Skank was a Brazilian pop rock band from

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

. Having begun in 1991, they sold approximately 5,200,000 copies of their albums as of 2004. Initially intending to mix

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

with traditional Brazilian styles, later the band changed its sonority to music closer to

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...

and local movement Clube da Esquina. Their last concert was held on March 26, 2023, at

Mineirão Mineirão (; , named after its large structure), officially known as Governador Magalhães Pinto Stadium (, ; , named after Magalhães Pinto), is an association football stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Owned by the state of Minas Gerais, it ...

, in

Biography

In 1983, Samuel Rosa (guitars, vocals) and Henrique Portugal (keyboards) started to play in a rock band called "Pozo Alto", along with Dinho Mourão (drums) and his brother Alexandre (bass). In 1991, Pouso Alto arranged for a performance in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, but due to the Mourão brothers not being in Belo Horizonte, bassist Lelo Zaneti and drummer Haroldo Ferretti were called for the gig. The band premiered on June 5, 1991, and due to the performance competing with the

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

final match, the audience was 37 people. After the show, the group changed its name to Skank, inspired by

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

's song "Easy skanking", and began to perform regularly at "Mister Beef" churrascaria in Belo Horizonte. After playing for some time in steakhouses, bars and clubhouses, the band spent US$10,000 in their first album, '' Skank'', released as an independent CD in late 1992 with 3,000 copies, fully paid by the band members themselves. In 45 days, 1,200 were sold, and

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

signed the band as the first Brazilian act in its Chaos label. ''Skank'' was re-released in April 1993. The singles "O Homem Que Sabia Demais", "Tanto" (version of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

's " I Want You") and "In(Dig)Nação" took the group on a 120 concerts tour around Brazil, and the album sold 250 thousand copies. '' Calango'' (1994) was the first record produced by Dudu Marote. "É Proibido Fumar", "Te Ver", "Pacato Cidadão", "Esmola" and "Jackie Tequila" were hits, and ''Calango'' sold around 1,200,000 copies.Revista Oi
'' O Samba Poconé'' was released in 1996. The album had three big hits, "Tão Seu", "É Uma Partida de Futebol", included by

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

in the official soundtrack for the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

, and "Garota Nacional", which topped the Spanish charts for three months (under the Spanish title "Chica Nacional"), was the only Portuguese language song in the Sony Music compilation ''Soundtrack for a Century'', released in 1997 to celebrate the company's centennial, and took the group on tour in

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United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

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 ...

. Although "Garota Nacional" literally translates to "national girl", the song is not about the women of Brazil: it celebrates the "girls of Bar Nacional", a bar and nightclub in Belo Horizonte famous in the early 1990s for the beauty of its female patrons. Manu Chao featured in "Sem Terra", "Los Pretos" e "Zé Trindade". "O Samba Poconé" sold 1,800,000 cópias - 800,000 of those in two months. '' Siderado'', produced by John Shaw (

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the Grammy ...

) and Paul Ralphes, begins the band's movement towards a more rock and roll sound. The Clube da Esquina-influenced "Resposta" (re-recorded in 1999 by Milton Nascimento and Lô Borges, the latter the song's co-author with Samuel Rosa and Nando Reis), "Mandrake e Os Cubanos" and "Saideira" were hits. Released in 1998, ''Siderado'' sold 750 thousand copies.Revista Oi
Daúde and Uakti participated as guest artists. In 1999 Skank recorded a

Spanish language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

version for " Wrapped Around Your Finger" in a tribute album for The Police entitled ''Outlandos d'America''. With '' Maquinarama'', the band begins in earnest its move away from the ska and reggae sound towards a more rock oriented one influence by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

, Clube da Esquina,

and contemporary

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

. ''Maquinarama'', produced by Chico Neves and Tom Capone and released in July 2000, sold 275 thousand copies. Some of the hit singles were "Três Lados", "Balada do Amor Inabalável" and "Canção Noturna". The original cover shows a Cadillac with graffiti by Californian artist Kenny Scharf. The international version has a different cover. In 2001, Skank recorded the first live album in

Ouro Preto Ouro Preto (, ), formerly Vila Rica (, ), is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The city, a former Brazilian Gold Rush, colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains, was designated a ...

as part of the MTV Brasil's series "MTV Ao Vivo". '' MTV ao Vivo: Skank'' sold 600 thousand copies. Besides a list of hits chosen by fans through Skank's website, the album had the new song "Acima do Sol", a national hit. In 2002 Samuel Rosa played acoustic guitar in "É Proibido Fumar", from the ''Acústico MTV'' (MTV Unplugged) by Roberto Carlos. ''Cosmotron'', produced by Skank and Tom Capone, was released in July 2003 and sold 250 thousand copies - a disappointment next to their vigorous previous sales figures. Nevertheless, the album had many radio and ringtone hits. "Supernova", "Dois Rios", "Vou Deixar" and "Amores Imperfeitos" were the main tracks. ''Cosmotron'' won the Latin Grammy - best Brazilian rock album award in 2004. Released in October 2004, '' Radiola'' was the first compilation album by Skank. It included four new songs, including the Gilberto Gil cover "Vamos Fugir". The cover reproduces a painting by the hyped

