Olodum
Encyclopedia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. It was founded by percussionist, Neguinho do Samba
Neguinho do Samba
Neguinho do Samba , born Antonio Luis Alves de Souza, was a Brazilian percussionist and musician. Samba was the founder of Olodum, an internationally known cultural group based in Salvador, Brazil...
.
One of many similar groups in the city (and elsewhere in Brazil), it offers cultural activities to young people, largely centered around music; it also offers theatrical
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
productions and other activities. Founded in 1979, its stated aims are to combat racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, to encourage self-esteem
Self-esteem
Self-esteem is a term in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame: some would distinguish how 'the self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, the...
and pride among Afro Brazilians, and to fight for civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
for all marginalized groups.
Olodum is widely credited with developing the music style known as samba reggae
Samba reggae
Samba-reggae is a music genre from Bahia, Brazil. Samba-reggae, as its name suggests, was originally derived as a blend of Brazilian samba with Jamaican reggae as typified by Bob Marley.-History and background:...
and for its active participation in carnaval
Brazilian Carnival
The Carnival of Brazil is an annual festival held forty-six days before Easter. On certain days of Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term "carnival," from carnelevare, "to remove meat." Carnival celebrations...
each year. Neguinho do Samba
Neguinho do Samba
Neguinho do Samba , born Antonio Luis Alves de Souza, was a Brazilian percussionist and musician. Samba was the founder of Olodum, an internationally known cultural group based in Salvador, Brazil...
, the lead percussionist, created a mix of the traditional Brazilian samba
Samba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
beat with merengue
Merengue music
Merengue is a type of music and dance from the Dominican Republic. It is popular in the Dominican Republic and all over Latin America. Its name is Spanish, taken from the name of the meringue, a dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar...
, salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
, and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
rhythms for the Carnaval
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
of 1986. This became known as samba reggae
Samba reggae
Samba-reggae is a music genre from Bahia, Brazil. Samba-reggae, as its name suggests, was originally derived as a blend of Brazilian samba with Jamaican reggae as typified by Bob Marley.-History and background:...
. This "bloco
Blocos
Blocos are the street bands and groups that are the main popular expression in Rio de Janeiro Carnival in Brazil. These demonstrations are mixed under the term "street carnival", a term that still includes the bandstands and parades at Rio Branco Avenue, and happen during a period of about one...
afro" music is closely tied to its African roots, as seen through its percussion instruments, participatory dancing and unique rhythm. It also directly draws from many Caribbean cultures, like Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. Olodum's performing band (or Banda) has released records in its own right and has been featured on recordings by Brazilian stars such as Simone
Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira
Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira, better known as Simone, is a Brazilian singer and a major performer of Música Popular Brasileira who has recorded more than 31 albums.-Biography:...
and Daniela Mercury
Daniela Mercury
Daniela Mercury , is a Latin Grammy Award-winning Brazilian axé, samba-reggae and MPB singer, songwriter and record producer. Since her breakthrough, Mercury has become one of the best known Brazilian female singers, selling over 20 million albums worldwide...
.
Olodum performed on Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
's 1990 album The Rhythm of the Saints
The Rhythm of the Saints
The Rhythm of the Saints is the eighth studio album by Paul Simon, released in 1990. Like its predecessor Graceland, the album gained commercial success and received mostly favorable reviews from critics...
and at the subsequent concert in Central Park, New York City on August 15, 1991.
In 1995, Olodum appeared in the second music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's single, "They Don't Care About Us
They Don't Care About Us
"They Don't Care About Us" is the fourth single from Michael Jackson's album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, released on April 1, 1996. The song remains one of the most controversial pieces Jackson ever composed...
" (the original "Prison version" was banned on most music stations due to its violent scenes). The music was changed slightly to fit Olodum's style of drumming. The "Olodum version" (unofficial title) of the song has since become more popular than the original album version.
Neguinho do Samba died of heart failure on October 31, 2009, at the age of 54. Olodom's singer and songwriter, Germano Meneghel
Germano Meneghel
Germano Meneghel was a Brazilian musician and singer-songwriter. Meneghel was a lead vocalist of Olodum, an internationally known cultural and musical group based in Salvador, Brazil....
, died in June 2011.