Doctors say he had been hospitalized for several months due to a lung infection.
Da Silva is known as the architect of the “Sambandido” style of music – which depicts life in the slums over traditional samba music. The style is often considered a precursor to American “gangsta rap.”
Da Silva’s lyrics focused on drugs, crime, poverty, police brutality and the persona of the “malandro,” or a street-hustler who presided over Rio’s slums several decades ago.
His songs included “Somebody Kidnapped my Mother-in-Law,” and “Cocaine Overdose.”
Born in northeastern Brazil, da Silva reached Rio de Janeiro at the age of 15, working as a house painter before performing professionally as a musician.
VOA