When samba was a crime in Brazil

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:00]Samba was illegal in Brazil until 1930.

[00:00:03]Police raided every drum circle in Rio.

[00:00:06]Not for something you heard, for making a sound. That sound was samba, and it was, by Brazilian law, a crime. Grouped alongside vagrancy and street fighting in the penal code. For roughly four decades, samba wasn't [music] a genre, it was a criminal offense. And the people who played it, almost all descendants of enslaved Africans, carried that risk every time they picked up a tambourine. 60 years later, that same outlawed rhythm would build the single largest coordinated art form on the planet. If you love [music] Brazilian music, the full story is on Brazilian Music Explained. Tap to watch.