Cape Verdean Music Legend Gil Semedo Is Still Making Music That Bridges the Diaspora

Gil Semedo is a man who smiles a lot. When he joins our video call in mid-May, his background is a plain white wall, his shirt is deep blue, his hair is tousled into lazy Jerry curls, and his posture is relaxed and easygoing. There’s already a smile on his face, ready to be doled out along with his hearty greetings. 

When we begin talking, he asks me where I’m from before sharing excitedly that it’s always a delight whenever he gets a chance to speak with other Africans. This revelation might seem odd coming from an African artist, but Semedo occupies an interesting position that makes his statement not altogether unfounded.

From the start of his career in 1991, the Cape Verde-born artist has been a bridge between the Cape Verdean diaspora and his home, Cabo Verde. Semedo moved to the Netherlands as a child and realized early on that few artists were speaking to or making music that captured the peculiarities of the Cape Verdean diaspora, of which there are many. That peculiarity is defined by the displaced sense of occupying multiple worlds and cultures, and of not knowing how to reconcile them.

The birth of Caboswing

“When I was 15, I started writing my songs, but more in Cape Verdean Creole because I felt my roots calling me,” Semedo tells OkayAfrica, his voice turning contemplative yet bouncing with a distinct cheeriness. “I wanted to make Cape Verdean music, so when I turned 16, I launched my first EP and right away, it got a lot of success in all the Portuguese-speaking countries.”

Semedo alchemized that sense of displacement and pursuit of identity into a genre known as Caboswing. “The process of creating Caboswing was very natural,” he admits. “I came to Holland when I was six, and at that time I got all these influences because I was watching TV and American music, pop music, especially pop R&B,” he says.

School was also an avenue for discovery for Semedo. “I had a lot of friends of different cultures, a lot of races, so it's very beautiful. And of course, Dutch music I hear also too.”

Semedo decided to blend these influences with local Cape Verdean genres his parents exposed him to, with bands like Bilimundo and artists like Norberto Travares and producer Manu Lima serving as strong inspirations.

“I mixed all those influences—especially with the king of pop, Michael Jackson, who was my biggest influence. People were feeling like ‘oh, now we're at home’ because I don't feel like I'm 100% Capo Verde in the diaspora. The people were never completely at home, but when I made Caboswing, they felt like okay now we have a new identity.”

On a technical level, Caboswing is upbeat, slightly psychedelic, and a groovy cross between funk and classic pop. It draws on influences such as coladeira, funaná, and batuque, with zouk, R&B, pop, and Afro-Caribbean elements.

As Semedo sees it, Caboswing has managed to establish itself as a sonic marriage, a lens on identity, and a movement all at once. “We are not just Cape Verdean, we are world citizens.”

As a pioneer of Caboswing, Semedo says he came to occupy a role larger than what his music could capture within the diasporic community. “They call me Nos Lider, which means our leader,” Semedo explains. “I have a 1999 song that's named “Nos Lider.” It was a very famous song because, you know, I'm not just a singer; my whole career has to do with leadership too. I always [try to] inspire people to be leaders. I really believe we all are leaders.”

Now Semedo is releasing a new project, Caboswing: O Novo Capitulo, that continues to establish his place as a diasporic bridge. His new project is also a continuation of a conversation he began in 1993 when he released his debut album, Caboswing. 

In the intro of that album, titled “The Perfect Style,” Semedo declares, “You know, I’ve been working a lot, I’ve been creating the perfect style, Caboswing!”

His latest project validates the longevity of that message, as Caboswing: O Novo Capitulo arrives 33 years after its predecessor.

On a thematic level, this new album furthers Semedo’s original intention for Caboswing, which he sees as a unifier and an avenue for joy. “Caboswing united us all/ Caboswing is an identity,” he sings on the first track of this new album, aptly titled “Caboswing Time.”

Although this new album is guided by the same sonic elements as its predecessor, it is admittedly sleeker and more contemporary thanks to the many young producers and artists Semedo worked with on the project. 

“It’s very refreshing because the young people brought me energy, and they brought me something very fresh, and in return, I brought them the experience and I brought them the style of Cabo Swing that I have already made for all these years, so they could adapt themselves right into it.”

When Semedo surveys the legacy of Cabo Swing, he considers the ways songs like “Maria Julia” and “Marula” were major influences on the generation after him. 

“I have a song that's called Hello Mama Africa, [on the new album.] It's a very special song to my mother Africa. It's also very Caboswing swing with lots of dancing, and Afro house influences.” 

A sense of responsibility 

One of Semedo’s major hits, “Maria Julia,” came out in 1995. It’s a song he made for his sister, who was dealing with a difficult situation on the home front. The song, like much of Caboswing, which incorporates several aspects of Cape Verdean culture, is built around a local Cape Verdean dance and music genre called batique or batuku. 

Its dance is defined by energetic hip thrusts and a polyrhythmic beat created by repeatedly hitting cloth-stuffed fabric. The music exemplifies how Semedo thinks of caboswing as a cultural vehicle for listeners unaware of Cape Verdean culture and a reminder to diasporic Cape Verdeans of what home feels like.

“It’s very hypnotizing, beautiful, and very spiritual,” Semedo explains of the Batuku. “I was always thinking of this and my sister, whose name is Maria Julia, who could dance, was uh experiencing hard times, so I wanted to give her power. I wanted to give Cape Verdean women power [and a reminder of] their identity,” Semedo explains.

That sense of responsibility — towards preserving Cape Verdean culture through Caboswing — has always been something he has been aware of. 

“I was very conscious about my responsibility,” he says. “I very much believe that we are all here to give love and joy to the world.”

That sense also informs much of this phase of his music. To celebrate Cape Verde making an appearance at the World Cup for the first time, Semedo recorded a rendition of “Maria Julia” as a way to inspire and encourage the Cape Verdean team. And in his new album, Semedo manages to keep things inspiring and groovy. In songs like “Adios Loneliness,” a ballad-style track featuring his daughter Melodia, Semedo sings of a kind of love that transforms the hollowness of one’s life. Throughout the album, he sings in a mix of Cape Verdean Creole and English.

“I hope I can bring more joy and love, but more hope too, because I feel that the world and a lot of people have become more pessimistic,” Semedo says. “There is a lot sadness and suffering but still if you look at the the outside and you see the trees, with the fruits and everything and you see the heaven especially in Africa you see you see the sun with the blue heaven you know that's beautiful so there are still beautiful things here so we have to have always have hope for a better day and we have to make sure we create this better world, we have to do our our part. That’s what I want to give to the world.”