General D is a rapper,

Hip hop tuga Portuguese hip hop (''Hip hop português''), more commonly called hip hop tuga ("tuga" here being a slang for "Portuguese"), is the Portuguese variety of hip hop music. It differs from mainstream hip hop because it has strong influences from Af ...

and World music artist. Being the first rapper in Portugal to sign a major record deal, he is considered the ''Godfather Of Portuguese Hip Hop''. Although largely influenced by big name U.S. rap acts such as

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

and Ice-T, his music carried a distinct African flavor incorporating many live tribal percussion instruments. He recorded two solo albums for

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

Valentim de Carvalho Valentim de Carvalho () is a Portuguese record label founded in 1914. History The company started selling phonograph, musical instruments and music since its 1914 foundation at the Rua da Assunção, Lisbon. It distributes EMI in Portugal si ...

and has also appeared as a guest on other artists' releases including; Ithaka,

Cool Hipnoise Cool Hipnoise is a Portuguese musical group. The band was formed in Lisbon in 1994 by Tiago Santos (guitar), João Gomes (keyboards), Paulo Muiños (saxophones), Nuno Reis (trumpet), Francisco Rebelo (bass) and Melo D (voice). Initially an acid j ...

, Água d'Amanhã and Pop Dell'Arte.

Early life

General D (Sergio Matsinhe) was born in

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the Capital city, capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a popul ...

(then Lourenço Marques) the capital city of the

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, (a former Portuguese colony), his family immigrated to

Barreiro Barreiro may refer to: People * Bruno Barreiro (born 1965), American politician * Gustavo Barreiro (1959–2019), American politician * Manu Barreiro (born 1986), Spanish footballer Places * Barreiro, Portugal ** Barreiro Municipality, a munic ...

on the southern shore of the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see #Name, below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections ...

river near

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

when he was two years old. As a youth he competed in

Track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

events and set regional records for both the

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

and the

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the individu ...

Early career

In 1990, at the age of nineteen, General D was one of organizers of the very first rap festival in Portugal. The event was held at the Sociedade Filarmónica Incrível Almadense, in

Almada Almada () is a city and a municipality in Portugal, located on the southern margin of the Tagus River, on the opposite side of the river from Lisbon. The two cities are connected by the 25 de Abril Bridge. The population in 2011 was 174,030, in a ...

. There he presented the rap group Black Company (of which he was one of the founding members) and also the project, Africa Power. He also performed with his first band along with co-members, singer Maimuna Jalles and the rapper, Lince. In 1991 he made his first studio recording as a guest vocalists and lyricist on the track "MC Holy" by the Portuguese new-wave band, Pop dell'Arte for their album, Ready-Made. It was through the TV program, ''Lentes de Contacto'' (produced by Latina Europa), where General D met composer/producer Tiago Lopes who in 1993 invited him to record the track "Norte Sul" for the film, ''Até amanhã, Mário'' (See You Tomorrow Mario). This gained the attention of several Portuguese record labels and General D eventually signed a multiple-album deal with

, a local sub-division of

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

. In 1994 he released the controversial EP "PortuKKKal É Um Erro" (Portugal is Error), lyrically shedding light on Portugal's previously hidden racism. The attention derived from this record frequently got General D invited to primetime television talk shows, to discuss the problems of African immigrants to Portugal, from the former Portuguese colonies In 1995, he released his first full-length album "Pé na Tchôn, Karapinha Na Céu", recorded with a group live African musicians, known as Os Karapinhas. The first single was "Black Magic Woman" (featuring Sam). The song's well-produced video was a favorite on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

Portugal at the time, leading to many opportunities for live performances. In 1997, General D released his second album "Kanimambo". It was produced by

Joe Fossard Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

and recorded at Regiestúdio in Lisbon and featured several guest performers including the legendary António Chainho on

Portuguese Guitar The Portuguese guitar or Portuguese guitarra ( pt, guitarra portuguesa, ) is a plucked string instrument with twelve steel strings, strung in six course (music), courses of two strings. It is one of the few musical instruments that still uses wat ...

for the song, "Hora Di Bai". Nuno Guerreiro contributed vocals on a politically oriented track entitled, "

Xanana Gusmão José Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão (; born 20 June 1946) is an East Timorese politician. A former rebel, he was the third President of the independent East Timor, serving from 2002 to 2007. He then became its fourth prime minister, serving from ...

". The percussionist, Netos Do N'Gumbé performed on the song, "Respeito". Lyrics for the song, "Rappi Ta Doddo" were written by Brazilian superstar

Gabriel O Pensador Gabriel Contino, better known as Gabriel o Pensador (Portuguese for "Gabriel the Thinker") is a Brazilian rapper, writer, and composer known for his conscious lyrics which speak of activism, and issues of race, politics, social problems, and the C ...

