Marrabenta is a popular form of Mozambican dance music. The genre originated in the ’30s and ’40s while the Portuguese still ruled Mozambique and the older local bands tried to simulate traditional African dance rhythms using Portuguese instruments. Today’s marrabanta bands primarily play electronic instruments like guitars and keyboards and have brought many global genres into their music, like blues and reggae.
A fun fact from Wikipedia’s entry on Marrabenta: “According to vocalist Dilon Djindje, Marrabenta is named for the energetic performances he delivered as he toured across Mozambique. The intensity and vitality of his shows led audiences to believe that he was breaking the emotional limits of those in attendance. The musicians who played this music came to be called arrabenta, a Portugese term for ‘break it.'”
Comments are closed.