Ben, Jorge
Negro E Lindo
'Negro É Lindo' is the eighth album by Brazilian artist Jorge Ben, released in 1971. The title is a translation of the slogan "Black is beautiful" to Portuguese. The album has a song called 'Cassius Marcelo Clay' paying homage to boxer and black activist Muhammad Ali. Rather than use overly theatrical performance to shock the audience or write songs loaded with political content, Ben became known as one of the country's great musical alchemists, a furiously eclectic songwriter who combined elements of indigenous Brazilian music with a groove from the west coast of Africa. Never a controversial figure in the manner of the tropicalistas like Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, Ben became one of the most respected and resilient figures in Brazilian pop.