It’s dark and hell is hot: the collaboration between JPEGMAFIA and Brazilian DJ Ramemes

One of the most anticipated Rap albums of the year was released on the first day of August. ‘i lay down my life for you’ by JPEGMAFIA had been awaited since the release of the single ‘don’t rely on other men’ in June. Known for his inventive and experimental production, JPEGMAFIA particularly surprised Brazilian fans with the track ‘it’s dark and hell is hot’ which features the production of DJ Ramemes.

Hailing from Volta Redonda, a city in the countryside of Rio de Janeiro, Ramon Henrique, DJ Ramemes, shares some similarities with American JPEGMAFIA. Considered one of the most inventive producers of Brazilian funk, DJ Ramemes had already been recognized abroad by music critic Anthony Fantano (The Needle Drop), who praised the album Sem Limites (2023). 

It was from this album that JPEGMAFIA took the song Upa Upa Pocotó and proposed a new version by using the beat from the song and adding his rhyme.

We talked to DJ Ramemes to better understand the collaboration with JPEGMAFIA:

NTS: How did the collaboration on ‘it’s dark and hell is hot’ come about?  It was kind of unexpected, nothing had been announced. Someone listened to the album, noticed you were there, and your followers on X (formerly Twitter) started asking you about it.

Ramemes: So, it all started on Instagram. He followed me on Instagram. But I didn’t know who JPEGMAGIA was (laughs), so when he followed me I thought: ‘Oh, cool! A foreigner following me here, let’s follow back, right? Humble.’ 

This was a long time ago. And one day out of nowhere, my manager tells me that a song of mine with a rapper she really likes is going to be released; JPEGMAFIA. I received it along with the crew, I was basically a listener too.

She sent me the song and I thought it was cool. It sounded good. And then I understood - something that the people [on X] didn’t get either - when it’s sample or production. The song [it’s dark and hell it’s hot] doesn’t have a sample from my song. It’s literally all of it there, which is why I’m listed as a producer. Sample is when you take a piece of a song and make something new out of it. But what he did was rhyme over the beat that’s in this song. 

When I told my friends that a song with JPEGMAFIA was coming out, everyone was like ‘Wow! What is this?!’. People told me that his sound is cool, that he is like ‘me from abroad’ and I thought ‘Huh?’. So I listened to his work and realized that he likes to do some crazy and experimental things too. I wasn’t expecting it, but it made sense for us to collaborate. 

NTS: That’s really cool! It definitely made sense for you to collaborate. The base of the song is entirely Upa Upa Pocotó, which you released last year, right?

Ramemes: That’s right! I have a theory that he saw Anthony Fantano talking about my album on YouTube - which I also didn’t know at the time.

NTS: Wow, you didn’t know Fantano either?

Ramemes: Look, I don’t know anything international. My inspirations are just Skrillex, who is from abroad, and the kids from Rio de Janeiro. Whenever a foreigner talks about me, I only know them because they mentioned me, and then people give me a lesson on who they are. 

NTS: So you also got a lesson on JPEGMAFIA?

Ramemes: Yeah, I asked some friends and they gave me a lesson and then I understood that the guy is good people. I got a good impression of him because he didn’t do like the other foreigners who just used my song and didn’t tell me anything. He asked my manager if it was okay to use the song, and she, who is a big fan of his, was super happy. And in the end, it turned out great! I listened to his songs and thought; ‘the guy is crazy and so am I,’ so it was interesting.

NTS: It is indeed very interesting because you can see a lot of your essence - after all, the base of the song is literally yours - but he also left his mark. And the catchphrase ‘Brasil-sil-sil’ at the end? Was that his idea?

Ramemes: (Laughs) Yeah, I imagine he made the song thinking about Brazil. And we [Brazilians] are like that, right? We like being remembered. When we see anything that comes from Brazil and we think it’s cool, we want everyone to know. You won’t see many foreigners doing this, most steal and don’t remember us. But just by listening to his song [it’s dark and hell it’s hot] you already know where he got the sound from because of the catchphrase, which is cool.

NTS: And he even put a diss for Drake in the middle of the song!

Ramemes: Another thing I didn’t know: about rappers' beefs. I know there was a fight, but I only know the beefs from Funk. If you ask me anything I’ll know because I’ve spent all my time studying Funk, right? That’s what I do. So I left all the other genres aside. But I ended up getting into a beef with Drake. People have already told me the places I can no longer play. 

NTS: At Baile do Ramemes we find all kinds of people. You see the kids, the LGBTQIA+ community, E-girls… And now you’ve caught the attention of another group - the people who like Rap. 

Ramemes: Yeah, since I do Funk, the Rap people end up not interacting. But now that I have something with Rap, people are coming after me.

NTS: Did you enjoy this blend of Funk with Rap?

Ramemes: I’ve never been one to listen to Rap. I’m not into the lyrics vibe, I’ve always been about feeling the beat. I started being a DJ because of Skrillex, who did Dubstep - there are no lyrics in that, right? I listen to Mano Brown, who is great, but other than that I don’t know. 

But I liked it because what’s cool about Funk - and the idea I have of it - is just that. I can play around, mix, and do whatever I want with Funk. It gives me this huge freedom. There are people who still think that Funk is not electronic music, but it is! Precisely because I can mix it with various things. And as people saw now, it’s possible for a foreign rapper to rhyme over a Funk beat.

NTS: Is there still some other genre you would like to mix with Funk? If there’s still something missing on your list.

Ramemes: I think I’ve already done everything to tell the truth. There are various hidden profiles of mine on SoundCloud, right? People keep discovering, and there’s Funk mixed with Forró, with a bunch of stuff. (laughs)

NTS: Then, who knows, at the next Baile do Ramemes, JPEGMAFIA will be there?

Ramemes: I already told my manager - after we sort out the contracts (laughs) - to reach out to him. If one day he passes through Brazil I’ll have to create a Baile do Ramemes edition out of nowhere. 

Credits: Fernanda Yasmim