Mano Bantu, a band from Maranhão, signs with Warner, who call them "Reggae de Atitude"!

The Mano Bantu crew signs with major label Warner. Rightfully dubbed "Reggae with Attitude", the guys from Maranhão are ready to win over national reggae. We have had the band registered on Surforeggae for a long time, still under the name Nego Bantu, and you can check out some of the band's independent CDs there; we'll give a preview of the story here.

Mano Bantu was born in São Luís do Maranhão, the national capital of reggae, in 1997. Seeking to relate their work to African roots, they adopted the name Bantu - a linguistic ethnic group from southwestern Africa, with great influence on the cultural formation of the Brazilian people. At that time, the full name was Nego Bantu, which achieved success in the region with songs Down Down and Lady. The band consists of Gerson da Conceição, vocalist, bassist and songwriter, Edu Zappa, keyboardist, Moisés Mota, drummer and Celso Black, percussionist. But live, they count on the reinforcement of four heavy musicians.

Mano Bantu uses the strong influence of rhythmic elements from Maranhão folklore, such as tambor de crioula, boi de zabumba, etc., blending them with reggae, in addition to having main influences from artists like Bob Marley and Gilberto Gil. Mano Bantu debuts on Warner in January 2003, with a CD that will show true reggae with attitude! Worth waiting to check it out!