Semba
The vibrant Angolan ancestor of kizomba.
Start here
Semba — Overview
An Angolan music genre and social partner dance — and the root of kizomba
3 min read
Angolan Roots and Massemba
Origins, Terminology, and Transatlantic Legacy
3 min read
Semba Footwork and Playful Dynamics
Fast footwork, hip-driven musicality, and improvisation in Angola's traditional partner dance
3 min read
Bonga
The Angolan folk and semba singer-songwriter José Adelino Barceló de Carvalho performs as Bonga — a name independently shared by an Ethiopian town, a Mozambican colonial usage, a Munda ethnographic term, a surname, and a plant species
3 min read
Overview
1 article
Etymology and naming
1 article
Origins
2 articles
Musical anatomy
1 article
Technique
1 article
Pioneers
7 articles
Bonga
The Angolan folk and semba singer-songwriter José Adelino Barceló de Carvalho performs as Bonga — a name independently shared by an Ethiopian town, a Mozambican colonial usage, a Munda ethnographic term, a surname, and a plant species
3 min read
Carlos Burity
Angolan semba singer (1952–2020)
2 min read
Carlos Lamartine
An Angolan musician attested by a sparse documentary record
2 min read
Liceu Vieira Dias: Father of Modern Angolan Music
The founder of Ngola Ritmos who gave semba its modern, guitar-driven form
3 min read
Os Kiezos: Semba from the Streets of Luanda
The teenage conjunto from Marçal that became one of Angola's most influential bands
3 min read
Ruy Mingas: The Voice of Angola's Anthem
Nephew of a semba founder, he set a poem of resistance to music and composed the music of Angola's national anthem
2 min read
Waldemar Bastos
Angolan musician (1954–2020) who blended Afropop, fado, and Brazilian influences
2 min read