MC Hariel

Hariel was born in Vila Aurora, a region in the northern part of São Paulo, in 1997.^[2] Influenced by his father, Celso Ribeiro, a musician who was part of the group Raíces de América, Hariel began his singing career by recording songs at the age of eleven. During his adolescence, he worked as a pizza delivery man and a card seller.^[3]

Hariel's first successful song was "Passei Sorrindo," released in 2014, which received a web clip by producer KondZilla the following year.^[4] At that time, he sang songs in the funk ousadia subgenre, with lyrics featuring double meanings and sexual connotations.^[3] In the following years, he also composed successful songs in the funk ostentação genre, such as "Novo Corolla," which was mentioned on the TV Globo program Auto Esporte.^[5]

However, Hariel's first national recognition came with the song "Lei do Retorno," a collaboration with MC Don Juan and recorded by GR6 Produções, which has garnered over 270 million views on YouTube.^[6][7] That same year, he appeared on Gaab's CD Melhor Viagem, on the track "Tem Café," a song with a more romantic tone, blending rap and pagode.^[8]

In early 2019, Hariel recorded his first DVD in the Bolivian desert, entitled Haridade.^[9] His first album was released the following year, in March 2020, titled Chora Agora, Ri Depois, a reference to Racionais MC's album Nada Como um Dia Após o Outro Dia.^[10] All songs on the album received a music video, with "Cupido" being the first and most acclaimed.^[11] His third album was the extended play (EP) "Avisa que é o Funk," released in October 2020, to widespread media acclaim.^[12] His most notable track was "Maçã Verde," which was among the most played songs on Spotify in both Brazil and Portugal.^[13][14] During this period, Hariel also participated in the single "Gabigol do Morro," in partnership with DJ Zullu.^[15]

In November 2020, Hariel released the song "Ilusão (Cracolândia)" with DJ Alok and MCs Davi, Salvador da Rima, and Ryan SP.^[16] The song referenced the region of São Paulo known as Cracolândia, with messages of awareness against the use of crack and other drugs;^[17] Hariel's father was a drug addict and died as a result.^[3] The song became the most played on Spotify in Brazil for three consecutive days.^[18] In December, a posthumous partnership with rapper Sabotage was released, entitled "Monstro Invisível", with a political theme and produced by DJ Kalfani.^[19] He reached two billion views on his materials in February 2021 and is considered one of the main representatives of the genre in the country today.^[20]