At an early age, he already seemed possessed by the devil of rhythm. As a child, Carlinhos was attracted by the many Salvadoran feasts. Up and down the town, he was in every place where music was played, listening and dreaming. As a teenager, he changed his name from Antonio Carlos Santos Freita to Carlinhos Brown after the name of his idol, James Brown, the godfather of American soul music. This childhood filled with music and freedom (he only attended primary school) was followed by two important encounters that shaped the life and future career of Carlinhos Brown.

Two musicians who represented opposite musical extremes had a tremendous influence on Brown’s development. First, there was Osvaldo Alves da Silva, known as the Master Pintado do Bongo, who introduced Brown to the world of percussion and rhythmic precision. A member of the Ketu tribe, he passed on all this knowledge to his disciple, from the tambourine to the small drum and from the small drum to the Reco-Reco. For Brown, da Silva represented musical exactitude and perfection.

The second musician who influenced Brown greatly was Fialuna. An artist with Angolan roots, Fialuna represented the street, the fun, and the noise of the atabaque. From then on, Brown was deeply involved in the Salvadoran music scene.

He opened himself to new musical experiences and began to make a place for himself in the world of music. At the WR studios in Bahia in the early 1980s, Brown learned to play instruments he had never encountered before and acquired production techniques by composing jingles.

He also performed as a percussionist with different Salvadoran bands. But even at this early stage in his career, Brown was already growing restless. He needed to see more, to know more, so he set himself to the difficult task of collecting and codifying all the rhythms scattered throughout the region of Bahia. In 1984, Brown joined the Banda Acordes Verdes as a percussionist.

He also began composing pieces for other musicians, including Luis Caldas, for whom Brown wrote the radio hit “Visao Ciclope.” Soon after that success, “Remexer,” “O Coco,” and “E Difficil,” all written by Brown and sung by other artists, reached the top of the charts. This was the beginning of a stunningly successful career as a songwriter.

In the following years, Brown wrote 26 songs that reached number one on the charts, a phenomenon that won him the Caymmi Trophy, the highest musical distinction in Bahia. By the mid-1980s, the general public and music producers began to recognize Brown as a highly talented artist.

In 1988 and 1989, he performed as a percussionist with Caetano Veloso and Djavan. During the first series of concerts he gave with Veloso, Brown used a bucket, a watering can, and a dustbin as percussion instruments.

He also performed on worldwide tours with Joao Gilberto, Joao Bosco, and Djavan. He composed songs for Gal Costa, Cassia Eller, Nando Reis, Daniela Mercury, Herbert Vianna, Marisa Monte and also recorded duets with some of them. But Brown still needed more, and he began to reach beyond Latin America. He appeared on Bahia Black: Ritual Beating System, an album produced by Bill Laswell that mixed traditional Brazilian music with funk and jazz and paired Carlinhos with legendary jazz musicians Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock.

In 1993, Brazilian artist Sergio Mendes won the Grammy Award for Best World Music Album with Brasileiro. It was a triumph for Brown as well: he composed five of the twelve songs on the award-winning album. The most surprising collaboration Brown has been involved in is with Sepultura, Brazil’s heavy metal band. On their last album, Roots, (March 1996), Brown composed and performed on three tracks (“Ratamahatta,” “Dictatorshit,” and “Endangered Species”). There is no doubt that Brown is one of the most creative Brazilian artists of his generation.

In 1996, Carlinhos recorded his first major solo effort, Alfagamabetizado. Carlinhos Brown is also the founder of the acclaimed Timbalada, one of Bahia's most popular bands featuring 120 different instrumentalists and singers. Based in Carlinhos' native Candeal, Timbalada is also a community association that has developed many educational and cultural programs for the children in the community.

On June 22, 2004, Shanachie Entertainment issued Carlinhos Brown on its World Music Portraits DVD series. Carlinhos believes that his music speaks to all people.  He explains, "I believe that my music will cross borders, because it is a music open to the world, open to everyone." Carlinhos Brown, a film by Claude Santiago,  invites viewers to experience a revealing look at the beautiful and vibrant culture that has cultivated the now international star. As Carlinhos walks the streets of his native Candeal, he is greeted by residents and children who revere him as a community hero. Carlinhos Brown not only exposes Carlinhos Brown the man but also showcases Carlinhos the electrifying performer. He has a remarkable ability to conjure up a tornado of mind blowing poly-rhythms on everything from a plastic bucket to a tin can. He says, "I was born to play drums. I cultivate rhythms. My head is like a museum."

On stage, Carlinhos' attire is often as show-stopping as his music. From his stunning long dreadlocks to wearing gigantic rubber pacifiers and soda can tab earrings, Carlinhos has a commanding presence. A high point on Carlinhos Brown is a live show in Salvador, Bahia in front of 50, 000 enthusiastic fans. Carlinhos gives exhilarating performances of such songs as "Uma Brasileira" "Segue 0 Seco" "Vide Gal" and his world music hit "A Namorada," which was featured in the Sandra Bullock blockbuster Speed 2.