Xis

The rapper was born and raised in Itaquera, a poor, violent borough on the east side of São Paulo. Xis (or Marcelo Santos, a.k.a. Preto Bomba, or Black Bomb) started out his career in 1992, putting the group DMN together. They recorded a track for the compilation "Consciência Black Vol.2" (on Zimbabwe). In 1994, DMN released the album "Cada Vez Mais Preto" (also on Zimbabwe) and their song "Aformaoriginalmental" ran for Best Rap Videoclip on the 1st Video Music Brasil, (MTV Brazil awards). For eight years, DMN participated in the most important hip hop festivals in the country. Xis’ next hit happened when he grouped with rapper Dentinho: the track "De Esquina", produced by DJ Hum for the compilation "O Poder da Transformação" (Paraddoxx, 1997). Its single sold 8 thousand copies in six months. In 1999, Xis left DMN to pursue a solo career, starting the label 4P Discos with producer KL Jay (Racionais MCs). On 4P, Xis released his debut solo album, "Seja Como For", with lyrics that go about hope, love and fun, soothing the political-social approach of his raps, but without losing touch with those themes. Soon, the song "Us Mano As Mina" was on radio stations, attracting the public, the specialized media and the label Trama, who offered him a distribution deal in 2000 – the same year when the song won Best Rap Videoclip on MTV Brazil.