ProfJam, one of the biggest and most awarded names in hip hop and contemporary Portuguese music, has been charting a unique artistic path, having established himsefl with an absolutely singular positioning and sound that puts him on a different level.
The rapper who began to gain attention in parallel circuits, such as Liga Knock Out, debuted in 2014 with the mixtape “The Big Banger Theory,” from which came the classic “Mambo Nº 1”, which featured the collaboration of Mike ElNite. “Mixtakes” was the ambitious next step by the Telheiras MC, a work unanimously highlighted as one of the best of 2016, and from which came another classic, “Queq Queres,” awarded a Gold Single. Six years later, on March 25, 2022, with the status of a historic album of national hip-hop “Mixtakes” would be celebrated in a packed and ecstatic Lisbon Coliseum.
Artists as diverse as D.A.M.A., whose collaboration on "Pensa Bem” resulted in a Golden Single, Valas or L-Ali, teamed up with ProfJam to join forces, meaning that this rapper's lyrics were truly energetic and far-reaching.
With intricate writing, complex flows and productions that reflect the present and the future, ProfJam has cultivated a unique style that has been clear both in his successive releases and on the stages he has stepped on from the north to the south of the country.
The internet has been one of the main areas of affirmation of ProfJam's art. In 2017 he released “Xamã” produced by Lhast and “Matar o Game”, both Gold Singles, and “Mortalhas”, a Platinum single. At the same time, he formed and invested in Think Music, his own label, from which some of the most promising names on the hip hop scene in Portugal emerged, such as Sippin Purpp, Benji Price or Yuzi.
In 2018, the Lisbon rapper released the songs “Yabba” and “Gwapo” (which features Yuzi, one of the artists on his Think Music), both with notable performances in terms of views on streaming platforms, having “Gwapo” reached Gold Single.
ProfJam's relevance in Portuguese hip hop continued to grow, and his presence on the line-ups of important festivals, such as MEO Sudoeste or Super Bock Super Rock, also served as proof of his incredible mobilization capacity: ProfJam has a loyal and thirsty audience for his words. It is this thirst that “Água de Coco” comes to quench: in a new encounter with Lhast, one of the most versatile Portuguese production values, the rapper highlights with increasingly elaborate writing, full of imagination, and with an equally impressive video made by André Caniços and Miguel C. Saraiva.
“Água de Coco,” his first single to reach the Triple Platinum award, which is now Quadruple Platinum, makes it clear that this ProfJam is an artist searching for innovative concepts, original ways of telling stories and conveying his ideas. ProfJam here raises the bar for his own work and thus inaugurates a new stage in a career that has only known upwards: the kick-off of the long-awaited album “#FFFFFF.”
“#FFFFFF” was released in 2019. The impact it has on the Portuguese market proves to be overwhelming, with several songs entering directly into Spotify’s TOP 50, something never seen to date for a Portuguese artist. The album quickly reaches the Platinum Award, “Tou Bem” (feat. Lhast) is awarded Quadruple Platinum (today it is Sextuple Platinum), and in addition to “Água de Coco”, Triple Platinum is also awarded to “Malibu” and “À Vontade” (feat. Fínix MG). “Minha” and “À Palavra” both achieved Gold Single status.
The album is produced by Lhast. ProfJam himself explains that, in theory, Lhast might not be the best producer for him but that, in practice, the results of the meetings between the two were always extraordinary. It happens right away in “Xamã” one of the anthems of MC de Telheiras, released at the end of 2016. The duo cross paths again in “Imagina,” a song by Valas presented in 2017. And with the tremendous success of “Água de Côco ” (15 million views, on YouTube alone — and Triple Platinum), any doubts that might remain disappear.
“À Palavra,” the first song in the #FFFFFF lineup, begins with "Só dou à palavra o que eu sei" (“I only give the word what I know”) a reflection of the rapper’s mastery of words like a photographer masters light, like a gymnast masters his muscles, overcoming barriers, surpassing himself. #FFFFFF comes with a story to tell, full of colors and nuances, made of sounds and words, of flows and second and third meanings.
The story continues, and the successes accumulate: “Havana”, the single by Sippinpurpp in which he participates, reached the gold award. “HEI”, his first post-#FFFFFFF single, produced by the famous Branko — who took ProfJam's hip hop along sexier paths — reached Double Platinum. Still with Branko, he participates in a remix of the song “Hear From You”, before jumping into a new collaboration: this time on the single “Damn / Sky” by Lon3r Johny (Platinum Single).
In 2020, a year in which the country's biggest stages were waiting for ProfJam's consecration, with a schedule full of concerts, the world stopped, but the rapper didn't. Mário Cotrim takes the opportunity to spend time in the studio with Benji Price, one of the greatest producers in Portugal —, and also an excellent rapper. Together, they create another work of art, an album that takes the top spots on streaming platforms by storm: “System”, an album that has had tens of millions of streams and views. “Tribunal” reaches the Platinum award, and “Finals” and “Sistema” the Gold. Following the edition of this joint work, they take the stage together at Super Bock em Stock, which in its edition in the middle of the pandemic takes place on the biggest Portuguese stage, the Altice Arena.
In 2021, he decided to end Think Music and focus on his career and solo compositions. He also ends his partnership with Sony Music and, at the end of the year, signs with Virgin Music Portugal as a distributor and with Universal Music Portugal as Management and Agency.
2022 marks the beginning of the journey towards his new album “MDID” (Música de Intervenção Divina), released in May 2023, and which is already a Gold Album. On the fifth day of the fifth month of the year, Mário Cotrim unveiled his fifth project under his own name after an impressive series of singles such as “DAKAR” (Golden Single), “CABARET” (Platinum Single), “NADA ME FALTA,” “SACA LÁ” (Golden Single), “AZTECA”, “WUOW” (Golden Single) and “JAMANTHA” (Golden Single).
The album was presented days before its release at a listening party outside the Telheiras metro station — in the same place where “The Big Banger Theory” was presented in 2015 — in front of thousands of people.
Still in 2023, the cycle of “L.S.D.” (Love Songs Die) — opened with “HEI” and “Alguém Como Tu” — with “RNTG,” the third single from his next album, where he explores a series of sounds different from those we know.
In 2024, “MDID” continues to be present on stage, namely on two unique dates at the imposing Aula Magna, where he presented in full one of the most special and personal albums of ProfJam's career to date, in a performative show, more than one concert, which showed us once again why ProfJam is loved and respected by the public, critics and his peers.
