Ney Matogrosso has led a career spanning five decades while preserving the aura of freedom that made him one of the country’s greatest artists. At 84, it’s no different. Even though he says the world wants him to stay home in his slippers, the singer says he’ll never stop. And make plans.
With a show scheduled for the 21st in São Paulo and planned, alongside Gilberto Gil, as the main attraction of New Year’s Eve in Rio de Janeiro, Ney says he is looking forward to the few days off between late 2025 and early 2026.
No wonder: it’s been a busy year, with tours, new projects, the release of his biopic, “Homem com H”, and, most recently, the recording of Tiny Desk Brasil, a musical project on American public radio NPR. The 2026 agenda, he says, is also busy.
For the first time, Ney will parade at the Rio Carnival. He will be honored by the Imperatriz Leopoldinense samba school – an invitation he refused for years. He reveals that he has changed his perception of not being good enough for the Brazilian festival and is now excited to join the festivities.
In public statements, the singer has already stated that he was born and would die with the soul of a transgressor. And he continues to break taboos, especially when it comes to sex. “I’m going to put an end to this story that when you reach 60, 70, you become an old man. It’s nothing.”
In 2025, the premiere of the film about his biography, “Man with an H”, his tours and the musical project Tiny Desk took place. At 84, where does the energy come from to take on so many projects?
I don’t know either. Actually, I’m quite tired. I’m dying to get to the end of the year to rest. It’ll be a mini vacation — until the New Year, when I’ll sing with Gil in Rio de Janeiro. Then, shows are scheduled from January to July.
The body is a very present element in your work. What do you do to take care of yourself?
I do gymnastics daily when I am in Rio de Janeiro, at home. I don’t do it at the hotel because you have to wear the outfit. I like to exercise as I am, just in shorts.
What project did you have the most fun with this year?
I loved everything, but it takes energy. All the projects really interested me, so I got involved. For example: with the film “The Man in the H”, I read 12 scripts, followed three days of recording, with 12 hours of filming. I like to work.
About the film, how did you feel seeing yourself projected on a cinema screen? Is this strange?
Very strange. But Jesuíta Barbosa (protagonist of “Homem com H”) is very good, a wonderful actress. There were times when watching the film I wondered: did they really take a piece of me and put it in the film?
At one point I was taking 20 acids regularly and when I reached the last one I decided I had had enough.
You said the film was a milestone and before we could go out on the streets, but now we’re getting closer to it all the time. How was this experience?
I’ve always been on the street here in Leblon, everyone is used to it. But suddenly, people come to talk to me who would never have approached me. Yesterday (Wednesday 10th) I went out and as I was coming back two teenagers arrived. One must have been around 15, the girlfriend around 14. They came to me and asked for a photo, and in the meantime two gentlemen were walking by and said, “You guys have great taste. I found it all very funny. I was there, standing in the middle of the street, taking a photo, and the couple walked by and talked about the boys. It was incredible.
You are considered an icon of sexual freedom. Do you consider yourself a very sexualized person?
Like it or not, I am. Whether you want to believe it or not, I am.
Has your relationship with sex changed over the course of your life?
It used to be sex for sex’s sake. These days I need to feel. Before, I didn’t need anything.
And today, are you single or in a relationship?
Bachelor.
In 2021, you posted a nude, by accident, on Instagram. How did you experience this at the time? Were you upset by the repercussions?
No, I handled it with peace of mind because, in fact, I knew how to delete the photo. The next day, Veja called me to ask. I said, “Look, I’m not lying. It was for one person. I was wrong and that’s it.
Were you surprised by people associating this episode with the fact that you are 80 years old? Are sex and older people still taboo?
In a way, yes. It’s taboo for someone my age to still have a sex life. But it exists. It’s not just me – and I think that’s great. So, I’m also going to end this taboo that you reach 60, 70 and are an old man. What an old man!
Is the world still very stupid?
The world is not used to these things. There are many rules. They think someone my age must already be retired, in their socks at home. I will never be like that. It’s not like me.
You experienced the peak of the HIV epidemic. Research shows that young people have stopped using condoms. What do you think of this change?
Today, it’s not like it was back then. I even understand why people don’t want to use it, even though they should pay attention to it. There are now medications to take the next day. Take PrEP (antiretroviral medicine to prevent HIV infection).
Do you believe in God?
Not in a God pointing the finger at humanity, saying what we should or shouldn’t do. In my opinion, God is a loving energy that does not judge or condemn. I have no religion. I see God in the garden, in the flower, in the orange tree. When I go to an orchard and walk through the orange grove, there is this delicious smell and I say, “Look at the smell of God.” I prefer to understand it that way rather than living in fear.
And what is your relationship to finitude and death? Do you think about death?
Normal. I accept. I live with this: my mother is 103 years old, she no longer gets up, and I see that this is what will happen to her — and I also have to accept my death. I’m not paranoid, I’m not trapped by the reality of life.
I didn’t have my dead, my twisted ways, now I have
What is your relationship with drugs?
Very positive. It opened up a perception of myself that I didn’t have. But today I don’t like it anymore, I don’t use it at all. I don’t judge anyone either. Everyone knows each other. At one point I was taking 20 acids regularly and when I reached the last one I decided I had had enough.
You sing Rita Lee songs in your show. Does this bring you closer to her, especially now that she’s gone?
I think so. For me, it is a great pleasure to sing Rita. We were on the same side of the coin. Our way of seeing the world was very similar. We were both very conflicted.
Is there a song in your repertoire that has changed meaning over the years?
“Latin blood”. When I released it, it was a normal song. Over time, it means more and more to me. It seems to me that I was already talking about myself. At that time, I didn’t have my deaths, my tortuous paths, now I do.
Are you working on anything new for 2026?
I recorded the soundtrack for a ballet. A lot of people ask me to be on their albums and I do – if I like it. At the Carnival, Imperatriz Leopoldinense will honor me and I agreed to participate, so it is very demanding. Even though I had already been invited, I had not accepted. I wasn’t part of the Carnival. But suddenly, this year, I decided to accept that I could be. And I see that I didn’t make a mistake. Leandro, the school carnival man, shows me all the costumes he designs: everything is wonderful. So, I’m dealing with Carnival, yes, people.
Is there something you haven’t accomplished yet that you dream of accomplishing?
What can I dream of? I am very successful in my career. I have a stable career. I always did it. Even when part of the population attacked me. So, I am satisfied.
with DIEGO ALEJANDRO, KARINA MATIAS and VICTORIA CÓCOLO
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