Aggro Santos
| Aggro Santos | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Yuri Santos |
| Born |
12 October 1989 São Paulo, Brazil |
| Origin | Balham, London, England |
| Genres | UK garage, hip hop, dance |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Website | aggrosantos.com |
Yuri "Aggro" Santos (born 12 October 1989) is a Brazilian rapper who lives in Balham, London.[1]
Early career
Santos was discovered by UK underground TV channel ChannelAka (then known as Channel U), after his underground anthem 'Free Yard' soared to #1 on the TV station for 17 weeks in 2006. Having built an underground following, his material was shown to Take That's Gary Barlow and he was signed to Barlow's label Future Records in 2010, an independent imprint of Universal Records before releasing his second mix-tape, "Rhythm N Flow" in 2010 where he collaborated with Ironik, Giggs and North London’s Marvell.
Mainstream crossover
Santos released his debut single "Candy", which features Kimberly Wyatt, was released on 2 May 2010 and was certified silver by the BPI. His second single "Saint or Sinner" was released on 22 August 2010 and his third, "Like U Like", (featuring Kimberly Walsh), was released on 14 January 2011. "Like U Like" marked the first solo record by Girls Aloud member Walsh, becoming the fourth member to release solo material away from the group. Santos's debut album AggroSantos.com was released on 31 January 2011, but despite having 3 top ten singles on the album it didn't do as well.
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!
In 2010, Santos participated in the tenth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! and was voted off the show on day 19, finishing in fifth place overall. Santos was very popular on the show and came across polite and well mannered. He won over the hearts of the British public with his sweet and charming character, which is an attitude not often expected from a Rapper.
Urban Music Awards
In 2010, Santos was nominated for an award at the Urban Music Awards.[2]
2013-2014 & FOD Records
In 2013 Santos signed to FOD Records which is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Italy. He announced via his Twitter, website and Facebook fan page he will be recording a new album with the label. In June 2013 the rapper set off to Miami to begin recording with Lu Diaz of the Diaz Brothers, who is most famous for being one of the best record mixers in the USA and also for signing Cuban rapper Pitbull (rapper). They began writing the album at the notoriously famous Miami power house, The Hit Factory. During that session songs such as 'Love Like This', which went on to being #1 on the club record charts in Ibiza and #2 & #8 in club charts in Greece and the UK. The video for this single which was shot in Miami by David Rosseau (Pitbull, lil Wayne etc.) was uploaded to Santos' VEVO account in August 2013.
In 2014 Santos carried on writing parts of the new Album having sessions in Sweden with Quiz and Larossi, Miami with Lu Diaz and Munich with Milk & Sugar. The album writing process is still on going. On the 23rd of March, he shot the video for a new humorous hearted but fun song entitled "Selfie Selfie Selfie", A soft warm up release which Santos himself described as 'A joke song taking a jab at the new selfie culture in a light hearted way'.
Personal life
Santos came to London with his mother Cristina and younger brother in 1992 to pursue a better life and opportunities, his father Marival Santos stayed in Brazil. He studied at Salesian College in Battersea and then went on to the BRIT School where he developed his interest for music. Santos took on various jobs to self fund his music career in the early part of his career until he eventually signed a record deal in 2010.
On 9 September 2011, it was reported that Santos had been accused of rape by a fan who returned with the rapper to his hotel room following two gigs. The first rape had allegedly taken place on 25 or 26 September 2010. The second attack allegedly took place on 7 May 2011 in Chichester, West Sussex. Santos and another man, 21-year-old Tyrelle Ritchie, were both charged to appear in court on the same date at Chichester Magistrates' Court on 19 September 2011.
On 3 May 2013, a jury of 8 women and 4 men, found Santos not guilty of both accusations unanimously, and acquitted him in under 2 hours of deliberation.[3] He has since called for rape suspects to remain anonymous until found guilty, as he felt the trial had "tarnished" his reputation for a short while, even though he was innocent.[4]
Discography
Studio albums
AggroSantos.com (2011)
Mixtapes
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 2009 | Aggro Culture
|
| 2010 | The Rhythm N Flow Mixtape
|
The Stamina Mixtape
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [5] |
IRE [6] | ||||
| "Candy" (featuring Kimberly Wyatt) |
2010 | 5 | 14 | UK: Silver[7] | AggroSantos.com |
| "Saint or Sinner" | 19 | — | |||
| "Like U Like" (featuring Kimberley Walsh) |
2011 | 8 | 13 | ||
| "So Sexy" | 2012 | — | — | "TBA" | |
Music videos
| Title | Year | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| "Candy" (featuring Kimberly Wyatt) |
2010 | Emil Nava[8] |
| "Saint or Sinner" | Orson Nava[9] | |
| "Like U Like" (featuring Kimberley Walsh) |
Lennox Brothers[10] |
References
- ↑ If you ever doubted Aggro Santos was from Balham ... Read his post jungle interview here | Balham People Archived December 20, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "The Urban Music Awards 2010 annonunces UK nominees". Urban Music Awards. 2010-01-06. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
- ↑ "Aggro Santos trial: Rapper cleared of raping girls". BBC News. 3 May 2013.
- ↑ Aggro Santos Urges Rape Suspect Anonymity
- ↑ "Aggro Santos - Top 75 releases". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
- ↑ "Aggro Santos discography". Irish Recorded Music Association. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ↑ "BPI > Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 2011-03-05. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
- ↑ "MC Aggro's Candy (feat. Kimberly Wyatt) by Emil Nava". Promonews.tv. 2010-04-13. Archived from the original on 15 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
- ↑ "Aggro Santos' Saint Or Sinner by Orson Nava". Promonews.tv. 2010-08-17. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
- ↑ "Aggro Santos' Like U Like featuring Kimberley Walsh by Lennox Brothers". Promonews.tv. Retrieved 2010-12-15.