Rap das Armas

The movement itself was then solidified with a string of albums and songs including the first-ever version of "Rap das Armas", written by sibling MCs Júnior e Leonardo in 1992 and recorded in 1995.

[2] The song starts as a praise to Brazil and Rio de Janeiro's beauties, and gradually transforms into a protest against firearms and urban violence.

This version made changes to the lyrics of the song, including to the names of some of the firearms used, adding AR-15, 12-gauge, 5.7×28mm pistols, Uru, Glock, AK-47, Winchester rifle, M16, .50 and .30 calibre weapons.

[5] The 1990s song was rerecorded by MCs Júnior and Leonardo with amended lyrics for the soundtrack of the 2007 film Elite Squad, directed by José Padilha.

The song vividly illustrates the daily invasion of favelas by the elite squad of the police in order to fight drug trafficking, as it is clear from its own title.

Despite its popularity, no version of "Rap das Armas" was ever played on Brazilian radio due to its controversial nature and it was abruptly removed from the Elite Squad film soundtrack album two weeks after its release, due to its alleged praise of drug consumption and support of the drug dealer and criminal faction side in Rio de Janeiro's war on crime.

"Rap das Armas" was an even bigger hit in Sweden, where it stayed at the top of the Swedish singles charts for a total of 4 weeks in the summer of 2009.