Johnston Farrugia (born 23 September 1980), better known by his stage names Hooligan or Hooli, is a Maltese rapper. He is known for being a pioneer in hip hop music in the

Maltese language Maltese ( mt, Malti, links=no, also ''L-Ilsien Malti'' or '), is a Semitic language derived from late medieval Sicilian Arabic with Romance superstrata spoken by the Maltese people. It is the national language of Malta and the only offici ...

Life

Hooligan was born on 23 September 1980. When he was 13 years old, he became a fan of

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

. At the age of 19, he moved from his hometown

Qrendi Qrendi ( mt, Il-Qrendi) is a village in the Southern Region of Malta, with a population of 2752 people as of March 2014. It is located close to Mqabba, Żurrieq and Siggiewi. Within its boundaries are two well-known Neolithic temples called ...

Żurrieq Żurrieq ( mt, Iż-Żurrieq ) is a town in the Southern Region of Malta. It is one of the oldest towns in the country, and it has a population of 11,823 inhabitants as of March 2014. The first documentation about it being a parish dates back to ...

. Hooli's career began in 2002, when he worked on the opening theme song of a Smash Television show. In February 2003, he released his debut album ''Oriġinali Bħali'', and it was a hit in Malta. After this success, he performed in many musical events in Malta and Gozo. In summer 2004, he released the single ''Nieħdu Buzz'', which was followed by his second album ''Hooliġinali'' in 2006. Hooliġinali also included a music video of Nieħdu Buzz. His third album, called ''Triloġinali'', was released in July 2012. The album included a few tracks in English, and some songs combined Hooli's usual hip hop with dance music. Throughout his music career, Hooli has been acknowledged for his success in the music industry. He has won a number of awards and in 2013 he won best Hip Hop and R&B artist at the

Malta Music Awards Malta Music Awards (MMA) is an annual music awards ceremony held since October 20, 1995 and organised by Mega Music Malta in collaboration with Public Broadcasting Services and Magic Malta. The aims of the Malta Music Awards include promotion of l ...

. In 2014 and 2016 Hooli placed on top during the first two editions of the Hip Hop Freestyle contest Botta u Risposta. Hooli has also represented Malta internationally with his latest being invited to accompany

Amber Bondin Amber Bondin (born 26 May 1991), also known as simply Amber, is a Maltese singer. The dynamic vocal tone of Maltese born performer Amber became widely recognized following her representation of Malta in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest. Since s ...

on stage in a number of festivals in China. Hooli's music career opened new pastures when he was invited to participate in a reality show shot in Germany and Poland. Whilst in 2017 he hosted a road trip show filmed around Europe and aired on one of the main local TV stations. In 2017, Hooli launched his new song and music video of ''Mument ta' Skiet''. Hooli was welcomed during the 2019 edition of Rock Opera Gensna, during which year the song ''Dak iz-Zmien'' made another hit in the local sphere. Hooligan is a supporter of

Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd), or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, ...

and the

England national football team The England national football team has represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Engl ...

Discography

Studio albums *''Oriġinali Bħali'' (2003) *''Hooliġinali'' (2006) *''Triloġinali'' (2012) Singles *''Nieħdu Buzz'' (2004) *''Mument tas-Skiet'' (2017) *''il-Melodija tat-Triq'' – ft. Digby (2018) *''Tipprovax'' – ft. Kapitlu 13 (2018) *''Dak iz-Zmien'' (2019) *''Fatum'' – ft. Carlo Borg Bonaci (2020) *''Tiftakar Pa'' (2021) *''Rispett'' – ft. Lokko (2021)

References

1980 births Living people Maltese male rappers People from Qrendi People from Żurrieq {{hiphop-bio-stub