Edman is an Angolan rapper currently living in the Netherlands. He was born in a deprived area in Angola (Africa) into a poor family without enough money, food or healthy life conditions. He was a war child and experienced dreadful things in his past, which have made him the person he is today. He is positive by nature. All the negative things that have happened to him during his lifetime have made him a stronger person, sometimes humble but certainly self-confident. His belief in God is his greatest support. Edman lived in a small house with his parents, baby brother and sisters. In his younger years, he suffered the loss of his older sister. This was the biggest loss Edman has had to endure in his life to this day. Shortly after, his mother gave birth to a girl. Being the eldest son, he then received a lot of responsibilities.

Edman grew up in the slums of Angola. He became involved in hip-hop, which was one of his daily activities. He started off as a breakdancer. He and his dance group ‘Sagrada Esperança’, which means Sacred Hope, regularly took part in dance competitions. He then moved to another neighbourhood, which caused him to lose contact with the group. In this area, rap was more popular than breakdance and he soon discovered he had talent for rhyming and expressing his feelings in rap lyrics.

The truth is an important source of inspiration for Edman. He is also greatly inspired by his mother. He has her to thank for his perseverance and empathy. His friends in the Angolan slums with whom he free styled, as well as popular Angolan and American message rappers, have also been a great influence in his career as a rapper.

The Freestyle brought positive messages, which many people took in with amazement and respect. His love for rap grew stronger than that for breakdancing. Soon he discovered that only Freestyling was not enough and he started writing together with his close friend ‘Nigga Vado’. Together, they tried to record their rap skills onto an old broken stereo. Edman soon became addicted to this lifestyle. Rhyming about life in a positive way brought them happiness and fun, very necessary given the fact their life conditions were so poor.

Fate soon pulled them apart; Edman immigrated to the Netherlands whilst Vado remained in Angola.  Edman decided to continue his musical aspirations in the Netherlands. At first he stuck to rapping in his native language, Portuguese. At an MC battle in Harderwijk Edman participated in an ‘Open Mic’-night.  He showed his skills with Portuguese freestyle and, despite the fact they couldn’t understand him, the crowd went wild!

After the freestyle, the organizer of the battle ’Slice aka Simon Haze’ approached him enthusiastically, wanting to get to know him better. They developed a friendship, which grew even closer after Edman and Slice discovered they had similar thoughts on many topics.

In 2006, Edman released his first Dutch CD ‘Diepzinnig’. Prior to this, he also participated in various talent shows, for which he often won first prize. ‘Diepzinnig’ was produced by GMP (Genial Music Production) in Deventer, and Slice of ‘SliceMusic’. It contains a collection of tracks recorded in the years 2004 and 2005. When he finished ‘Diepzinnig’, he had only been living in the Netherlands for a mere 3,5 years. Due to media attention, the room was packed during the Release party. Soon after they had a few interviews and performances.

In 2009, Edman took his next step in the Dutch hip-hop scene. During the recordings of his Mixtape vol.1 ‘’Losse Collabos’’, he received the support of none other than rap veteran MC DEAMS. They met during a rap workshop taught by Deams, in Harderwijk in 2005.

Besides his music, Edman is studying Laboratory, Environment & Process Sciences. Some personal advice from Edman: Sometimes it’s difficult to achieve what you would like to achieve. It’s a question of continuing to believe in yourself. This demands energy and perseverance. Keep on going and the rest will fall into place.

I have learned the lessons of life, I now carry the mic in my hand and God in my heart.

Um Amor

EDMAN