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Born Luciano Nakata Albuquerque, the prodigy spent time as part of many popular local bands for breaking out and carving his own path. Inspired by Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and the other ambassadors of Tropicália, Curumin’s sound flows easily from reggae to samba and funk to soul with sprinkles of afro-beat and dub. His first album, Achados e Perdidos, came after giving up aspirations to becoming a soccer player and making use of all that he learned at the legendary Brazilian music school Gaviões da Fiel. Not only is he a lyricist, but Curumin also plays the drums, cavaquinho and vintage synths on his record.

Named after one of Japan’s largest cities, his song, “Kyoto” brings an underground edge to the record. Amidst dub inspired beats, rap lyrics in English challenge politicians and other powers that be in a way reminiscent of early hip hop. It’s no coincidence to find out that Curumin spent his childhood listening to Run DMC as much as Antonio Carlos Jobim.

“Compacto,” one of the best tracks of the album instantly transports you to a party on Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro: beautiful people everywhere enjoying a laid back summer day in the sun listening to this song about Curumin’s love of 45s. Other songs like “Caixa Preta” and “Sambito” are equally vibrant and full of intoxicating beats.

Rounding out the year in New York City, Curumin will showcase his skills at a concert that will occur on December 4th and 5th at the Brooklyn Academy of Music called Red Hot + Rio 2: The Next Generation of Samba Soul. A showcase of the next generation of Samba Soul, a revolutionary post-tropicália musical movement of the 70’s, the show will give a portion of its proceeds to benefit BrazilFoundation’s AIDS-related projects.

Rayme Samuels is a freelance cultural journalist. Visit her website on fresh global culture at www.raymesamuels.wordpress.com.