. And singer

Marta Dias Marta Dias is a São Toméan Portuguese singer of jazz, world music and fado who has recorded several solo albums and has additionally recorded and toured extensively with guitarist António Chainho. She has also appeared on several Hip hop re ...

and Californian rapper/lyricist Ithaka appeared on the song, "Ekos do Passado". General D toured extensively with this album nationally and also performed in Spain and France.

Disappearance From Portugal

A few years later, General D then spent several months in Jamaica preparing his third album with legendary reggae duo

Sly and Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separa ...

(as producers), but the disc was never released by

and until this day has never been heard by the public. In the years that followed, General D went missing. Rumors circulated on the rapper's whereabout, but were never confirmed until 2014.

Reappearance And Career Comeback

After eventually being tracked down by acclaimed writer and culture journalist, Vitor Belanciano in London, General D gave an exclusive interview to Belanciano for an issue of Ipsilon Magazine, a supplement of the Portuguese newspaper, Público. General D confessed that he had seen hard times abroad mostly living in London, and at one point was even cleaning the streets in New York City. He appeared on the cover of that issue of the magazine, an exposure that brought about many reunions in the music industry. In 2015, a double-disc release featuring both of his studio albums, ''Pé na Tchôn, Karapinha Na Céu'' and ''Kanimambo'' were released by his original label

. And General D finally returned to the stages that had defined his early career. On March 8, 2019, a large concert took place called "A História Do Hip-Hop Tuga" (The History of Portuguese Hip Hop) at the Altice Arena, part of the

Parque das Nações The Parque das Nações (; en, Park of the Nations), colloquially known as Expo (as the site of the 1998 Lisbon World Exposition), is a ''freguesia'' (civil parish) of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Located in eastern Lisbon, Parque das Naçõe ...

complex, just outside of Lisbon (he site of the former

Expo'98 Expo '98 (1998 Lisbon World Exposition) was an official specialised World's Fair held in Lisbon, Portugal from Friday, 22 May to Wednesday, 30 September 1998. The theme of the fair was "The Oceans, a Heritage for the Future", chosen in part to c ...

). The show, produced by Música no Coração, featured many of the founding fathers of hip hop in Portugal, many with their roots directly from Africa. Performers included; General D,

Boss AC Ângelo César do Rosário Firmino, better known by the stage name Boss AC (born January 20, 1975) is a Portugal, Portuguese rapper originally from Cape Verde. The letters A and C, in Boss AC, come from the initials of his two names, Ângelo and C ...

, Black Company, Chullage, NBC e Sir Scratch.

Album Cover Art

The photographs on the covers, back covers and cd booklets of all General D's releases (and even the image for his 2014 cover issue of Ipsilon Magazine) were made by his personal friend, the; recording artist, sculptor and hip hop photographer Ithaka Darin Pappas, a Californian who had lived in Lisbon during the formation period of

. Before moving to Portugal in 1992, Ithaka had previously been working in Los Angeles with artists such as

Eazy E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. He is often referred to ...

N.W.A. N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip hop group whose members were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered ...

and

for

Priority Records Priority Records is an American distribution company and record label known for artists including N.W.A, Ice-T, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Big L, Silkk the Shocker and Westside Connection. It also distributed hip hop record labels including Death Row R ...

Albums

*1995 General D & Os Karapinhas - "Pé Na Tchôn, Karapinha Na Céu" - Label:

*1997 General D "Kanimambo" - Label:

*2015 e-ReleaseKanimambo and Pé Na Tchôn, Karapinha Na Céu" (Double-Album Special Edition)

Singles

*1994 General D "PortukKKKal" - Label:

*1996 General D (feat. Sam) "Black Magik Woman" - Label:

*1997 General D "Rappi Ta Doddo" - Label:

*1997 General D "Estado De Sítio (O Ke É Ke Se Passa)" Label:

Guest appearances On Other Artists' Songs

*1992 "MC Holy" Pop Dell'Arte feat. General D - Album: Ready-Made /Label: Variodisc *1995 "Soldadinho" Cool Hipnoise feat. General D - Album: Nascer Do Soul / Label: Nortesul *1995 "Erase the Slate Of Hate" Ithaka feat. General D - Album: Flowers And The Color Of Paint - Label: Fábrica De Sons *1998 "Regadinho" Água d'Amanhã feat. General D

External links

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:General D Living people 21st-century Portuguese male singers Singers from Lisbon Portuguese hip hop musicians 1971 births 20th-century Portuguese male singers