Samuel Martins Torres Santiago Mira, better known by his stage name Sam the Kid, is a Portuguese rapper and producer from Chelas, in the civil parish of Marvila, Lisbon.
Early life
Sam the Kid's music was primarily influenced by 93 'til Infinity. Sam the Kid's music is noted for a creative and extensive use on sampling, using his primary producing equipment, the MPC. In 1994, after leaving secondary schoolEscola Secundária D. Dinis in Lisbon at 15 years old, Mira established his first group, "Official Nasty" with school-friends Daddy-O-Pop, 2 Much and Sheriff, appearing in three concerts before dissolving in 1996, though they were still performing informally around 2004/2005.
Music career
Sam the Kid released his first album Entre in 1998. His second albumSobre, released in 2001, attracted the attention of then recently created Loop Recordings, who offered him a contract. It was in 2002, with the release of his third album, an instrumental record called , that Sam the Kid began to enjoy a significant level of success; the album was considered by fans and critics to be one of the greatest Portuguese releases of the year. The album featured the song "Não Percebes", one of the biggest Portuguese rap hits, that touched on the issue of the "us vs. them" mentality in the genre. In 2006, the artist released Pratica, an album praised by critics as one of the most ambitious of the genre made in the country, a record that is still well remembered by fans. Sam the Kid is considered to be one of the most important names of Portuguese hip hop, and one of the "most historic participants and drivers" of the genre in the country. In 2008, the musician was nominated for the second time for the MTV Europe Music Awards, along with Rita Redshoes, Buraka Som Sistema, Vicious Five and Slimmy. The artist was featured in a documentary named "Dicas do Vinil, com Sam The Kid", a work produced by public service broadcasting channel RTP. The artist has been noted for taking a "radically open and electic" approach on his efforts to expand his audience, as well as refusing to sing in English, as did many of his contemporaries, when trying to break into more profitable markets. Sam started a new project named TV Chelas, a YouTube platform dedicated to Portuguese hip hop. The channel publishes content such as uncompleted music by Sam and other artists, podcasts, interviews and archived material, being one of the many new vehicles of promotion and critique of Portuguese-made hip hop, R&B and electronic music in the country.
Orelha Negra is an instrument/rap band established in 2009, featuring Sam the Kid, Fred Ferreira, João Gomes and DJ Cruzfader. They have released 2 studio albums, 1 live album and 3 mixtapes, with a 3rd studio album set to release on 15 September 2017.
