Born in the Santa Catarina district on Santiago, the most African island of the Cape Verde archipelago, he received early and rigorous training from his father, Nho Raul Andrade, a highly popular violinist at the island’s village dances and festivities. At 15, he began to develop a more personal style, based on batuque, one of Santiago Island’s more popular and most African beats, originally played by women to celebrate farming festivals, births and marriages, and to commemorate deaths.

Today, Tcheka lives in Praia, Cape Verde’s capital, where he is well known for his work in modernizing batuque, while conserving its traditional structures. This is the message of Tcheka’s first album, entitled Argui, Creole for “rise/stand up.” His second album Nu Monda won the prestigious Discoveries Award 2005 from Radio France International (RFI). His performance while accepting the award in Dakar fully justified the accolade, as he excited the crowd with his singing, dancing, and guitar chops.

Audio

Video

“Agonia”

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