Nei Braz Lopes (born May 9, 1942 in Irajá, Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian singer, composer, lawyer, writer and historian, specializing in Afro-Brazilian studies.

Biography

Born in Irajá in Rio de Janeiro (a traditional samba neighborhood which also brought us

Zeca Pagodinho Jessé Gomes da Silva Filho, known professionally as Zeca Pagodinho (, born February 4, 1959), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter working in the genres of samba and pagode. Biography Born in the neighborhood of Irajá, Rio de Janeiro, Zeca Pagodin ...

, among others), Nei Lopes graduated as an attorney at law from the University of Brazil, but at the start of the 70's abandoned his recently begun legal career to dedicate himself to music and literature. A professional composer since 1972, Nei Lopes became prominent especially through his partnership with Wilson Moreira and by their work, recorded by almost all interpreters of traditional samba. In the 80's, Nei, already acclaimed, was one of the supporters of the

Pagode Pagode () is a Brazilian style of music that originated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as a subgenre of Samba. Pagode originally meant a celebration with food, music, dance, and party. In 1978, singer Beth Carvalho was introduced to this music, like ...

movement, which took samba back to the airwaves after an eclipse period. In the 90's, Nei started partnerships with people identified with the MPB label, such as composer Guinga and Zé Renato. He also has a song with

Chico Buarque Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born 19 June 1944), popularly known simply as Chico Buarque, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer, and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, economic, ...

. Nei is the author of a vast book opus concerning Afro-Brazilian thematics, and samba thematics in particular. He has been working, since 1995, in the "Brazilian Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora", his most ambitious work.

Discography

With Wilson Moreira: * 1980 - ''A Arte Negra de Wilson Moreira & Nei Lopes'' - EMI * 1985 - ''O Partido Muito Alto de Wilson Moreira & Nei Lopes'' - EMI (These were later released as a single CD) Individually: * 1983 - ''Negro Mesmo'' - Lira-Continental * 1996 - ''Canto Banto'' - Saci * 1999 - ''Sincopando o Breque'' - CPC-Umes * 2000 - ''De Letra & Música'' - Velas * 2005 - ''Partido ao Cubo'' - Fina Flor

Literature

* 1981 - ''O Samba na Realidade'' * 1988 - ''Bantos, Malês e Identidade Negra'' * 1992 - ''O Negro no Rio de Janeiro e sua Tradição Musical'' * 1996 - ''Dicionário Banto do Brasil'' (Brazilian Banto Dictionary) * 1999 - ''171 - Lapa-Irajá - Casos e Enredos do Samba'' - Folha Seca * 2000 - ''Zé Keti, O Samba sem Senhor'' * 2000 - ''Logunedé, Santo Menino que Velho Respeita'' * 2005 - ''Partido Alto: Samba de Bamba'' - Pallas * 2008 - ''Historia e Cultura Africana e Afro Brasileira'' * 2009 - ''Chutando o balde'' * 2015 - ''Dicionário da História Social do Samba'' (Social history of Samba dictionary), * 2019 - ''O preto que falava iídiche'' * 2019 - ''Agora serve o coração'' * 2019 - ''Afro-Brasil Reluzente''

References

Nei Lopes at the Agenda do Samba & Choro
1942 births Living people 20th-century Brazilian male singers 20th-century Brazilian singers Brazilian columnists People from Rio de Janeiro (state) Brazilian composers Brazilian male writers 20th-century Brazilian historians 20th-century Brazilian lawyers Africanists 21st-century Brazilian historians {{Africanist-stub

Biography

Discography

Literature

Further reading

References