Biography
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Born
21 March 1988 (age 36)
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Born In
São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Rashid: “Focus on the mission!”
On 1988 in São Paulo, Brazil, the three first rap compilations of Brazilian rap/hip-hop were launched; 'Hip-Hop: Street Culture', 'The Sound of the Streets' and 'Black Consciousness, Volume 1'. These works were responsible for proving it was possible to make rap in Portuguese and also put the first generation of Brazilian rap artists such as Thaide & DJ Hum, Racionais MCs, Os Metralhas and NDee Naldinho Rap on the map. This same year, a kid in north side of São Paulo was born who 22 years later would produce his first hit in the Brazilian rap world. And it's title couldn't be more suggestive: 'Time to Wake up'. Michel Costa, a.k.a. Rashid, has been in the game since the time he was called "son" by his old folks and is now 27 years old. However, times goes by (and fast!). Before gaining more attention outside of the rap world, Rashid forged his ability with rhymes and flows attending and winning important local MC battles in 2007 and 2008. Since his first hit in 2010, he has produced another four albums, launched several videos on YouTube, showed up in movies, been interviewed for magazine and newspaper articles, was nominated in the MTV Video Music Brazil Awards 2012 for the categories of Best New Artist and Hit of the Year for the video "Time to Wake up", worked on his own clothing brand called Focus on the Mission and, of course, done hundreds of performances including one in SXSW in Austin, Texas, in 2014. In U.S. terms, he could be a mix of Jay-Z and Damon Dash in their glorious years. But he stands by himself as Rashid, an Arabic name that means “fair” and “honest." His main influences from American rap are Rakim, Nas, Jay-Z and Talib Kweli. However, he doesn't deny the Brazilian roots of his music having artists such as Caetano Veloso, Maria Bethania and Milton Nascimento also as sources of inspiration to his beats and rhymes. Having a Facebook page with more than one million likes, over twenty-thousand followers on Twitter, another one hundred and eleven thousand followers on Instagram and countless hits on his videos on YouTube, Rashid is part of a new group of Brazilian rap artists who have diversified the topics of rap lyrics. This change has made rap in Brazil more acceptable to people who are not necessarily Black and poor, the traditional audience for this musical genre. A good example of Rashid's creativity can be seen in his conception of "focus on the mission". The term gives name to his line clothing line (of t-shirts, caps and hoods) but it is also a kind of life philosophy branded by the MC. After so many albums launched since 2010, Rashid is ready to explore new territories. He is going overseas in order to put Brazilian rap on the map, a "mission" which has already been done by his fellow MCs Emicida, Criolo, Karol Conká, Rael and others. This new generation of artists is taking advantage of the new social and economic reality of Brazil. They are fairly comfortable with technology, international trips and partnerships with artists who do not have Portuguese as his/her first language, staying focused on their mission of making Brazilian hip hop bigger and international.
Discography:
2010: 'Hora de Acordar' Mixtape
2011: 'Dádiva ou Divida' Mixtape
2012: 'Que Assim Seja' Mixtape
2013: 'Confundindo Sábios' Mixtape
2014: 'Seis Sons' EP (with Kamau)
2014: 'Patrão' Single (with Tassia Reis)
2014: 'Gratidão' Single
2016: 'A Coragem da Luz' Album
2017: 'Diário de Bordo' EP (with DJ Caique)
2018: 'Crise' Album
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