Zacky Ramalho

Zacky Ramalho came up in Juazeiro, a town in northeastern Brazil, and started putting out music when he was still a teenager. His first album came in 1985, when he was 16. He kept at it through the 1990s, but it wasn't until 2004 that he broke through with the song "Eh, Eh," which became a major hit.

That track, along with others like "Coração De Verdade" and "Mundo Obscuro," helped define his sound. He's known for writing lyrics that touch on social issues, which has sometimes put him at odds with authorities. His band has included players like Edgard Scandurra on guitar and Ricardo Palmeira on bass.

He's released about a dozen studio albums over time, working in a mix of Brazilian folk, rock, and reggae. The music doesn't fit neatly into one category, but it's grounded in the rhythms he heard growing up.