Se Segura

A song tribute to Jorge Ben Jor & Quarteto Em Cy from Brazilian hip hop talent Laiz and her band The New Love Experience, following her breakout 2024 rap and jazz debut album

Laiz's love for music is rooted in tropicália, Brazilian music old and new, and soul. Think Tom Zé, Marcelo D2 and Sampha the Great. And like so many Brazilians, the deep reverence Laiz has for home grown funk, bossa and samba artists from the second half of the twentieth century runs deep.

So, following on from her jazz fuelled hip-hop debut on Agogo Records in 2024, she has written and recorded a track Se Segura, a homage to warm and fuzzy-funk sound of 70's Brazil and two of her favourite artists Jorge Ben Jor & Quarteto Em Cy.

The song is a play on the song Salve o Verde by Quarteto Em Cy, that was originally composed by Jorge Ben addressing climate change and pollution in the cities. In the chorus they sang "god save the green, that the men is destroying, by constructing grey, save the green". On Lais' version, she uses the lyrics of the chorus but the 'green' instead relates to money.

Laiz surmises "Money is not the root of all evil, but it is accumulating in the hands of humans without morals who seek destruction for profit. Money, just like everything else, was colonised. And now the world is rapidly changing, empires are falling. The best we can do is to invest in our cultures, hold on to our communities. And take charge of the little that we have and make sure that art and music help us humans to survive this global rupture"

Joining Laiz on the recording are various members of label mates, Sonic Interventions including Pachakuti as well as Eric Owuso (Jembaa Groove) playing Congos. The new song Se Segura also comes with a remix from the Allergies (DJ Moneyshot & Rackabeat) taking the organic and turning it into a block-rocking, hand-waving feast.

"The structures are falling so hold on to something"