Funkytown (Mexico Cartel Video)

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Content Warning: The following entry contains graphic material, including descriptions of violence and murder.

About

Funkytown or Funky Town is the name of an infamous viral video in which a cartel execution is carried out in a room, with the song "Funkytown" being audibly heard in the final 10 seconds of the 2:50-minute-long video. The shock media itself is believed by many to be one of the worst gore videos spread around the internet over the years, with the backstory of it reportedly being a cartel capturing a rival gang member and injecting him with adrenaline while they tortured him to keep him awake during the pre- and post-video acts. Similar to No Mercy In Mexico, Funkytown is commonly referenced in discussions and memes online, prompting people to look it up.

Origin

Though the original upload has been lost over the years and frequently gets uploaded and removed from various hosts, the video started to appear in 2016 on various gore websites, with special attention being paid to the background details making Funkytown punch a little harder.

A description of the video and what it shows in its entirety can be found in the box below (discretion advised).

The video opens already several torturous acts in, with the victim being tied down across the chest by a thin rope, and his entire face being flayed off, leaving only a pool of blood covering his empty eye sockets and nose cavity.

His hands are completely missing, with bloodied stumps remaining at the wrist for both of his moving arms. A cartel member using a sickle then goes up and begins to cut into the guy's neck to attempt to decapitate him. This causes the now visibly still-alive man to make gurgling sounds and attempt to move to his left and escape.

Additional cartel members appear from offscreen, with one wearing a white and blue polo shirt, and they correct him onto his back again, this time with a pole being fixed into his mouth past his still-visible teeth, as a box cutter is then applied to his neck. At this time, the track in the background changes and "Sweet Child of Mine" by Guns and Roses begins to play. The box cutter begins cutting him and an offscreen member decides to skip the song before Axel starts singing, with "Beat It" by Michael Jackson having the opening note clearly audible.

The song is skipped again, landing on "Funkytown," which excites one of the members into whistling part of the bridge. The last 10 seconds of the video are dedicated to the continued cutting of the neck, and once that was completed, the beginning of the armpits are cut as the limbs begin to be detached.

Spread

As Funkytown's notoriety spread online throughout the 2010s, the video itself inspired numerous memes and reactions from those who watched it, with a lot of focus naturally being on the song at the end — ultimately giving the video its name. For example, on June 28th, 2021, the YouTuber Coastar Prime^[1] reacted to the video, gaining over 264,000 views in two years and helping to perpetuate the background information about the video (shown below).

In memes, the video and song associated with it have often been referenced in an IYKYK sentiment. For example, on August 21st, 2022, Redditor^[2] Magister______ posted a Dogelore meme referencing the video, receiving over 620 upvotes in six months (seen below, left). On May 2nd, 2022, Redditor^[3] moshedman85 posted a Starter Pack meme alluding to Funkytown, receiving over 300 upvotes in 10 months (seen below, right).