Da Rochina 4

Written by Ariel Dervin

The latest project from Seattle-based producer and instrumental collaborator Sango drops September 25th. Following SANGOZINHO’s timely drop as antsy millennials relocated to Tulum, Puerto Rico and other carribean hotspots to breathe life into an extended quarantine, fans are anticipating the newest release of Sango’s Da Rocinha series with Da Rocinha 4. “Kalimba Funk”, a single from the album, taps into Sango’s familiarized sounds- plenty of Brazilian vocal samples, bells and percussion that offer afrobeats as a remedy to an otherwise mundane reality as music lovers reminisce about live concerts and street festivals that once colored our daily lives. Intermittent chants, bongos and other instruments are must-haves for the producer whose creative endeavors serve as an ode to the musical background of his family. Sango frequently credits his family for exposing him to salsa music and other Latin-inspired styles of composition as a few of the main influencers of his sound. Sango is no stranger to the versatility of percussion instruments. His beats naturally provide a sensory experience similar to being on an island ridden with local artists. Sango’s popularity arises from adding trap-style drums giving the music a muddier sound. This combined with common rap-samples with quick one liners modernizes Brazilian/Cuban music making it more approachable for a mainstream market. Take “Amor Rocinha” for example- the main track is a dreamy, melodic beat made gritty when Sango adds a trap sample stating “you can’t do it like me” on loop. As a series, Da Rocinha weaves elements of everyone’s favorite genres to give us music that is robust and as genuine as the music one could find if they traced the lineage of Brazilian afrobeats culture. Sango, an artist under the Soulection collective, remains a dynamic, ever-evolving producer on the beat-making scene as he intertwines the cultural influences of the Afrobeats community with everyone’s favorite tropes of trap music.