Criolo, AKA Kleber Gomes, became a major star in Brazil four years ago with the release of Nó Na Orelha, and now at last comes the followup. Brought up in the favelas outside São Paulo, he stacked shelves and worked with street children until he shook up the Brazilian rap scene by mixing hip-hop with an adventurous range of musical styles. The new album continues the experiment. Produced by David Ganjaman and Marcelo Cabral, whose keyboards, programming and bass provide much of the backing, the album matches Criolo’s cool, thoughtful balladry and rap against settings that range from easygoing samba and stomping dub reggae to jazz and forro from north-east Brazil. The songs tackle Brazil’s wealth divide, the problems of street children and the story of a transport strike that leaves people without fresh bread; it’s just regrettable that no translations of his famously hard-hitting lyrics are provided.
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