Paula Lima

Paula Lima launched her career as a funk and soul vocalist during the 1990s, first taking the microphone in São Paulo in 1992 as a member of Unidade Móvel, the ensemble later known as Unidade Bop. Two years afterward she appeared on the group’s CD Quebrando o Gelo do Clube. In 1995 she contributed backing vocals to Jorge Ben Jor’s album 23, then in 1997 joined the soul collective Zomba, with whom she cut the independent release also titled Zomba; around the same time she guested on stage with the rap duo Thaíde & DJ Hum and laid down a track for them. By 1998 she had entered the funk big band Funk Como Le Gusta, joining them for the 1999 album Roda de Funk. Solo appearances at Hipódromo Up in Rio de Janeiro and additional dates in São Paulo date from this period, as does her contribution to the soundtrack of the film Amores Possíveis. In January 2001 the band played the Humaitá Pra Peixe festival at Rio’s Sérgio Porto cultural center, bringing Daúde and Gerson King Combo as special guests. For her debut solo album, É Isso Aí, Jorge Ben Jor supplied the new composition “A Paz Dançando na Avenida.” Ed Motta served as arranger and vocalist on two songs co-written by Lima, Motta, and co-producer Bernardo Vilhena—“As Famosas Gargalhadas do Yuca” and “Perdão Talvez”—while further guests on the record included Gerson King Combo, Xis, Cláudio Zoli, Ivo Meirelles, and Banda Black Rio.