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

artists the Clayton Brothers. ''Radiola'' sold 200 thousand copies. In March 2006 Skank began recording the new album '' Carrossel'' in their studio in

, with producers Chico Neves, who also worked in ''Maquinarama'', and Carlos Eduardo Miranda, producer of O Rappa's Unplugged album. Released in August, the album had the semi-hits "Uma Canção É Pra Isso" and "Mil Acasos". Arnaldo Antunes ("Trancoso"), César Mauricio ("Lugar") and Humberto Effe ("Cara Nua" and "Notícia") were the songwriting partners. In 2008, the band reunited with Dudu Marote, who produced ''Calango'' and ''O Samba Poconé'', to record the album '' Estandarte'' in their studio in

. Released in September, the album had low sales, but produced the hits "Ainda Gosto Dela" (featuring Negra Li), "Sutilmente" (a massive number 1 hit in Brazil) and "Noites de um Verão Qualquer." On June 19, 2010, Skank performed a free concert on the

stadium in Belo Horizonte. It was the last event before the venue was closed to reform in order to accommodate the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

. The show was recorded for the live album and DVD '' Multishow ao Vivo: Skank no Mineirão'', which featured two new songs, "De Repente" and "Fotos na Estante".Skank anuncia show de graça no Mineirão dia 19 de junho
, '' Hoje em Dia''

International career

Skank had some success with "Garota Nacional", that lead the Spanish charts, and "É Uma Partida de Futebol" was shown before some games of the 1998 World Cup due to being in the championship's soundtrack. By the time of ''O Samba Poconé'', the group toured through

Hispanic America Hispanic America ( or ), historically known as Spanish America () or Castile (historical region), Castilian America (), is the Spanish-speaking countries and territories of the Americas. In all of these countries, Spanish language, Spanish is th ...

and Europe, and appeared in big festivals such as Super Bock/ Super Rock 1997 in Portugal, Páleo Festival 97 and St. Gallen 98 in Switzerland, Montreux Jazz Festival 2001, and SummerStage 2002 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The group also played in two editions of Rock in Rio, at the 2008 Rock in Rio

Lisboa Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

and the fourth Brazilian edition of the festival in 2011. Skank had been previously called for Rock in Rio II] in 2001, but went out along with other Brazilian bands in protest against O Rappa's exclusion. However, the band never invested much in its international career. Some songs received versions in Spanish, such as "Chica Nacional" ("Garota Nacional"), and "Respuesta" ("Resposta"), but foreign shows are usually in places with many Brazilians, such as

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and

Members

* Samuel Rosa:

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

and

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

s *Henrique Portugal: keyboards,

, backing vocals *Lelo Zaneti:

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, backing vocals *Haroldo Ferretti:

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Touring members

*Doca Rolim:

and

s, backing vocals (2003 - 2023) *Paulo Márcio:

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

(1998 - 2023) *Pedro Aristides:

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

(2003 - 2023) *Vinícius Augustus:

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

(2008 - 2023) *Marcos Gauguin:

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

(1991) *Chico Amaral:

(1991 - 1998, 2017),

(on '' Maquinarama'' tour) *João Vianna:

(1991 - 1998) *Ed Maciel:

(1994 - 1996) *Edivaldo Silva:

(1996 - 1998) *Jorge Continentino:

(1998 - 2001) *Wagner Mayer:

(1998 - 2001)

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Video albums

Awards

*'' Cosmotron'' won the

Latin Grammy Awards The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music, Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish language, S ...

- Best Brazilian rock album in 2004. *Skank received the Premio Ondas in Spain as New Latin Group in 1997. * MTV Video Music Brazil: Viewer's Choice in 1996 ("Garota Nacional") and 1997 ("É Uma Partida de Futebol"); Video of the Year in 1999 ("Mandrake e os Cubanos"); Pop Video in 1996 ("Garota Nacional"), 1997 ("É Uma Partida de Futebol"), 1999 ("Mandrake e os Cubanos"), 2000 ("Três Lados"), 2003 ("Dois Rios") and 2004 ("Vou Deixar").

References

External links

Official siteDicionário Cravo Albin de Música Popular Brasileira - Skank
(in Portuguese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Skank Brazilian reggae rock groups Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups from Belo Horizonte Latin Grammy Award winners Brazilian musical quartets 1991 establishments in Brazil