Luaty Beirão Explained

Luaty Beirão
Birth Name:Tretius Kauhangengo
Birth Date:19 November 1981
Birth Place:Luanda, Angola
Alias:Ikonoklasta
Brigadeiro Mata Frakuzk
Genre:Hip hop
Occupation:musician, activist
Years Active:1994–present

Luaty Beirão (born 1981), also known by his stage name Ikonoklasta, is an Angolan rapper known for his anti-corruption activism.[1]

Life

Beirão was born to a Portuguese Angolan family in Luanda and his father, João Beirão, was a well-known member of the MPLA.[2] After developing his initial interest in hip hop during his adolescence, Beirão first entered the music scene himself in 2004, as part of the group Conjunto Ngonguenha.

Beirão rose to prominence as an activist after an incident in February 2011, where - upon noticing the son of President José Eduardo dos Santos at a concert - he jumped onstage and publicly called on dos Santos to step down. In March 2016, he was sentenced to five and a half years in prison for allegedly planning a revolution against dos Santos.[3] Beirão and several other prisoners launched a hunger strike in protest of their incarceration; after 36 days of this strike, the government agreed to reduce their sentences to house arrest.[4] He was released later that year after successfully appealing his sentence.

Discography

Solo albums

with Conjunto Ngonguenha

with Batida as Iqokwe

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Luaty, o filho do apoiante do presidente que contesta o regime . 12 October 2015 . 13 June 2016 . Manuela Micael . TVI24 . pt.
  2. News: Vieira. Ricardo Miguel. Angolan Awakening: Ikonoklasta Doubles Down in his Fight for Change. OkayAfrica. 2018-12-07. 2022-04-06.
  3. News: Angolan rapper jailed for rebellion. 28 March 2016. BBC News. 2019-03-18. en-GB.
  4. Web site: Luaty Beirão – Human Rights Foundation. Human Rights Foundation. 2022-04-06.