê, também é terra de Deus
Vem um de AR15 e outro de 12 na mão
Vem mais um de pistola e outro com 2 oitão
Um vai de Uru na frente, escoltando o camburão
Vem mais dois na retaguarda mas tão de crok na mão.

De AK47 na outra mão a metralha
Esse rap é maneiro eu digo pra vocês
Quem é aqueles caras de M16
A Vizinhança dessa massa já diz que não agüenta
Nas entradas da favela já tem ponto 50
E Se tu tomar um “PÁ” será que você grita?
Seja de ponto 50 ou então de ponto 30 …

Translated and annotated lyrics[2]

The neigbourhood of Dendê is hard to invade
We with the Germans (German from enemy in the WWII meaning, by analogy, the police; it could also refer to gangs from the Complexo do Alemão favela) will have some fun
Because here in Dendê I will tell you how it is done
Here there is no “easiness” to the DRE (special police)
To climb up this neigbourhood even the BOPE (Police Special Forces) is afraid
Here there are no “easiness” to the Army the Civil(ian police) or to the P.M. (Military Police)
I give the best advice to the friends of mine
But Dendê neighbourhood, is also God’s land
There comes one with AR15 and another with a 12 (gage) in their hands
One cames with a pistol and another with two big eights (heavy arms again)
One comes with a “Uru” in the front, escorting the dumb ass (police officer)
Two more follow with Glocks in their hands

With an AK47 and the other with a machine gun
This rap is really cool, I can tell to you
Who are those guys with M-16
The neighbours of all our people (the Favelas) are already saying that they can not handle it (here it refers to the white middle and high classes of Rio who live properly in the city)
At the doors of the favelas there is already .50 (caliber)
And if you get a Pá! (BOOM!) will you scream?
Being of .50 or .30 (weapons’ calibers).

22 thoughts on ““Rap das Armas,” or, Parapapapapapapapapapa

  1. rocinhajj

    I did not compose this song..I am a DJ of Funk here in Rocinha and Junior and Leonardo are my friends. This song was made in 1993 and was misunderstood by people outside the favelas as being a apologia for crime but the song was not mean to be this. The song talks about how Guns are a national problem not just a favela problem..

    The verson you have of Morro do Dende is the “Proibidao” verson..Junior e Leonardo made this song with Cidinho e Doca singing the refrao with them..soon after Cidinho e Doca made their own versons of this song. It was resurface with the film “Tropa de Elite”

    Zezinho

  2. rocinhajj

    the Morro do Dende verson proibidao is only Cidinho e Doca (who are from City of God) singing..

    Junior e Leonardo’s career in funk did not include singing Proibidao type songs..

  3. J.S.

    What happened to Junior e Leonardo? I’ve never heard of them. Everyone thinks Cidinho e Doca composed this song. You’d think Junior e Leonardo would try to get royalty payments of some kind. Are they even still alive?
    Also, does anyone have the lyrics to that original version? It sounds quite different.

  4. ju

    J.S. , the lyrics for the Junior and Leonardo version is this:

    Lyrics in portuguese can be found here: http://letras.terra.com.br/mc-junior-leonardo/1110441/

    Translation:

    My Brazil is a tropical country
    The land of funk, land of carnical
    my Rio de Janeiro is a postcard (Note: as in beautiful and touristic place)
    But I’ll talk about a national problem

    x2:
    parapapapapapapapa
    parapapapapapapapa
    paparapaparapapara clak bumm
    parapapapapapapapa

    (The lines bellow are hard to translate because he’s basicly describing and listing the name of guns and there’s a lot of slangs used for these guns 🙂
    Machine gun AR-15 and a lot of ‘oitão’* (*’oitão’=is a slang for a type of gun)
    The Intratek with dispo­sition
    Comes the ‘super 12 de repetição’
    45, what a big pistol
    FMK3, m-16
    The UZI pistol, I’ll tell you guys
    that there’s 765, 762, and the gun/rifle gives 2 in to (?)

    parapapapapapapapa
    parapapapapapapapa
    paparapaparapapara clak bumm
    parapapapapapapapa

    In this country everyone think it’s alright to say
    that favela is dangerous and that it’s a bad place to live
    it is very criticized by all of the society
    But violence exists in every part of town
    Because of lack of education and lack of information
    people buy guns and ammunition
    but they get involved in fights or in any riot thinking they are
    protected with the gun in their hands

    parapapapapapapapa
    parapapapapapapapa
    paparapaparapapara clak bumm
    parapapapapapapapa

    there comes the pistol glock, the HK
    there comes intratek Granada to fire
    there comes the ‘caça-andróide’ and the famous cara­bine
    there comes a magnum pistol, a Uru and a Beretta
    colt 45, with just 1 shot it dash to pieces
    and a authomatic rifle with a 90 ammunition clip
    we have a problem which is ‘reality’*(*he means that this problem is part of the part of their daily-life)
    and that’s why I ask for peace, justice and freedom

    parapapapapapapapa
    parapapapapapapapa
    paparapaparapapara clak bumm
    parapapapapapapapa

