Gerson King Combo

Born in Madureira, a suburb of Rio de Janeiro, Gerson Cortes began his career on the radio and dancing on the TV show "Jovem Guarda", by Roberto and Erasmo Carlos. With soul music taking over his body, Gerson sang in the bands of Wilson Simonal and Erlon Chaves, helped found the Banda Black Rio and released the LP Brazilian Soul with Turma do Soul. But it was in his solo career, renamed Gerson King Combo, that he experienced the height of his popularity. After releasing two highly successful LPs, he was elected the king of black dances, becoming the greatest representative of the Black Rio Movement in Brazil in the 1970s.
In the 2000s, Gerson King Combo was once again recognized as one of the main names in Brazilian black music, due to his improvised speeches based on funk; he is considered the great precursor of national rap. In 2010, after touring the country again with the band Supergroove, and creating his first electronic project, Gerson King Combo Live P.A, in partnership with Rio de Janeiro producer Ronaldo Groove, Gerson received the Order of Cultural Merit award in Rio, becoming the first Brazilian black music artist to receive this award from the Ministry of Culture.
Considered one of the pioneers of Rap in Brazil, Gerson King Combo passed away in 2020, leaving behind several unreleased songs, which producer Ronaldo Groove, in partnership with guest producers, is now completing and releasing with the participation of big names in Brazilian rap.