Gumbe is a style of music from Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau

The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....

. Gumbe is a specific genre, mostly influenced by zouk

Zouk

Zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe & Martinique. Zouk means "party" or "festival" in the local Antillean Creole of French, although the word originally referred to, and is still used to refer to, a popular dance, based on the Polish dance, the...

 music (music of the French Caribbean

French Caribbean

The term French Caribbean varies in meaning with its usage and frame of reference. This ambiguity makes it very different from the term French West Indies, which refers to the specific, formal French possessions in the Caribbean region...

, though the same term also refers to any music of the country). True gumbe is a fusion of several Bissauan folk traditions. Gumbe is the genre most closely associated with Guinea-Bissauan music worldwide. Not many people know about this type of music.

Gumbe is a primarily vocal and percussive music that has been associated with nationalist thought since colonial times.