Lado B Lado A
O Rappa
1999
Rankings
Why This Album Matters
Lado B Lado A is an essential milestone in O Rappa's discography, consolidating and refining the band's discourse. The album resonated with the everyday social injustices in the peripheries and the political effervescence of late 20th century Rio de Janeiro, capturing the social ferment of the era intensely and pertinently. With a sound that managed to be both experimental and heavy, Lado B Lado A achieved wide popular appeal. Marcelo Yuka's inspired lyrics, which attained anthem status, were a fundamental pillar for this repercussion, making the album a timeless classic of Brazilian music.
O Rappa then became the spokesperson for the periphery, mixing dub, rock and hip-hop, while scoring hits like “Me Deixa” and “O que Sobrou do Céu”.
Leonardo Dias Pereira · Rolling Stone Brasil
Context
The album emerged against a backdrop of intense political and social effervescence in Rio de Janeiro at the end of the 20th century, reflecting the social injustices present in Brazilian peripheries. The band managed to transpose the social ferment of the time into its work, offering a voice to society's pressing issues. Demonstrating concrete social engagement, the album's booklet included a deposit slip for Fase, a non-governmental organisation active in education and development projects in underprivileged communities. A percentage of the CD's sales was allocated to this institution, reinforcing the activist and conscious nature of the work.
Recording
The production of Lado B Lado A was predominantly handled by Chico Neves, responsible for ten of the album's twelve tracks. The songs "Lado B Lado A" and "Na Palma da Mão" were produced by the renowned American bassist Bill Laswell, bringing an international signature to the sound. The recording process took place at Estúdio 304 in Rio de Janeiro, with the exception of the tracks produced by Laswell, which were recorded at Estúdio Impressão Digital, also in Rio de Janeiro. The mixing, in turn, was carried out at Real World Studios, in England, with Laswell's tracks mixed at Estúdio Impressão Digital. The final mastering was done at Magic Master, in Rio de Janeiro. The album cover is a creation by artist Doze Green, one of the pioneers of graffiti and American hip hop culture and a member of the legendary Rock Steady Crew.
Songs
The compositions on Lado B Lado A, all penned by O Rappa, stand out for their ability to transform Marcelo Yuka's lyrics into popular anthems, addressing social themes with depth. Songs such as "Lado B Lado A" and "Tribunal de Rua" transcended the album, being included in the soundtracks of the acclaimed films Tropa de Elite and Tropa de Elite 2: O Inimigo agora É Outro, respectively.
With the country's re-democratisation in the late 1980s, Brazilian rock lost one of its banners: politics ceased to be a game of 'us' (the middle class) against 'them' (the military and their cronies). After all, if 'we' started electing 'them', whose fault was this state of affairs?
Arthur Dapieve · 300 Discos Importantes
Legacy
Lado B Lado A received widespread recognition, being elected by Rolling Stone Brasil magazine as the 93rd among the hundred best albums in Brazilian music. The album also features in the list of "13 Discos Essenciais do Rock Nacional", compiled by the website Tenho Mais Discos Que Amigos, solidifying its status as a fundamental work. Music critic Mauro Ferreira of G1 highlighted that the album "birthed a classic of Brazilian discography that remains current, due to Marcelo Yuka's plugged-in discourse, without which O Rappa was never the same and never again had the same importance as during that phase", evidencing its enduring relevance and its indelible impact on the band's trajectory.
Tracks
Credits
Tom Capone
Carlos Henrique Santos
Chico Neves
Marcelo Yuka
O Rappa
Doze Green
Public-Ação
Adriana Bechara, Pedro Sales
Carlinhos Vaca Prenha, Eduardo Fifi, Rodrigo Molusco
Thomas Craig Hieatt
Ricardo Garcia
Ben Findlay, Jacquie Turner
Jacquie Turner, Sam Miller
Chico Neves
Ricardo Vidal
Cristina Portella
Silvia Panella
Cory Shaw
Hayden Houser, Pedro Garrido
Podcasts
Olá, caros ouvintes. Hoje conversamos sobre o cd Lado b Lado a do Rappa. Nossa intenção é a de continuar explorando o universo do pensamento através da música, da arte e de todos os assuntos que nos são caros. Selecionamos algumas músicas e a partir disso fizemos nossas digressões costumeiras. Foi prazeroso, levando em consideração que é um disco que marcou nossa adolescência profundamente. Espera
Videos
"Lado B lado A" - O Rappa | Melhores discos brasileiros dos anos 90 | Alta Fidelidade
Alta Fidelidade
Books
Os 500 Maiores Álbuns Brasileiros de Todos os Tempos
Ricardo Alexandre · 2022
The largest Brazilian music election ever conducted: 162 specialists, spanning journalists, critics, musicians, producers and podcasters, each nominated 50 essential albums, supported by a masterlist of more than 2,000 works. Led by Ricardo Alexandre with tabulation by Sérgio Jomori, it was published in December 2022 as a 200-page hardcover book with graphic design by Fernando Pires.
300 Discos Importantes da Música Brasileira
Charles Gavin, Tárik de Souza, Carlos Calado, Arthur Dapieve · 2008
Conceived by Titãs drummer and musical researcher Charles Gavin, the 434-page book brings together covers and reviews of albums released between 1929 and 2007. The texts were written by journalists Tárik de Souza, Arthur Dapieve and Carlos Calado.
O Rappa: LadoB LadoA | O Rappa: SideB SideA - Editora Cobogó
In Lado B Lado A, Fred Coelho dissects the historical and social context in which the songs from O Rappa's album were crafted, charting a cartography of Rio de Janeiro from the late 1990s. The ...
Analyses
Lado B Lado A – Wikipedia
Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
Lado B Lado A – The 100 Greatest Albums of Brazilian Music
Leonardo Dias Pereira · Rolling Stone Brasil
O Rappa then became the spokesperson for the periphery, mixing dub, rock and hip-hop, while scoring hits like “Me Deixa” and “O que Sobrou do Céu”.
Clássico da música brasileira, Lado B Lado A, d'O Rappa
semanapop.com.br
Released in 1999, O Rappa's Lado B Lado A not only consolidated the band on the national scene but also redefined the direction of Brazilian music by uniting reggae, rap, rock, electronic beats, and urban poetry on a single album.
Lado B Lado A: o álbum d'O Rappa que melhor retrata o cotidiano brasileiro
n4news.com.br
Unique in its context, line-up, and historical moment, Lado B Lado A remains the definitive portrait of O Rappa. An album that could hardly have been replicated, even if the band had remained intact.
Clássico da música brasileira, Lado B Lado A, d'O Rappa, completa 25 ...
boomerangmusic.com.br
By revisiting Lado B Lado A, we also celebrate the journey of one of the architects of this classic. Marcelo Lobato continues to tread paths that unite innovation, identity, and musical depth — qualities that 25 years ago transformed an album into a landmark in the history of our music.
