AfroReggae is a band from Rio de Janeiro that is part of the cultural organisation of the same name which works for social change within the favela communities.
Nuova Cara on Universal in 2001.
The band’s live show demonstrates all the fervent energy from which AfroReggae was born. Since 1998 the band has toured within Brazil and internationally, with performances ranging from regular favela performances in Rio to supporting the Rolling Stones at their Copacabana Beach show. They have also played several European festivals, including performing to over 100,000 people at Piazza del Popolo in Rome and dates in Italy, France, Holland, Portugal, Germany and the UK.
In 2000 AfroReggae were invited to play in the USA at Stop Racism, an event organised by Canadian and American students fighting against racial prejudice. AfroReggae’s participation had such an impact on the event that the White House awarded them official recognition for their work. In April 2004 they opened for Caetano Veloso at the Carnegie Hall in New York. 2005 began with Afroreggae performing with Margareth Menezes, one of Brazil’s most renowned popular music stars, at Canecão – the most prestigious concert venue in the country. The band was also invited to participate in Amnesty International’s project Make Some Noise for which Yoko Ono donated the rights to Imagine and other John Lennon songs to Amnesty for a year. AfroReggae were invited to record their own version of Imagine to be used as one of the launch songs for the project. In March 2006 AfroReggae performed two sold out shows at the Barbican Theatre in London, where they were invited to return in 2008, 2010 and 2012.
Favela Rising, which tells the story of Anderson Sa, lead singer of AfroReggae and a former drug-trafficker who turned his back on crime to reconnect with his community and form AfroReggae. The film, directed by New York journalists Zimbalist and Mochary, was short-listed for Film of the Year of the International Documentary Association and won Best Emerging Documentary Filmmaker award at the Tribeca Film Festival, both in 2005.
Nenhum Motivo Explica A Guerra (or Nothing Justifies War) features Ty, Estelle and Manu Chao and was released in 2006.