Dino D'Santiago

About

" Funk-Soul brother fueled with African Beats "

Rolling Stone magazine wrote that “Dino D’Santiago is bringing Funaná to the World”, but I think that’s inaccurate. Dino is bringing Africa to the World.

Dino is a Portuguese-born son of Cape Verde emigrants, who in the last few years gained plenty of attention for his music, and used his voice to bring African rhythms and culture to more people.  And he’s got some cool people on board like Seiji (from Bugz in the Attic), Kalaf and Branko (from Buraka Som Sistema) and even Madonna.

He wanted to mix the warm sounds of funaná, a style born in Cape Verde, with a modern vibe that would make Jay-Z, Chaka Khan and Burial fans sit up. The boy that started singing in church, moved on from producing hooks on hip hop tracks and now wants to bring his truth. He discovered that he could melt the traditional rhythms of batuque (African drums) in slow-paced songs, while he sings both in Portuguese and Creole.

In 2021, he released his third album in three years, entitled ‘Badiu’ (which was the name given to those who escaped slavery in Santiago Island in Cape Verde) and it’s the way he chose to pay homage to everyone that resisted oppression and fought for their life. Dino invited others like him that are still fighting through music, like Lido Pimienta (from Colombia), Rincon Sapiencia (from Brazil) or Slow J (from Portugal) to get involved. If you let yourself go and dive into Dino D’Santiago’s music, you will feel it in your skin, in your heart, in your stomach. Could this be Fado from the 21st century?

Picture credits: Daryan Dornelles