Alexandre Pereira Barbosa (born January 3, 1974), known professionally as MV Bill, is a Brazilian rapper, singer, actor, songwriter and co-author of the best-selling book ''Falcão - Meninos do Tráfico''. The initials "MV" stand for "Mensageiro da Verdade",
Portuguese for "''Messenger of Truth''", and the nickname Bill came from a favorite childhood toy.
MV Bill is one of the leading and most controversial rappers of
Brazilian hip hop
Brazilian hip hop is a national music genre in Brazil. From its earliest days in the African-Brazilian communities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the genre has grown into a countrywide phenomena. Rappers, DJs, break dancers and graffiti artists ...
in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
. Rio remains as the center of developing Brazilian politics. MV Bill is an advocate for getting the Brazilian youth out of the drug trade and into some more uplifting activities. He founded a network of NGOs located in Rio including
CUFA, which strive to teach hip-hop skills, graffiti, and break dancing to children, alongside educational classes such as computer training. Many of his songs contain lyrics discussing the Brazilian youth lost to the trades and confrontations in Rio.
MV Bill has also funneled his passion for social justice into a book, ''Cabeça de Porco'', that he co-authored with Celso Athayde and Luis Eduardo Soares, one of Brazil's foremost social anthropologists. The book, published in 2005, revolves around the issue of social injustice and violence in Brazil and discusses what must be done to solve the problem.
MV Bill appears in an episode of "Black in Latin America". He has been credited with releasing one of the first
Brazilian grime songs, "''Cidadão Comum Refém''", in 2002 after being influenced by a
Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), known professionally as Dizzee Rascal, is a British rapper and MC. He is often credited as a pioneer of British hip hop and grime music and was ranked by ''Complex'' as one of the greatest British ...
CD.
Early life
Alex Pereira Barbosa was born in the
Cidade de Deus neighborhood of
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
on January 3, 1974. His father, Mano Juca Barbosa was a firefighter while his mother Dona Cristina was a housewife.
His younger sister, Kamilla "Kmila CDD" Barbosa is a well-known rapper who is considered one of the biggest names in the female rap scene in Brazil.
Discography
*1998: ''Traficando Informação''
*2002: ''Declaração de Guerra''
*2006: ''Falcão, O Bagulho É Doido''
*2010: ''Causa E Efeito''
Soundtracks
*2011: ''
Beat the World''
Selected filmography
External links
*
References
1974 births
Living people
Brazilian male rappers
20th-century Brazilian male singers
21st-century Brazilian male singers
Afro-Brazilian male singer-songwriters
Brazilian male singer-songwriters
Rappers from Rio de Janeiro (city)
Universal Music Group artists
Brazilian actors
Actors from Rio de Janeiro (state)
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