OmPuff (kwaito)
| OmPuff | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Belmiro Hosi Katchekele |
| Also known as | Pufflala, Puffy |
| Born |
June 29, 1980 Namibe, Namibe, Angola |
| Origin | Windhoek, Namibia |
| Genres | Kwaito, hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Mshasho Productions |
| Associated acts | The Dogg, Sunny Boy, Tre VDK |
| Website | Mshasho Online |
Belmiro Hosi (born June 29, 1980) better known by his stage name as OmPuff is an Angolan–Namibian kwaito and hip hop musician who rose to widespread fame in 2005. He is one of the liveliest performers on the Namibian local scene. OmPuff signed to Mshasho Productions in 2006. He nicknamed himself Puffy after childhood hero Puff Daddy, (now Diddy). After doing more and more kwaito Puffy eventually became OmPuff, making it sound more African. OmPuff speaks fluent Oshiwambo, Afrikaans, Portuguese, and English.
OmPuff was born in Namibe City, Angola. He moved to Namibia at an early age in the late 1990s. He has lived most of his childhood in Katutura, Windhoek. As a teenager, he would mimic rap songs by famous American rappers. In the early 2000s he founded and joined an underground hip hop group known as Zero Degrees. OmPuff left the group in 2003 after feeling discourage by the lack of support within the local hip hop industry to pursue a solo career in kwaito.
His first shot of exposure was when he became a close associate of Gazza and his label GMP Records. Gazza signed the rapper to his GMP label. The pair recorded a song called "Kwaito Party" which got a lot of air play and made OmPuff one of the most exposed underground artists. Gazza would later boycott the song from radio due to Puff's decision to join rival label Mshasho Records. However it leaked via bluetooth.
After realizing he was wasting his time with GMP, he left the label and reconnected with an old friend Sunny Boy who then introduced him to The Dogg. The Dogg immediately signed him to Mshasho Records. Celebrating his success, OmPuff released his first professional single "We Taking Over" which featured then-Sunny Boy's kwaito group Y.B.G., composed of Sunny, Chippo and Richie. OmPuff started touring with The Dogg and became his main back-up performer. He was later featured on The Dogg's 2006 album Introducing TeeDee. He also appeared on Sunny Boy's album Elai Lineendunge.
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