DJ Diplo leads a night of sizzling Brazilian funk

Allston felt more like the Amazon Monday night at Great Scott. A sold-out crowd crammed into the sweltering bar to jiggle and gyrate to the Miami bass-tinged sounds of Brazilian funk (``funk carioca" or sometimes ``baile funk" ). The music has critics debating whether the sound can officially be declared ``the next big thing," but Florida-raised DJ Diplo seems certain it is.

The producer behind M.I.A.'s mix tape ``Piracy Funds Terrorism" and co founder of the influential ``Hollertronix" collective in Philadelphia, Diplo's genre-defying approach to hip-hop has proved him to be a savvy tastemaker. Spinning ``favela funk" (from Brazilian shantytowns), the DJ also featured samples of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bloc Party, Eurythmics, and Snoop Dogg.

Diplo's blistering 90-minute set was less performance than proficiency. He's not one for showmanship, opting instead to concentrate on his turntables and let the thumping bass and rapid-fire Portuguese rhymes steal the show. He has an ear for the perfect mix, one that's completely varied (including Philly MC Spank Rock's ``Bump" and even Guns N' Roses' ``Sweet Child O' Mine"), but still fluid.

Also on tap was the Sub Pop label's much-hyped CSS ( Cansei de Ser Sexy ). Singer Lovefoxxx sounds like an unassuming 12-year-old while introducing songs (``Ooh, this song is really pretty," she said in heavily accented English), but she's all attitude during tracks off the band's self-titled album such as ``Meeting Paris Hilton" and ``Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above." Tossing her head and shouting into the mike , she came off as a riot grrrl from Rio.

Starting the show was Bonde Do Role (`` The Rollercoaster Band") , the first artists on Diplo's Mad Decent Records . DJ Rodrigo Gorky, MC Pedro D'eyrot, and MC Marina Ribatski put on an electrifying set of sexed-up Portug u ese rhymes (their on stage antics crossed any language barriers).

The group has a distinct sense of fun, taking samples from the Darkness, AC/DC, and Manfred Mann's ``Do Wah Diddy Diddy." The feisty Ribatski looks and acts like the funk carioca equivalent of Courtney Love, screeching into the microphone and throwing herself into the crowd.