David Gabriel José Ferreira (23 August 1944 — 27 May 1977) was an
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
n musician, composer and activist. He began his singing career while Angola was still under the rule of the
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...
and his music often expressed
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
and
anti-colonialist
Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. The meanings and applications of the term are disputed. Some scholars of decolon ...
sentiments. David Zé, along with
Artur Nunes,
Urbano de Castro Urbano may refer to:
* ''Urbano'' (album), a 2002 album by Elvis Crespo
* Urbano music, an umbrella term for certain genres of Latin music
People with the given name
* Urbano José Allgayer (born 1924), Brazilian prelate of the Roman Catholic ...
and others, was a part of a group of musicians called the FAPLA-Povo Alliance who had the role to spread social and political awareness to Angolan citizens to start a laborist movement to reform Angola after its
revolution
In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
. He was given the official position of Director of Music in the Culture Ministry in the incoming
MPLA
The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (, abbr. MPLA), from 1977–1990 called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan social democratic political party. The MPLA fought against the P ...
regime.
His career only lasted for about a decade, but he managed to establish himself as one of the biggest names in the "Golden Age" of
Angolan music
The music of Angola has been shaped both by wider musical trends and by the History of Angola, political history of the country. while Angolan music has also influenced the Lusophone music, music of the other Lusophone countries and Latin America ...
, the early
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.jpg, Clockwise from top left: U.S. President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office following the Watergate scandal in 1974; The United States was still involved in the Vietnam War ...
. He was kidnapped and later murdered by an unknown group of people who have been described as "fractionists" that dissolved from the
MPLA
The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (, abbr. MPLA), from 1977–1990 called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan social democratic political party. The MPLA fought against the P ...
during a failed attempt at a
coup that took place in the 27th of May of 1977 and his music was banned from the radio for more than a decade.
Early and personal life
David Gabriel José Ferreira was born on August 23, 1944, in Quifangondo,
Luanda Province
Luanda is a province of Angola. It used to cover an area of 18,835 km2, and had a population of 6,945,386 at the Census of 16 May 2014.
The city of Luanda is the capital of the province and Angola. It serves as the country's primary port, cultur ...
. He was the son of Gabriel José Ferreira and Carolina José Afonso, both choristers of the
Methodist Church
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
. He attended primary and secondary education in the province of
Cuanza Norte
The Cuanza Norte Province (; ) is province of Angola. N'dalatando is the capital and the province has an area of 24,110 km2 and a population of 443,386. Manuel Pedro Pacavira was born here and is a former provincial governor. The 1,400 met ...
. For a while he worked at a foundry in
Hoji Ya Henda.
In November 1976 he married Maria Trindade, while on military duty in
São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main isla ...
. He had four children, Miguel Gabriel Ferreira, Maria Carolina David Ferreira, Deolinda David Gabriel Ferreira and David Gabriel José Ferreira.
Career

In 1966, David Zé met the singer
Urbano de Castro Urbano may refer to:
* ''Urbano'' (album), a 2002 album by Elvis Crespo
* Urbano music, an umbrella term for certain genres of Latin music
People with the given name
* Urbano José Allgayer (born 1924), Brazilian prelate of the Roman Catholic ...
, who convinced him to pursue a musical career. He met with a brand new Jovens do Prenda who were just getting started and went on to release his first singles "Dilangue" and "Kadika Zeka".
Along with de Castro and
Artur Nunes he formed a trio of the most popular singers of the early 1970s, a period which is described by music historians as the
"golden era" of Angolan music. Their music was central to the new cultural and nationalistic sense of identity which developed in Angola at the time, making them targets of the
Portuguese authorities. They were known for politically charged music which were a mixture of
Semba
Semba is a traditional type of music and dance from Angola. Semba has its roots in Massemba and means "a touch of belly buttons" - one of the most recognizable and entertaining movements in semba.History of Semba , Kizombalove Academy
Chara ...
,
Merengue,
Rumba
The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba ...
and
Bolero
Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...
.

His 1975 album "Mutudi Ua Ufolo/Viúva Da Liberdade", released in the year of Angola's independence, is considered his most celebrated work and among the most iconic albums from that era.
After Angola obtained independence, David Zé enjoyed great appreciation from the newly installed president
Agostinho Neto
António Agostinho Neto (17 September 1922 – 10 September 1979) was an Angolan Communism, communist politician and poet. He served as the first president of Angola from 1975 to 1979, having led the MPLA, Popular Movement for the Liberation of ...
, who commissioned him to attend the independence celebrations of
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...
,
São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main isla ...
and
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...
, where he performed the song "Quem Matou Cabral". He was the coordinator of the musical group Aliança Fapla-Povo, who accompanied Neto on all his tours, whether home or abroad, and was meant as a sort of itinerant embassy of
Angolan culture
The culture of Angola is influenced by the Portuguese. Portugal occupied the coastal enclave Luanda, and later also Benguela, since the 16th/17th centuries, and expanded into the territory of what is now Angola in the 19th/20th centuries, ru ...
.
Kidnapping and death
On 27 May 1977,
Nito Alves, a hardline member of the
MPLA
The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (, abbr. MPLA), from 1977–1990 called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan social democratic political party. The MPLA fought against the P ...
and leader of the
Fractionist group, launched a failed coup against Agostinho Neto, which lead to a wave of reprisals that left thousand dead. Zé, alongside fellow musicians de Castro and Nunes were among those killed, but no official account of their death exists.
David Zé was seen as a supporter of Neto, which he made abundantly clear in his lyrics, so the reasons for which he was singled out by the regime remain unclear.
According to some sources, he was a member of the coup or at the very least, sympathetic towards it, while historian Marissa J. Moorman maintains that the popularity of MPLA's musicians began to eclipse that of its leaders, who were beginning to be seen increasingly as out of touch, and that worried the authorities enough to eliminate them.
Legacy
After his death, David Zé's music was unofficially banned from radio and remained banned for more than a decade after his death.
The clampdown on free speech and cultural activities that followed the coup, as well as the demise of the ''Companhia De Discos De Angola''
record label
"Big Three" music labels
A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...
, which released much of Zé's music, further contributed to the erasure of his legacy.
After the end of the Angolan Civil War, a renewed interest in Zé's music developed. In 2001, an annual festival called "Super Caldo do Poeira" was established to celebrate the music of David Zé and other early pioneers of
semba
Semba is a traditional type of music and dance from Angola. Semba has its roots in Massemba and means "a touch of belly buttons" - one of the most recognizable and entertaining movements in semba.History of Semba , Kizombalove Academy
Chara ...
music.
In 2004, a double CD edited by
Rádio Nacional de Angola
Rádio Nacional de Angola is a national radio station in Angola. It is based in the capital of Luanda. The station broadcasts in Portuguese, English, French, Spanish, and major local languages and is operated by the Government of Angola
The ...
and titled ''Memorias de David Zé'' was released, collecting a substantial part of the singer's work.
The song "
Friends
''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...
" by
Nas
Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones.
Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to:
Aviation
* Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea
* National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia
** Nas Air (S ...
and
Damian Marley
Damian Robert Nesta “Jr. Gong” Marley (born 21 July 1978) is a Jamaican reggae musician. The second youngest child of Bob Marley, he is the recipient of four Grammy Awards.
Early life, education and family
Marley is the youngest son of leg ...
samples 'Undenge Uami', which appears on ''Mutudi Ua Ufolo''.
Discography
Singles and EPs : 12
Compilations : 2
LP Album :
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ze, David
1944 births
1977 deaths
20th-century Angolan male singers
People of the Angolan Civil War
People from Luanda Province