Mas Que Nada is a song written and originally recorded in 1963 by Jorge Ben on his debut album Samba Esquema Novo. It was later covered in 1966 by Sérgio Mendes, with his band Brasil '66 on their debut album Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66, becoming one of his signature songs. Brazilians use Mas Que Nada (literal translation = just nothing) colloquially to disagree with someone. A fitting English translation might be a sarcastic Yeah, right ! or No way !
Jorge Duílio Lima Menezes is a Brazilian popular musician, performing under the stage name Jorge Ben. His characteristic style fuses Samba, Funk, Rock and Bossa Nova with lyrics that blend humour and satire with often esoteric subject matter. The hybrid rhythms that Jorge employed brought him some problems at the start of his career, when Brazilian music was split between the rockier sounds of the Jovem Guarda and traditional Samba with its complex lyrics. However, as that phase in Brazilian pop music history passed and Bossa Nova became better known throughout the world, Ben rose to prominence. His musical work has been vastly sampled by music producers and DJs and covered by many bands in a variety of genres such as Heavy Metal, Disco, Rock, Reggae, Jazz, Drum and Bass, House Music and more.
