Boss AC

Ângelo César do Rosário Firmino, better known by the stage name Boss AC, is a Portuguese rapper originally from Cape Verde, West Africa. His albums include Preto no Branco, Ritmo, Amor e Palavras, Rimar contra a Maré, and TPC. The last two letters of his stage name is his actual first and middle name.

Biography

Boss AC was born on the island of São Vicente. Some sources recorded his birthday on January 20, 1975, some recorded as November 11. His father is the Cape Verdean painter António N. Firmino (Toi Firmino) and his mother is the Cape Verdean singer Ana Firmino. He immigrated to Lisbon Portugal when he was a child and a teenager.

Career

His most popular songs include "Dinero", "Baza Baza", and "Doa a Quem Doer". Although he lives in Portugal, he spends a lot of his time in Africa, especially Angola. He has collaborated with many Angolan rappers, most notably Gutto, with whom he worked on "Dinero".

Boss AC started his career in 1994 with Rapública, a compilation album that joined together the new faces of the Portuguese hip hop movement. He was both a performer and producer on this album.

In 1998, Boss AC recorded his first album, Mandachuva, in the USA with production by Troy Hightower. This album was a mixture of hip-hop, ragga, soul, R&B and African sounds. He also recorded a duet titled "No Stress" with Gutto. Together, they produced music and went on tour.

In 2002, Boss AC produced his second album, Rimar contra a maré, which was a more autobiographical album, entirely written and produced by him. This album continued the trend of adding African and Portuguese traditional sounds.

Boss AC's album, Ritmo, Amor e Palavras, was recorded in 2005. This album included collaborations with Posdnuos from De La Soul, Da Weasel, Sam the Kid and Pedro Ayres de Magalhães. The album earned Boss AC a nomination in the MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Portuguese Act.^[1]

His fifth fourth album Preto no Branco (Black on White) was released on January 2008 and features the single "Levanta-te" (Stand-up), its music video was launched on the Portuguese MTV later on 21 July. He participated with Mariza with the single "Alguém Me Ouviu (Mantém-te Firme).

His recent album is AC Para os Amigos (AC and Friends) was edited on 6 February 2012 and would be released by Universal Music, singles included in ths album are "Sexta-feira (Emprego Bom Já)", "Tástabater" and "Tu Es Mais Forte". The first single was released on February 2012, it reached to Portuguese charts for 3 weeks and was in the Top 10 up to April. The second single's music video was filmed in Brazil. And the third single was released in August 2012 and featured a music video and features Shout. Boss AC was a guest star on the radio program "Comercial".

Other

Boss AC appeared in several music festivals in Cape Verde, one was in his native island in the 2007 Baía das Gatas Music Festival.^[2]

Discography

Albums

• 1998: Manda Chuva (Valentim de Carvalho (NorteSul))
• 2002: Rimar Contra a Maré (Valentim de Carvalho (NorteSul) - EMI)
• 2005: Ritmo, Amor e Palavras (Hightower Productions, Absolute Audio)
• 2009: Preto no Branco (Valentim de Carvalho (NorteSul) - EMI)
• 2012: AC Para os Amigos (Universal Music)

Singles

• "Anda cá ao Papá" (1998)
• "Quieres Dinero"
• "Baza Baza" (2002)
• "Hip Hop (Sou Eu E És Tu)" (2005)
• "Princesa" (2005)
• "Deixa Ferver"
• "Levanta-te" (Stand up) (2009)
• "Estou Vivo"
• "Acabou" (2009)
• "Sexta-Feira" (2012)

Collaborations, Performances and Special appearances

• "Rapública" Collection (1994) - singles: "A Verdade" and "Generate Power"
• "Pé Na Tchôn, Karapinha Na Céu" (1995) CD by General D - singles: "Atake dos Carapinhas" and "Jam Session"
• "Dou-lhe Com A Alma" (1995) CD, by Da Weasel - single: "Dou-lhe Com A Alma"
• "Espanta Espíritos" Collection (1995) - single: "Apenas Um Irmão"
• "Tá-se Bem" (1996) CD, by Kussondulola - single: "Terezinha"
• "Funky, Trunky, Punky" (1996) CD, by Gimba - single: "Executivo Improdutivo"
• "Filhos da Rua" (1997) CD, by Black Company - single: "Genuíno"
• "Ghetto Talk Part.2" (1997) mixtape, by DJ Bomberjack - a single
• "Todos Diferentes, Todos Iguais" Collection (1997) - single: "Ménage à Trois"
• "Reencontro do Vinil Vol.1" (1998) mixtape, by DJ Bomberjack - a single
• "Invisível" ("Invisible") (1998) CD, by Fernando Cunha - single: "Só Há Tempo Agora"
• "Zona J - Banda Sonora" (1998) CD, single: "Anda Cá Ao Papá" and "Andam Aí"
• "Voar" (1999) CD, by Santos & Pecadores - single: "Saber De Ti"
• "XX Anos, XX Bandas" (1999) CD, by Xutos & Pontapés - version of "Não Sou o Único"
• "Tejo Beat" Collection (1998) - single: "It's All Right"
• "Volta a dar Cartas em 99" (1999) mixtape, by DJ Bomberjack - a single
• "Operação Alfa" (2000) CD, by SSP - single: "Every Woman"
• "Lena - Banda Sonora" (2001) CD, single: "Lena"
• "Freestyle Connexion" (Novembro/2002) mixtape, by DJ Bomberjack & DJ Lusitano - single (freestyle)
• "Private Show" (Outubro/2002) CD, by Gutto aka Bantú - single: "Hey (A Noite É Aqui)" and "Eu Imaginei"
• "Longa Caminhada" (2002) CD, by Mess - single: "Cum n' Get It"
• "Último Beijo - Banda Sonora" (2002) - temas "Bué de Rimas" e "A Carta Que Nunca Te Escrevi"
• Collection: "Nação Hip Hop - 10 Anos de rap em português" (May 2003) - single: "Velhos Tempos"
• Collection: "Hip Hop Nation #1" (June 2003) - single: "Mantém-te Firme"
• Collection: "Nação Hip-Hop 2005" (January 2005) - single: "Baza, Baza"
• Collection: "Hip Hop Nation #17" (February 2005) - single: "Quem Sente, Sente"
• Collection: "Nação Hip-Hop 2006" (March 2006) - single: "Hip Hop (Sou Eu e És Tu)"

As producer

• Collection: "Rapública" (1994) - sing: "A Verdade" and "Generate Power"
• Collection: "TPC" (2000) - song: "Lado a Lado (HipHop)"

Notes

External links

• Official website] (Portuguese)
• Biography at Valentim de Carvalho's homepage (Portuguese)