Liniker

Brazilian singer-songwriter Liniker rose to fame in the 2010s as the lead singer of the band Liniker e os Caramelows, a genre-bending act whose socially minded body of work fiercely advocated for Black and LGBT rights. Born Liniker de Barros Ferreira Campos on July 3, 1995, in Araquara, São Paulo, she was exposed to a wide array of genres from a very young age, absorbing everything from rock to MPB, jazz, and soul. Despite being raised by a single mother and coming face to face with discrimination very early on in her life, she took solace in the arts, citing Cartola, Elza Soares, Etta James, Nina Simone, and Caetano Veloso as some of her biggest influences. After relocating to Santo André in 2014 to attend drama school, she came out as trans and began her musical journey with the critically acclaimed R&B and soul outfit Liniker e os Caramelows, with whom she toured the world and even earned a Latin Grammy nomination for the 2019 album Goela Abaixo. During this time, Liniker also found the time to collaborate with artists such as Francisco, el Hombre, Supercombo, and legendary blues musician John Lee Hooker, who featured her on his 2017 single "Flutua." In 2020, she left the band to focus on her solo career, making her official debut in 2021 with the independently-released album Indigo Borboleta Anil. A live version of "Psiu," one of the album's singles, reached Number 125 on the Brazilian Top 200 in 2023.