In the 2000s, many Angolans fled civil war to Lisbon, and counterculture thrived in the 1990s social housing project Quinta do Mocho. Kuduro united the people living in this neighbourhood ghettoised by the Portuguese government. DJ Marfox merged the form’s staggering percussion with other fast folk music like Cape Verde's funaná, and bass-heavy styles like dubstep and grime: batida was (re)born. Though Marfox was based in Quinta do Mocho, his heritage lies in São Tomé e Príncipe. From 2005, he and his group DJs Di Guetto showed others across Lisbon’s suburbs how to bring their own flavours and make batida that was Angolan at heart but universal in form.

Thanks to them, batida has grown with each new generation of producers. DJs Firmeza, Danifox and N***a Fox (O Ghettão) are Marfox’s disciples (the fox suffixes paying homage to his influence).

Here, O Ghettão create an exclusive Wire mix of unreleased material.

Tracklist [with timestamp]

“Anão” [00:00]
“Firmão” [03:50]
“Maluco tá bom” [09:50]
“Não é de Vinte” [12:30]
“Subida” [18:50]
“Saído do ghettão” [29:40]
“Afinal a vida é assim” [37:00]

Read Joseph Francis’s full interview with O Ghettão in The Wire 505. Pick up a copy in the online shop. Subscribers can read the full article in the digital archive here.