the genre grew because bahians wanted a type of carnival parade music they could call their own that was not 'tainted' by any influence - ilê aiyê, a bloco, was one of the first to originate totally from samba-reggae and still holds strong today, playing mainly ijexa rhythms.

the bloco has refused to take on any other influences since its formation in 1975 and is regarded as one of the 'purest' marches, insisting on walking through the streets during carnival, as opposed to the trucks mounted with speakers that other bands have adopted, and perhaps controversially, does not accept non-black brazilians into its fold, not even mixed race brazilians.