Hailing from Rio de Janeiro, A Filial’s style of Amazonian rap is funky-fresh favela-chic with more rounded corners and fewer sharp points than their Sao Paulo counterparts. More boho than gangsta, the group aspires to a globally aware, less-insular aesthetic which, like all Brazilian hip-hop, sounds pretty damn sexy, even when it’s not trying to be. Tracks like “Baiao One Two” and “Equitava” reward adventurous ears by attaining a level of esoteric creativity rarely attempted in American hip-hop these days. Equal parts raw jungle flavor and sun-drenched smoothness, 1,99 is an innovative, organic mix of bossa nova, boom-bap, and Tropicalismo—the perfect soundtrack for a lunchtime capoeira cipher or a midnight skinny dip.