Neyma Julio Alfredo (born 6 May 1979) is a Mozambican singer. She is known for producing songs of the Mozambican genre, such as Marrabenta and Kizomba.

Biography

Neyma began her interest in music at a young age, singing at various events in and around

Maputo Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...

. She was an ambassador for the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Children's Fund (

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

) in

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

until the end of 2019.

Career

Neyma began her music career appearing on the televised singing competition ''Fantasia'' where she took second place. Her breakthrough followed in 1999 upon her first commercial album, ''Brigas'' which features the popular singles "Brigas", "Mae virtude mais bela" and the well-received single, "Praia feliz". The success of the album ''Brigas'' led her to release ''Baila'' in 2000 and ''Renascer'' in 2001. ''Arromba'', released in 2005, solidified Neyma as an acclaimed singer from

and the Lusophone world. In early 2010, she released her sixth album, entitled ''Neyma 10 Anos'' in reference to her 10 years in the Mozambican music industry.

Arromba

In the summer of 2005, Neyma released ''Arromba'', her most popular album to date which sold more than 40,000 copies in Mozambique. The album was well-received in

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

, and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. The album features the self-titled single, Arromba which is

kizomba Kizomba is a social dance and music genre that originated in Angola during late 1970s to early 1980s. Kizomba is a national heritage of Angola and means "party" in Kimbundu. Traditionally, kizomba was danced with family, friends, and acquaint ...

genre. Another single off the album which was well received was Lirrandzo, which turned out to be the most popular song of the year, and "Arromba" turned out to be the summer anthem of 2005.

Neyma 10 Anos

Her sixth album entitled Neyma 10 Anos memorialized her 10 years in the Mozambican music industry. "Ilusão" is her single hit which is a balled duet with a popular international artist Grace Evora and it was awarded by Mozambique Music Awards alongside the award of Best Female Artist in 2010. "A Hi Dzimeni" is a traditional Marrabenta-style song that became the anthem for women's emancipation and the agricultural movement in the country. 10 Anos was awarded 'Best Selling Album' at 2011 MMA's.

Idiomas

In early 2006, Neyma returned to the studio and recorded a new album. In late 2006, she released Idiomas and released Mbilo Yanga as the first single off the album. With this album, Neyma mixed

Marrabenta Marrabenta is a popular style of Mozambican dance music combining traditional Mozambican dance rhythms with Portuguese folk music. It was developed in Maputo, the capital city of Mozambique, during the 1930s and 1940s. Etymology The name may be ...

, Coupé-Décalé,

Kizomba Kizomba is a social dance and music genre that originated in Angola during late 1970s to early 1980s. Kizomba is a national heritage of Angola and means "party" in Kimbundu. Traditionally, kizomba was danced with family, friends, and acquaint ...

and traditional Mozambican rhythms to create a unique sound. Mbilo Yanga, a Kizomba genre of music, put her again on the international scene where she received numerous nominations for the song. Other acknowledged singles off the album include Nunawanga Yuwi, Xilhamaliso, Marrido do Dono and Te Amo, a Kizomba-Balade style.

Discography

Albums

*''Brigas'' (1999) *''Baila'' (2000) *''Renascer'' (2001) *''Arromba'' (2005) *''Idiomas'' (2006) *''Neyma 10 Anos'' (2010) *''Neyma Greatest Hits (2014)'' *''Parabéns (2015)''

References

External links

* www.neymamusic.com 21st-century Mozambican women singers Mozambican people of Portuguese descent People from Maputo 1979 births Living people {{Africa-singer-stub