Gerard "Boy" Mendes (born 1952) is a

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

ese musician of

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

an descent. He was born in

Dakar, Senegal Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 20 ...

and was raised in the city's Cape Verdean

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

community. As a child, he grew up in a household filled with the sounds of the native '' morna'' and '' coladeira''. But he was also exposed to the music of his adopted land and to the music of

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

and other west African countries. His early music career even included singing rock,

rhythm & blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

, and Cuban music, which were all popular genres in Senegal at the time. Mendes eventually settled in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

where he teamed up with his brother Jean-Claude, Manú Lima, and Luís Silva to form Cabo Verde Show, one of the most popular Cape Verdean bands of all time, he made several albums including ''Di oro'' in 1995 and ''Noite de morabeza'' (''Morabeza Night'') in 1999, some of them were released by

Lusafrica Lusafrica, full name: Productions Lusafrica (French for ''Lusafrica Productions'') is a multinational independent record label company based in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1988 by José da Silva (born in 1959 in Praia, Cape Verde), ...

recording company. Mendes was later married and had several children including Mika Mendes, a zouk singer. Mendes has travelled widely, which is reflected in his musical output. His influences derive from the popular music of the United States,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

. His 1998 album ''Lagoa'' (''Lagoon'') is considered one of his best.

Discography

*''Sururu,'' 1995 *''Di oro'', 1996 *''Lagoa'' (''Lagoon''), 1997 *''Noite de morabeza'' (''Morabeza Night''), 1999

Notes

External links

Profile on Lusafrica Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendes, Boy Ge 20th-century Cape Verdean male singers Senegalese expatriates in France Living people 1952 births People from Dakar Senegalese people of Cape Verdean descent 20th-century Senegalese male singers