Samba-reggae arose in the context of the black pride movement that occurred in the city of Salvador de Bahia, around the 1970s, and it still carries connotations of ethnic identity and pride for Afro-Brazilians today.
Samba-reggae represents an effort by black Brazilians to develop a Carnival parade music that they could call their own, and to form all-black or mostly-black blocos with which they could parade during Carnival.