Raymundo Nonato Sodré, is a Brazilian musician known for working in rootsy styles of music outside of the mainstream. He was raised by his mother, filha-de-santo in a terreiro of candomblé Angola outside of Ipirá run by her mãe-de-santo sister. It was in this house of candomblé that Sodré learned to drum. He later learned to play guitar, taught at first by his mother.
At the age of seven Sodré moved together with his mother to the capital of Salvador, settling in the neighborhood of São Caetano. His holidays were spent with his father in Santo Amaro, Bahia, and he and his mother made frequent trips back to Ipirá as well. It was in Santa Amaro and Ipirá that Sodré absorbed the styles of music for which he later became famous, samba-de-roda and samba-chula, and the baiãos of Luiz Gonzaga and Jackson do Pandeiro.
In 1980 Sodré achieved nationwide success with his hit "A Massa"-a song based in samba-de-roda-after placing third in a nationally televised talent competition. This success was short-lived however; Sodré spoke openly and critically of a powerful Brazilian politician who had come to power during the dictatorship, and pressure was brought to bear on Sodré's record company.