This chapter picks up Norberto Tavares’s career in 1976, as his musical visions began to be realized. Tavares arrived in Lisbon in 1973 with big dreams, and over the next seven years he made a name for himself through recordings and tours with the Cabo Verdean band Black Power. He broke new ground with the song “Nos Cabo Verde di sperança,” his postcolonial hymn of hope for Cabo Verde that inspired listeners throughout the diaspora, but it was his solo album Volta pa fonti in 1979 that firmly established young Tavares as a musical trailblazer and social activist. The chapter begins with a discussion of “Nos Cabo Verde di sperança” and then looks into factors that shaped Tavares’s new works, which began to take on sociopolitical themes like racial discrimination and the legacy of slavery. The chapter ends with an analysis of Tavares’s landmark album Volta pa fonti, which featured sounds and lyrics inspired by his Badiu heritage. During this 1976–79 time period, Tavares reached maturity as a musician, delving deep into his heritage as a creative source and focusing on Cabo Verdean nation-building during its early days of independence.

“Nos Cabo Verde di sperança” (Our Cabo Verde of hope)

In 1976 Black Power recorded several records with Nhô Balta, a Cabo Verdean colonial war veteran and intellectual who was also an established professional singer. One collaboration led to a 45 rpm, 7-inch record release. The A side contained the song “Tartaruga” sung by Nhô Balta, and the B side featured Tavares’s hymn “Nos Cabo Verde di sperança”. Tavares’s song of hope and unity during the early days of Cabo Verdean nation building sold well, and the hymn remained strongly associated with the artist throughout the rest of his career.

Capitalizing on the single’s popularity, Black Power released their third full album later in 1977, including the hymn again on their extended LP and titling the project Nos Cabo Verde di sperança. The album included a morna written and sung by Tavares called “Cu Amor di Deus No Ta Ama,” showcasing Tavares’s talent at writing and singing ballads, but “Nos Cabo Verde di sperança” was the LP’s most popular song.