Pôngo

Portugal's Pongo first rose to attention through her vocal work alongside the Lisbon collective Buraka Som Sistema, most notably on their Spanish number-one single "Kalemba (Wegue-Wegue)" from 2008, before stepping forward as a solo artist in 2018. Born in Angola and raised in Lisbon's suburbs on a steady mix of Kuduro, R&B, and pop, she began recording under the name Pongolove, a nickname her father chose in honor of Congolese vocalist M'Pongo Love. Her contributions to Buraka Som Sistema quickly earned wider notice, and in the years that followed she lent her voice to tracks by Quantic and Massivedrum. A decade after that early success, she issued her debut solo EP, Baia, a seven-track set that fused Kuduro, EDM, and pop and spotlighted the single "Tambulaya."