Art Popular

Origin

São Paulo, SP

Genres

samba, pagode, pop

Instruments

cavaquinho, percussion, tantã, repique, reco-reco

Biography

Art Popular is a prominent Brazilian musical group formed in São Paulo during the first half of the 1980s, specifically emerging from a circle of friends meeting at the Casa da Uva bar in the Tucuruvi neighborhood. Led notably by founding members such as Leandro Lehart and Márcio Art, the group became a defining force in the pagode and samba scene, taking their name from a lyric by Jorge Aragão. Throughout their career, they achieved significant commercial success with hit albums like Nova Era, Temporal, and Sambapopbrasil, known for incorporating diverse elements like pop, funk, forró, and electronic music into traditional samba structures.

Over the decades, the band has undergone various line-up changes and hiatuses, with key members like Leandro Lehart leaving and returning at different points. Their extensive discography features landmark releases such as the pioneering Acústico MTV in 2000—the first acoustic album by a samba group in MTV history—as well as collaborative projects featuring icons like Jorge Ben Jor. Continuing to record and perform into the 2020s with projects like Batuque de Magia, Art Popular remains an enduring pillar of contemporary Brazilian popular music.