Brazil Beat

Roots, Reggae, Brazil! (Part 1)

Published 12/04 in The Beat Magazine

By Nego Beto & Mara Weiss


When Bob Marley paid his one and only visit to Brazil in 1980, his Brazilian fans didn’t get to hear him sing,. The promotional tour arranged by execs at Ariola took him to Rio and Sao Paulo, allowing for a television appearance and a couple of photo ops. But overall, Marley’s visit was pretty low key. A little football at Chico Buarque’s mansion with Paulo Cesar and members of Brazilian national soccer team completed the tour.

Not many people knew what reggae was at the time. Nelson Motta was one of the first to bring reggae to Brazilian radio. His program “Sabado Som,” which aired every Saturday afternoon in Rio through the 70s, occasionally played Marley, Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Dekker and others. Today, 25 years later, reggae is huge in Brazil. And reggae brasileiro has truly come of age.

In the far-north state of Maranhão, which borders the Caribbean Sea, a unique sound system culture developed in the’80s. Radiolas were custom built sounds that started out in the profusion of small bars that played reggae music. Soon the radiolas were thumping out open-air bailes (dances) and street parties, all to the beat of Jamaican reggae. Lovers rock and reggae roots were the genres of choice in this region locals began to call “Jamaica Brasileira.” Guys and gals dance cheek-to-cheek to the sweet voices of Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, Jimmy Cliff, Culture, and the Gladiators. The common people had fallen in love with the Jamaican sound, to the acute dismay of the elites. Radio stations refused to play it. But the bailes grew. The radiolas grew. Until in the ‘90s they were drawing thousands of people on long stretches of beach. Radio stations conceded reggae programs, and soon one-drop rhythms and booming basslines were universally broadcast across the state.

It was in this upful climate that Tribo de Jah rose to stardom. Similar to the story of Israel Vibration, the five original members of Tribo de Jah (meaning: “tribe of Jah”) overcame disability to reveal inspiring talent. They met as youth in a state institution for the blind. Following a love of music, they formed a band, and played forro, lambada and reggae at small gigs and folkloric festivals. In 1991 Fauzi Beydoun, a musician from Sao Paulo with a passion for African and Caribbean music, arrived in Sao Luis. He heard the tight harmonies and instrumentation of Tribo de Jah and immediately joined and financed the band. Tribo’s first album, Regueiros Guerreiros, was released in 1991. In the same year they stepped up as the backing band for Gregory Isaacs on his first Brazilian performance, and played to 20,000 people in Maranhão. Four years and two albums later, in 1995, Tribo was booked onto the International Night of Reggae Sunsplash in Jamaica, received with great appreciation by the audience.

Most of Tribo’s albums have been independent releases, by small, regional labels. Their 2001 tribute to Bob, A Bob Marley got them wider recognition, and their newest release Guerreiros da Tribo (2003) shows strength and integrity, an enduring rootical pledge. They played in San Francisco in May of this year, and we thoroughly regret having missed it. A Tribo de Jah show is a spiritual experience. Maybe because they are blind, sensibility overflows, and their music hits especially hard. The music they play truly comes from the soul and crosses over easily between the Jamaica of the ‘70s and Brazil.

Cidade Negra is the other band that put Brazilian reggae on the map. They set out in 1986 from the notorious Rio guettos of Baixada Fluminense under the moniker Lumiar, with Ras Bernardo at the helm. In 1991 the name was changed to Cidade Negra, and the band continued with the same members: Bernardo (vocals), Da Gama (lead guitar), Bino (bass) and Lazão (drums). Their first album Lute Para Viver (meaning: “Fight to live”), released independently, was a popular hit with the song “Falar A Verdade,” awakening a thirst in the masses for locally-made reggae. In 1992 Cidade Negra played at Sunsplash in Jamaica, and released Negro No Poder (meaning: “Blacks in power”), which earned them grief over the radical lyrics. They record was not promoted, they fell out of the public eye, and it was a lesson in PR they would never forget. Ras Bernardo left theband, and was replaced by singer Toni Garrido. Garrido’s pop sensibility and drive for commercial success could not have been farther from Bernardo’s rasta consciousness. It was an abrupt change in direction for the band, but one that took them to the top of the Brazilian music establishment.

Cidade Negra has just released their 10th full-length album, after a four year recording hiatus. Perto de Deus (Sony Intl) (meaning: “Close to God”), forges ahead with a pop outlook. Garrido’s voice glosses smoothly over punchy instrumentation while alluding to Marley in “Obrigado” and celebrating the happiness in day-to-day life in the favela in “Dia Livre.” There are snippets of social commentary throughout, and Anthony B drops some well-placed lines. The bright, brassy arrangements make for an animated listen, or better yet gather up some friends and play it loud!

In Bahia the word “reggae” is everywhere to describe the music. But 95% of the time it refers to samba-reggae, and its pop offspring axé, not what we would think of as reggae roots. But if there is one Bahian artist whose name is synonymous with a deep roots sound, it is Edson Gomes. Thought widely known in Brazil, he has never attained major label support. His albums Resgate Fatal (1995) and Apocalipse (1997) feature uncompromising lyrics, exposing and deriding Babylon.

The mega-metropolis and coastal towns of São Paulo are bubbling with a vibrant new roots reggae scene. Dozens of young bands are playing, producing and forwarding the positive vibe, a vibe that, as the band Salvacão puts it, is all about “Kaya, Surf, & Reggae.” The internet has given a big boost. Websites like Circuito Reggae (www.circuitoreggae.com.br) keep the info fresh and offer online purchasing from many labels. A series of compilations Circuito Reggae (Kaskatas) feature a wide range of really fantastic music from Brazilian reggae artists new and veteran. They are up to Volume 6 now.

Sensimilla Dub is rallying the Sao Paulo coast behind its catchy sound. Their debut album Dois Por Um (Kaskatas) carries a clean, live feel, with suitably heavy basslines and youthful, energetic vocals. A translation of “Police ‘n’ Helicopter” gets a rock-guitat treatment, while the dubs and a banging jungle version of “Police” bring up the rear. “Eu E Eu” is written about Sana, an incredibly special region north of Rio de Janeiro, where a rasta community--led by Ras Makandal and Don Luis Rasta--welcomes visitors to its campgrounds in the midst of unspoiled forests and beautiful waterfalls.

Other artists on the very prolific Kaskatas label include Edu SattaJah (an inspired producer whose album features obscure but very talented Jamaican guests), Arkaya, and Motivo de Charcota.

BrazilBeat wishes to recognize the Fã Clube Bob Marley (Rio), and the rasta movement in Brazil from north to south. This is Part 1; stay tuned for more red, gold & green from the land of samba!