OmPuff

Belmiro Hosi (born June 29, 1980) better known by his stage name as OmPuff is an Angolan–Namibian kwaito and hip hop musician who rose to widespread fame in 2005. He is one of the liveliest performers on the Namibian local scene. OmPuff signed to Mshasho Productions in 2006. He nicknamed himself Puffy after childhood hero Puff Daddy, (now Diddy). After doing more and more kwaito Puffy eventually became OmPuff, making it sound more African. OmPuff speaks fluent Oshiwambo, Afrikaans, Portuguese, and English.

Early career

OmPuff was born in Namibe City, Angola. He moved to Namibia at an early age in the late 1990s. He has lived most of his childhood in Katutura, Windhoek. As a teenager, he would mimic rap songs by famous American rappers. In the early 2000s he founded and joined an underground hip hop group known as Zero Degrees. OmPuff left the group in 2003 after feeling discourage by the lack of support within the local hip hop industry to pursue a solo career in kwaito.

His first shot of exposure was when he became a close associate of Gazza and his label GMP Records. Gazza signed the rapper to his GMP label. The pair recorded a song called "Kwaito Party" which got a lot of air play and made OmPuff one of the most exposed underground artists. Gazza would later boycott the song from radio due to Puff's decision to join rival label Mshasho Records. However it leaked via bluetooth.