Favela Romance: Luisa Maita and "Maria e Moleque"

Luisa Maita, a Brazilian singer-songwriter, brings us our random tune today. Born into a musical family in Sao Paolo, Brazil, she learned to sing samba and bossa nova as well as her father's compositions, and her professional career began at age seven singing jingles. She founded her first band, Urbanda, in 1999 and began collaborating with musicians from her generation. A collaboration with Brazilian singer Virginia Rosa, who recorded two of Maita's songs for one of her albums, encouraged Maita to continue writing songs. In 2010 she recorded her solo album Lero-Lero, which led National Public Radio to hail her as the "New Voice of Brazil." Her music draws inspiration from the samba, but also pop influences such as Michael Jackson, Prince and Stevie Wonder. This song, Maria e Moleque, is from her 2010 release Lero-Lero.