Cape Verde is known internationally for morna, a form of folk music usually sung in the Cape Verdean Creole, accompanied by clarinet, violin, guitar and cavaquinho. Funaná, Coladeira, Batuque and Cabo love are other musical forms.
The music of Angola has been shaped both by wider musical trends and by the political history of the country. while Angolan music has also influenced the music of the other Lusophone countries and Latin American countries. In turn, the music of Angola was instrumental in creating and reinforcing "angolanidade", the Angolan national identity. The capital and largest city of Angola — Luanda — is home to a diverse group of styles including kazukuta, semba, kizomba and kuduro. Just off the coast of Luanda is Ilha do Cabo, home to an accordion and harmonica-based style of music called rebita.
São Tomé and Príncipe is an island country off the coast of Africa. Culturally, the people are African but have been highly influenced by the Portuguese rulers of the islands.
The morna is a music and dance genre from Cape Verde. It was proclaimed Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO on December 11, 2019.
Compas, also known as compas direct in French, konpa dirèk in Haitian Creole, or simply konpa but most commonly as Kompa is a modern méringue dance music genre of Haiti. The genre was popularized by Nemours Jean-Baptiste following the creation of Ensemble Aux Callebasses in 1955, which became Ensemble Nemours Jean-Baptiste in 1957. The frequent tours of the many Haitian bands have cemented the style in all the Caribbean. Therefore, compas is the main music of several countries such as Dominica and the French Antilles. Whether it is called zouk, where French Antilles artists of Martinique and Guadeloupe have taken it, or konpa in places where Haitian artists have toured, this méringue style is influential in part of the Caribbean, Portugal, Cape Verde, France, part of Canada, and South and North America.
The funaná is a music and dance genre from Cape Verde. Funaná is an accordion-based music. The rhythm is usually provided by the ferrinho much like the use of washboards in zydeco, the saw in Caribbean ripsaw music, the scraper in Sub-Saharan African music and the güiro in Latin and Pre-Columbian music.
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.
Kuduro is a type of music and dance from Angola. It is characterized as uptempo, energetic, and danceable. Kuduro was developed in Luanda, Angola, in the late 1980s. Producers sampled traditional carnival music like soca and zouk béton from the Caribbean to Angola, techno and accordion playing from Europe and laid this around a fast four-to-the-floor beat.
The coladeira is a music genre from the Cape Verde islands in the central Atlantic Ocean.
Ricardo Lemvo is a Congolese singer of Angolan descent who lives in Los Angeles, California. His music is a blend of African soukous, kizomba, samba and Cuban salsa.
Gil Semedo Moreira, better known by his stage name Gil Semedo, is a Cape Verdean recording artist, songwriter, businessman, and record producer. He rose to prominence in 1991 following the release of "Menina", the first single from his debut album bearing the same name. Gil is one of the most powerful celebrities in Kriolo Portuguese, having sold over a million records and creating his own music genre ‘Cabo Swing’.
Ngola Ritmos was a musical group created in 1947 in the home of Manuel dos Passos by a group of young men called Domingos Van-Dúnem, Mário da Silva Araújo, Francisco Machado, Liceu Vieira Dias and Nino Ndongo who formerly comprised a group named "Os Sambas". They sang in kimbundu with the purpose to spread and divulge cultural and political awareness to the peoples of Luanda during the Portuguese Empire era. They felt a need to create something new. To spread and divulge folkloric themes that were fading away due to colonialism so Ngola Ritmos, still a small group, appeared with Liceu Vieira Días as the main guitar player and the rest playing with drums and acacia sticks as rattles.
Flavel & Neto are a singing duo based in France specializing in Latin-based dance music, but greatly influenced by Angolan kizomba music. They are signed to Five Music label and are mostly famous with their singles "Eu quero tchu, eu quero tcha" and "Pedida perfeita (Tararatata)", the latter featuring Anna Torres.
Elizio, aka Mister ODC is a singer-songwriter born in Angola in 1979, of Cape Verdean origin. Revealed with the title 10 fois, 100 fois featuring Perle Lama in 2003, Elizio quickly meets his first big solo success with Melodia which leads him to the top of the zouk scene. The artist then connects the tubes and expands his musical universe with more than 70 titles, ranging from general dancefloor with sounds like Bad Man on Kizomba with Angel or Make love on tempo in particular, through the kuduro as Sabi Di Mas.
Rebita is a traditional music and dance from Angola. It is a genre of music and dance in which a circle of couples, leaded by a coordinator in the middle, dance in a traditional movement called Massemba.
Francisco Xavier da Cruz, also known as B. Leza or Beleza was a Cape Verdean writer, composer and singer of morna music..
Gilyto Semedo, aka Mr. Entertainer is a Cape Verdean Singer, Songwriter, Dancer, TV & Music Producer, Cultural Activist, Mentor Of Cabo Verde Music Awards-CVMA and PALOP Music Awards - PALOPMA.
Celma Ribas is a singer, songwriter and businesswoman from Angola.
Artur Nunes was an Angolan musician, composer, and activist. In his time, Nunes was one of the most influential voices and composers in the pre-independence days of revolutionary Angola. Nunes, along with David Zé, Urbano de Castro and many others, was a part of a group of musicians called the FAPLA-Povo Alliance who had the role to spread and divulge awareness to Angolan citizens helping a movement of revolution. He was nicknamed "O Espiritual" due to his expertise in manifesting his feelings in a rather contagious way as if he could communicate with souls.
Eduardo Paím is an Angolan singer who is considered to be one of the creators of the Kizomba genre, having described himself as the precursor to the genre. First popular in Angola during the 1980s, and later in the 1980s and 1990s in Portugal, he has released several albums both solo and with his band SOS.