    I’m MC Junior, I’m MC Leonardo
    We’ll be back for sure to leave another message
    To everyone that have just listened:
    Say ‘No’ to violence e let peace reign.

    parapapapapapapapa
    parapapapapapapapa
    paparapaparapapara clak bumm
    parapapapapapapapa

    parapapapapapapapa
    parapapapapapapapa
    paparapaparapapara clak bumm
    parapapapapapapapa

  5. Zezinho

    junior e leonardo are still alive of corse..junior lives 5 minutes from my house here in Rocinha and we are good friends. they still sing, bjt as said before J&L do not sing the “Proibidao” version..Cidinho e Doca sing both versions but are more famous for the “Proibidao” becase of it being used on the movie “Tropa de Elite”..I am sure J&L get some royalties with this song..C&D e J&L are good friends..

  6. Roy

    Good to know everyone involved in this brilliant song are good friends. I don’t know any Portugese so I always thought the MC Cidinho and MC Doca (the only one I knew about) would be an anti-violence, anti-gun song. Quite suprised to see, it isn’t! But then again it used to be exactly that.

  7. bemba2

    You sure C&D e J&L are good friends?

    Because, in wikipedia we can read:
    “Soon afterwards, Cidinho e Doca released their own version of the song without Junior e Leonardo. … MC Júnior and Leonardo criticized the new version, saying it went for the opposite message they were seeking, praising violence instead of criticizing it. Cidinho and Doca were not sued because that version “was not commercialized”, due to its lack of recorded version and radio airplay.”

  8. André Pudiesi

    Lyrics missing parts included

    Chorus
    parapapapapapapapa
    parapapapapapapapa
    paparapaparapapara clak bumm
    parapapapapapapapa

    Morro do Dendê é ruim de invadir
    Nós com os alemão vamos se divertir
    Porque no Dendê eu vou dizer como é que é
    Lá não tem mole nem pra DRE
    Pra subir aqui no morro até o BOPE treme
    Não tem mole pro Exército, Civil nem pra PM
    Eu dou o maior conceito para os amigos meus
    Mas Morro do Dendê, também é terra de Deus.
    Vamo lá

    Chorus

    Morro do Dendê é ruim de invadir
    Nós com os alemão vamos se divertir
    Porque no Dendê eu vou dizer como é que é
    Aqui não tem mole nem pra DRE
    Pra subir aqui no morro até o BOPE treme
    Não tem mole pro Exército, Civil nem pra PM
    Eu dou o maior conceito para os amigos meus
    Mas Morro do Dendê, também é terra de Deus

    Vem um de AR15 e outro de 12 na mão
    Vem mais dois de pistola e outro com 2 oitão
    Um vai de Uru na frente, escoltando o camburão
    Vem mais dois na retaguarda mas tão de crok na mão.

    Chorus

    Amigos que eu não me esqueço, nem deixo pra depois
    Lá vem dois irmãozinho de 762
    Dando tiro pro alto só pra fazer teste
    De INA, INBRA, Tek, pisto Uzi ou de Winchester
    Eles são bandido ruim e ninguém trabalha
    De AK47 na outra mão a metralha

    A vizinhança dessa massa já diz que não agüenta
    Nas entradas da favela já tem ponto 50
    E se tu tomar um “PÁ” será que você grita?
    Seja de ponto 50 ou então de ponto 30 …

    Esse rap é maneiro eu digo pra vocês
    E finalizo o RAP detonando de granada.

    Chorus

    Vamo lá

  9. HPlovesKIETH

    hey guys , im not a brazilian or spanish . But i really like this song since i heard last year on a club wer’e hanging out . yea yea , it sounds great and the lyrics and pronounciation and all. but when i searched the lyrics on the net while playing the song , and the problem is i cant sing it because i cant read it correctly. its very hard for me . so im asking for some help on how to pronounce the lyrics correctly . thanks 😀

  10. Ricardao

    Eu amo Rio! Cidade de marvilhoso! I wish i was carioca! I love b funk and samba, the favelas are the most beautiful spectical I have ever seen. Rocinha and the people are kind, generous and talented. I am a very lucky man to have been there and my heart calls me to Brasil, português e música. I am american and have a brasilian wifey, minha vida. Plus the reason I am so improved from the G life in the south CD of Seattle. I am really speaking to the gentleman who lives in Rocinha, I would love to know more about you. I did not get to see a funk show in Rio but I dream of it. Please respond, I don’t have many compadres in zona sul.
    Ricardao 🙂

  11. Edson

    Does the censorship of funk music not bother anyone in Brazil? Funk is a real expression of what is actually going on in the neighborhoods of Rio. Not a fanciful “apology for crime” as the do nothing politicians and bureaucrats call it. The censorship of funk is an allegory for the stick you head in the sand mentality that the ruling class of Brazil has. Free the FUNK!

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