In June 2020, Brazilian funk star MC Zaac released the song “Desce Pro Play (PA PA PA)” featuring Anitta and Tyga. Simultaneously, they dropped a bold and creative music video directed by Thiago Eva. Released on June 26, 2020, the single and visual arrived at the height of the COVID‑19 pandemic.
Faced with the impossibility of gathering in one place due to pandemic constraints, the creative team devised a striking visual strategy. Each artist filmed their part separately: Zaac in São Paulo, Anitta in Rio de Janeiro, and Tyga in Los Angeles. To maintain cohesion the director chose a crisp white background across all sets. This created structural unity and enabled the post‑production team to blend the separate visuals seamlessly.
The white canvas provided freedom to play with bold color palettes. Anitta, Zaac and Tyga performed against the blank backdrop wearing vivid neon outfits. The visual effects ranged from lenticular lenses and prism overlays to fun visual glitches and pop graphic interventions. These effects gave the video a sleek aesthetic while disguising the remote nature of production.
Thiago Eva has commented on the unique challenge of the project. He explained that the team needed a concept that could unite disparate sets and maintain visual interest. He emphasized that the white set allowed experimentation with lenses, textures and interruptions that gave playfulness to what could otherwise look like a home recording.
The song arrives as a sonic homage to early‑2000s pop hip‑hop, featuring beats and synths reminiscent of Timbaland and The Neptunes. MC Zaac credited these influences as pivotal in shaping the sound. Composed and produced by Brabo Music collaborators including Pablo Bispo, Arthur Marques and Zebu, the track fuses pop funk and R&B in a modern, catchy format.
The lyrics playfully center on flirtation, teasing and dance floor games. The memorable chorus—“Sobe, desce, para, depois joga na minha cara e faz Pa, pa, pa”—hooks the listener and inspired fans to recreate the choreography across social media. Zaac delivers confident verses about keeping things light. Anitta follows with poised sensuality and energy. Tyga contributes an English‑language rap verse that adds international flair and crossover appeal.
“Desce Pro Play” achieved immediate and impressive success. In its first 24 hours the music video surpassed 2 million views on YouTube. The track debuted as #1 on Spotify Brazil with nearly 800,000 streams in one day. It also landed the top spot on Apple Music Brazil and Deezer Brazil, and entered the chart top 10 in Portugal.
Within 22 days the single was certified Platinum in Brazil, indicating over 80,000 equivalent units sold (including streams). Globally the track accrued more than 55 million streams, with the video accumulating over 39 million views during that period. The song also sparked around 827,000 user‑generated videos on TikTok and social media, totaling nearly 300 million global views via clips and dance challenges.
The single and video received recognition in Brazil’s 2020 award circuits. The music video was nominated for Anthem of the Year (Feat. National) at the MTV MIAW Brazil Awards, sharing the nomination with other major packaged singles in Brazilian pop. It was also up for Song of the Year at the Prêmio Multishow de Música Brasileira, where it competed among the country’s biggest hits of 2020.
Anitta also received a nomination for Video of the Year at national awards ceremonies with this release, underscoring the visual impact of the project in a difficult production context.
The music video was executively produced by Felipe Brito, who coordinated logistics across continents. He explained that Anitta filmed first and the team developed a set of guidelines that producers in São Paulo and Los Angeles followed, including lighting, framing, and performance style, guaranteeing visual consistency despite physical separation.
The music video’s development was featured in POPline’s documentary series Storytelling, which provided fans with inside access to the creative process, including interviews with Zaac and his producers Javier Gorky and Pablo Bispo. In the documentary, Zaac reflected on how unusual but rewarding the project was because of its pandemic filming setup.
The choreography and chorus became a viral social media trend. Fans recreated steps from the video and posted their own versions across TikTok, Instagram and other platforms. Even international fans from K‑pop scenes joined in, with Korean artist Kisu creating a cover sung in Portuguese, praised for his accurate pronunciation and connection to the original choreography.
The combination of danceable grooves, minimalist visuals and shareable visual cues contributed to the widespread digital footprint. The video’s clean aesthetic also made it flexible for remix content and overlays in social media edits.
The success of “Desce Pro Play” boiled down to creative problem‑solving, nostalgia and global collaboration. Faced with pandemic restrictions, the white‑background approach elevated the visuals beyond amateur home recordings and instilled a unified identity.
Musically, the nostalgia for 2000s hip‑hop combined with modern production made the track accessible to older and younger audiences. Anitta’s global profile and Tyga’s international appeal extended reach beyond Brazil. Zaac grounded the song in current Brazilian funk tradition but with a twist that invited global intrigue.
Visually, the playful graphics, lens flares and tinted neon outfits made every shot a standout moment ideal for short dance videos and memes. The remote shoot becomes a feature of its modernity rather than a limitation.
“Desce Pro Play (PA PA PA)” stands as a milestone in pandemic‑era music video production. It turned logistical limitations into visual identity. The result remains a standout example of how music, visuals and viral potential adapted and thrived in 2020.
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