Giovanni Abdo is one of the most famous and widely recognized figures, not just in Jamaica, but throughout South and Central America. The first of the Afro-Brazilian hip-hop artists who came to power in the 1970s, Abdo was born in the slums and rural areas of Porto Alegre, Brazil to a poor father who was the primary breadwinner. Abdo found work in the streets of the city and, to his amazement, began working with the great rapper DJ Chuck D, who was then one of the first big names from the genre.

Born as Adriano Abrão in 1946, Abdo was born and raised in Porto Alegre’s sprawling slums, where he learned to make his own rhymes and sing and sing and sing before being discovered by Chuck D.

In 1952, with a name change, Abdo changed his name to Giovanni Abdo (Italian for “Gabriel Abdo”), and moved to New York City, where he joined a group called the Fabulous Chicks. When Chuck D left a few years later, Abdo became the man with the soulful voice.

He later returned to Brazil, and had been recording his beats since 1967. In 1974, he and the Fabulous Chicks joined Chuck D and his crew in what would become known as the legendary Soundboyz. These days, there are still Soundboyz in every city in Brazil.

In the mid-80s (the same year Raul Castro became mayor of San Francisco), he appeared on a popular music program on Brazilian television called, “Serencia de São Paulo”, where he performed as a comedian. He was also a vocalist who gave several songs to TV show “Rio de Janeiro.”

In 1989, he was featured as a lead and vocalist in the album “Bilbao da Rasta”, which became a Top-20 American album in Brazil. In that same year, he appeared on the reality TV show “Ouestra Puntal-Salud”, from which he appeared as a character in two episodes. There were also rumors that he made a cameo in the movie “The Lion King”.

In 1994, he sang the song “Rasta Dancer” as part of the soundtrack for “Somos A Puntareas Meo” by a new hip hop group called the “Red Band