Antônio Luiz Júnior (born November 7, 1971), better known by his stage name Rappin' Hood, is a Brazilian rapper, record producer, activist and former television presenter. He is famous for being a pioneer of the "''samba'' rap" in the mid- to late 1990s.

Biography

Antônio Luiz Júnior was born on November 7, 1971 in the ''

bairro A ''bairro'' () is a Portuguese word for a quarter or a neighborhood or, sometimes, a district which is within a city or town. It is commonly used in Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, and other Portuguese-speaking places. ''Bairro'' i ...

'' of

Heliópolis Heliópolis is a favela in the Sacomã district of São Paulo. It has around 200,000 inhabitants and has developed into a serviced neighbourhood from its beginnings as a squatted settlement in the 1970s. Geography Heliopolis had about 120,000 in ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

. Diagnosed with

vitiligo Vitiligo is a disorder that causes the skin to lose its color. Specific causes are unknown but studies suggest a link to immune system changes. Signs and symptoms The only sign of vitiligo is the presence of pale patchy areas of depigmen ...

early in his childhood, he began writing his first songs when he was circa 14 years old, also taking

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standar ...

and

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a so ...

lessons. His career as a rapper officially began in 1989, after he won a

rap battle Battle rap (also known as rap battling)Edwards, Paul, 2009, p. 25. is a type of rapping performed between two or more performers that incorporates boasts, insults and wordplay. Battle rap is often performed or freestyled spontaneously in live ...

, subsequently taking the stage name "Rappin' Hood" as a

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

on legendary English outlaw

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is de ...

. In 1992 he formed the group Posse Mente Zulu, or PMZ, recording with them one of the greatest hits of the early Brazilian hip hop scene, "Sou Negrão"; he left PMZ in 2001 to start a solo career with the release of ''Sujeito Homem'' through independent label Trama, which was lauded by critics owing to its inventive mix of hip hop and ''

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havi ...

''. A sequel, ''Sujeito Homem 2'', came out in 2005 and counted with guest appearances of famous musicians such as

Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encomp ...

Jair Rodrigues Jair Rodrigues de Oliveira (February 6, 1939 – May 8, 2014) was a Brazilian musician and singer. He is the father of Luciana Mello and Jair Oliveira, who also followed in his footsteps and became musicians. Biography Born in Igarapava, Rodr ...

Arlindo Cruz Arlindo Cruz (born September 14, 1958, birth name Arlindo Domingos da Cruz Filho) is a Brazilian musician and songwriter, working in the genre of samba and pagode. Arlindo took part in the most important formation of Grupo Fundo de Quintal, and i ...

Zélia Duncan Zélia Duncan (, 28 October 1964), born Zélia Cristina Gonçalves Moreira, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter. Biography Duncan was born in Niterói, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. She moved with her family to Brasília, where she lived for 16 ...

Gilberto Gil Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira (; born 26 June 1942), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and politician, known for both his musical innovation and political activism. From 2003 to 2008, he served as Brazil's Minister of Culture in the administratio ...

and

Dudu Nobre João Eduardo de Salles Nobre, known as Dudu Nobre (Rio de Janeiro, RJ, November 6, 1974), is a Brazilian composer and singer. Biography He is the son of the engineer João Nobre and of Anita Nobre. His mother, Anita Nobre, controlled three pa ...

. A third installment came out in 2015. Also in 2001 he was a guest musician on

Sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identiti ...

's debut (and ultimately only release), ''

Rap É Compromisso! ''Rap é Compromisso'' is the first and only studio album by Brazilian rapper Sabotage, released in 2001. Tracks #"Introdução" - (2:30) #"Rap é Compromisso!" (com Negra Li) - (4:23) #"Um Bom Lugar" (com Black Alien) - (5:05) #"No Brooklin" ...

''. In 2004 he recorded the songs "É Tudo no Meu Nome" and "Se Essa Rua" (the latter featuring

Luciana Mello Luciana Mello (born January 22, 1979) is a Brazilian singer and professional dancer. Mello began her musical training early in life, taking voice and dance lessons. As a child, she sang in choirs and later performed in musicals. She emerged on ...

) for the soundtrack of the film '' Meu Tio Matou um Cara''. In 2005 he was a guest musician on band

Charlie Brown Jr. Charlie Brown Jr. was a Brazilian alternative rock band from Santos, São Paulo. The group was popular with disadvantaged youth because of their relatable commentary about social issues and the frequent use of skate punk and hip hop slang in ...

's album '' Imunidade Musical'', on the track "Cada Cabeça Falante Tem sua Tromba de Elefante". The same year, the music video for his song "Us Guerreiro" was nominated for the

MTV Video Music Brazil The MTV Video Music Brazil awards (originally Video Music Awards Brazil), more commonly known as VMB, were MTV Brasil's annual award ceremony, established in 1995. MTV viewers picked the winners for most categories since 2001. Unlike in the MTV V ...

award in the "Best Rap Video" category. From 2008 to 2009 he hosted the hip hop culture-oriented

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a com ...

''Manos e Minas'' on

TV Cultura TV Cultura or simply Cultura, is a free Brazilian public television network headquartered in São Paulo and a part of Father Anchieta Foundation, a non-profit foundation funded by the São Paulo State Government. It focuses on educational ...

. In 2016 he made his first performance at the sixth edition of

Rock in Rio ''Rock in Rio'' is a recurring music festival originating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas. Nine incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 199 ...

. In 2019 he partnered with Japanese singer MIC on her single "Try", released on April 4. The same year he announced he would be returning to college, to finish a

Management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

course he began two decades prior, also stating he began work on a new album entitled ''Os Dez Mandamentos'', described as a concept album inspired by the

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments ( Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...

. In June 2022 he was diagnosed with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rappin Hood 1971 births Living people Brazilian rappers Brazilian activists Brazilian television presenters Afro-Brazilian musicians Brazilian hip hop musicians Brazilian record producers 20th-century Brazilian male singers 20th-century Brazilian singers 21st-century Brazilian male singers 21st-century Brazilian singers Singers from São Paulo People with vitiligo Brazilian male singer-songwriters Brazilian singer-songwriters