Renato Russo, the artistic name of Renato Manfredini Júnior, was a Brazilian singer and songwriter, famous for being the singer and founder of rock band Legião Urbana. Before founding the group, Renato joined the musical group Aborto Elétrico, from which he left due to constant fights between him and the drummer Fê Lemos. He adopted the artistic surname Russo in honor of the English Bertrand Russell, the Swiss Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the French Henri Rousseau.

Renato died due to complications caused by HIV on October 11, 1996, at the time of the age of 36, with only one day left for the band's birthday. Singer's friends say he contracted the disease after becoming involved with a boy he met in New York, who had the disease in 1989. As a member of the Legião Urbana, Renato released eight studio albums, five live albums, some posthumously and several stories. He also recorded three solo albums and sang alongside Herbert Vianna, Adriana Calcanhoto, Cássia Eller, Paulo Ricardo, Erasmo Carlos, Leila Pinheiro, Biquíni Cavadão, 14 Bis and Plebe Rude.

In October 2008, Rolling Stone magazine promoted the List of One Hundred Greatest Artists of Brazilian Music, in which Renato Russo is in 25th place.