Mozambique started life in 1960s Cuba as a parade rhythm developed by Pedro Izquierdo ("Pello el Afrokán") — a hybrid of mambo, conga, and rumba designed for street processions. It would have stayed there if Steve Gadd hadn't picked it up in the 1970s and turned it into one of the most-recorded grooves in modern American music. Gadd's "Late in the Evening" (Paul Simon, 1980) is the canonical mozambique — it's also the reason most non-Cuban drummers know the rhythm at all.
Mozambique sits at the intersection of mambo and funk. It's syncopated like mambo, but the kick lands on the strong beats (1 and 2) like a rock or funk groove. The result is a deeply danceable Latin pattern that fits inside almost any pop tune.
The Signature Accent: &-of-2
If there is one note that defines mozambique, it's the accent on the &-of-2. The pattern revolves around it. Gadd-style mozambique amplifies that accent until it's almost a backbeat — the loudest moment in the bar, hitting where most rock drummers would expect beat 2 itself. Get the &-of-2 accent right and you have mozambique; miss it and you have a generic Latin pattern.
Exercises
Bell plays steady 8ths (or quarters if you prefer — both are common). Snare hits land on the &-of-2 (the accent) and on beat 4 (a softer hit). Kick on 1 and 2 — adjacent quarters, like a marching bass-drum. The &-of-2 snare is the loudest note in the bar. Make sure you can hear it cut through the bell.
Gadd-style funky mozambique. Kick on 1, 2, and the &-of-3 — that &-of-3 is the funk-pocket addition that makes the pattern crackle. Snare adds a hit on beat 3 plus the &-of-3, almost like a paradiddle accent. The &-of-2 snare accent is still the loudest. Late in the Evening, by Paul Simon — if you have it on hand, play it once and try to match Gadd's pattern.
Same kick and snare as Exercise 2, but the bell is now syncopated — try moving from steady 8ths into a mambo-bell-flavoured figure (1, &-of-2, 3, 4, &-of-4). The kit voicing is yours: bell of ride, mounted cowbell, or even hi-hat. The mozambique character comes from the snare-and-kick interplay; the bell can be embellished without changing the genre.
Same Gadd pattern, pushed to ♩=116 — closer to where mozambique typically lives. At this speed the &-of-2 accent has to be even crisper or it disappears under the bell. If the kick on the &-of-3 starts dragging the kick on beat 1, slow back down. Tempo is a graduation criterion, not a starting point.