Full of rage and references: Understanding Coronel’s Frenesi (Frenzy) (2022) in the Brazilian rap scene – An interview/review

Abstract

Coronel is an underground Brazilian rapper and music producer who has a psychologizing and post-gangsta musical work. In his album Frenesi (2022), Coronel shows his rage against fake gangsterism in the Brazilian rap scene utilizing references from a diverse setting of cultural productions ranging from Hitchcock movies to Egyptian gods. This article examines the uniqueness of Coronel’s musical work in the Brazilian rap scene considering his initial maromba rap phase as well. Maromba rap is a subgenre of rap music made for working out comprising motivating but also dissing lyrics against other bodybuilders. As a product of Brazilian rap scene on the internet, maromba rap is an interesting phenomenon that had its apex in early 2010s. However, Coronel’s career moved beyond such a specific subgenre achieving deeper lyrics and more intricate music productions. In other words, this article examines not only Coronel’s Frenesi but also its career as a whole and how the content of his album relates to the different phases he went through as an artist. Coronel comes back with an aggressive album replete with references from cinema to Egyptian gods and videogames.