Seu Jorge
Jorge Mário da Silva, more commonly known by his stage name Seu Jorge (born June 8, 1970; ), is a Brazilian musical artist, songwriter, and actor. He is considered by many a renewer of Brazilian pop samba. Seu Jorge cites samba schools and American soul singer Stevie Wonder as major musical influences. Jorge is also known for his film roles as Mané Galinha in the 2002 film "City of God" and as Pelé dos Santos in the 2004 film "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou". His musical work has received praise from many of his fellow musicians including Beck  and David Bowie. Biography. First born of four children (the others being Charles, Vitório and Rogério), Seu Jorge had a tough childhood in the neighborhood of Gogó da Ema, in Belford Roxo. Started working in a tire shop when he was only 10 years old, the first of various occupation such as courier, joiner, and being potato peeler in a bar. Served the Brazilian Army from 1989 to 1990, in Rio de Janeiro, but did not adapt to the military lifestyle and ended up being expelled, in January of 1990. The various professions never obfuscated his dream of becoming a  musician. Since his adolescence, he would frequent samba circles and funk parties with his dad and brothers, and early on started to professionalize singing at such events. It was there which, in 1990, the slaughtering of his brother Vitório tore his family apart, and Seu Jorge ended up being homeless for around three years. The turnaround happened when Gabriel Moura, nephew of clarinetist Paulo Moura, invited him to participate in a spectacle called "The flour saga" (known in Portuguese as "A saga da farinha"), in which Gabriel was the musical director. He ended up participating in more than 20 shows  with the Companhia de Teatro TUERJ, as singer and actor. Since he had no place to sleep, Seu Jorge slept in the theater, between 1993 and 1997 - the year where he joined the band Farofa Carioca. Career. Seu Jorge has gained exposure through his work as an actor and soundtrack composer. He appeared in the critically acclaimed 2002 film "City of God" as Mané Galinha, directed by filmmakers Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund, and then played Pelé dos Santos in Wes Anderson's "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou", for which he provided much of the soundtrack in the form  of Portuguese language cover versions of David Bowie classics. Bowie later went on to say about his cover album, "The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions", that "had Seu Jorge not recorded my songs in Portuguese I would never have heard this new level of beauty which he has imbued them with." In June 2006, he performed at Bonnaroo music festival in Manchester, Tennessee and at the Festival Sudoeste TMN in Portugal. He has also performed in 2006 at the Bluesfest in Ottawa, Ontario and performed at the Harbourfront in Toronto, Ontario. Jorge's performances are known for their excitement as well  as for getting the crowd moving. In January 2010 he performed with Thievery Corporation at the Austin City Limits. His album 'América Brasil' had a limited Brazilian release in 2007 under his label Cafuné Gravadora, distributed in the UK by Proper Music Distribution. In May 2010, Now-Again Records announced that Jorge's new album, Seu Jorge & Almaz, a collaboration with drummer Pupillo and guitarist Lucio Maia from Nação Zumbi and bassist and composer Antonio Pinto would be released in North America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand on July 27 and in Europe on September 14. The album has been  described as "how powerful Brazilian soul music can be." In 2011, he collaborated with Beck on the Mario C. remix of "Tropicália" for the Red Hot Organization's most recent charitable album "Red Hot+Rio 2." In 2012, he collaborated with American fashion designer Rachel Roy on a line of sportswear, footwear, jewelry and handbags. In 2015, he was nominated for the 16th Latin Grammy Awards in the Best Brazilian Contemporary Pop Album category. On September 8, he performed after lighting the cauldron in the 2016 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. According to a DNA test, Seu Jorge  is 85.1% African, 12.9% European and 2% Amerindian. He belongs to haplogroup R1b, suggesting that his paternal lineage probably derives from Western Europe.