MC Binn

Biography

Jefferson Cristian dos Santos de Lima (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈʒɛfeʁsõ ˈkɾistʃi.ɐ̃ dus ˈsɐ̃tuz ˈlimɐ]; born November 1, 1993), better known as MC Binn (pronounced [emiˈsi ˈbĩ]) and previously as MC Bin Laden, is a Brazilian singer and composer of funk ostentação.

Biography

Born and raised in a humble family in Vila Progresso, a neighborhood located in the Itaquera district, in the East Zone of São Paulo, his parents separated when he was nine years old. At the age of 18, he was adopted by pastor Mariza Ventura. Before his fame, Jefferson was a salesman on Rua 25 de Março. He also says that he only had the opportunity to eat a McDonald's sandwich after he started doing shows.

Career

2014: Home and KL Production
MC Binn was hired by KL Produtora, the agency that was responsible for revealing several other names in Rio funk, including MC Brinquedo. In mid-2016, Binn announced his departure from the producer and shortly thereafter joined KondZilla Records, which had recently been created.
He gained prominence in the Rio funk scene in São Paulo with the song "Bin Laden Não Morreu", where due to the success of the song, he generated his artistic name "of impact" copied from the Saudi terrorist. In his theatrical shows, he mentions that the objective is to make the ball "an Afghanistan", but guarantees that it is all a joke and there is no condonation of violence: "If there once was a bad Bin Laden, today there is a good Bin Laden".
At the end of 2014, DJ Skrillex included Binn's track "Bololo Haha" in his "Skrillex Selects" playlist on SoundCloud, where he recommends tracks. During his visit to Brazil for Lollapalooza 2015, together with his friend Diplo, Skrillex met with Binn, and both released videos on social media.
2015–2023: "Tá Tranquilo, Tá Favorável" and fame
Before his megahit, he had already been active in São Paulo funk for at least eight years, with hits such as "O Passinho do Faraó", "Bololo Haha" and "Lança de Coco", a song that talks about drugs – a theme he says abandoned after the overdose death of a friend. But it was only at the end of 2015, with the song "Tá Tranquilo, Tá Favorável", that Binn gained national notoriety, transforming him into a phenomenon beyond São Paulo funk. The dance in the clip became a rage on social media and was even adopted by Neymar to celebrate goals. The clip went viral on the internet, and the song got a new version with Lucas Lucco, who mixes the carioca funk of the original song with sections of country music. Then, a new clip was also released for the new version of the song.
On February 17, 2016, he performed on the program Encontro com Fátima Bernardes with the song "Tá Tranquilo, Tá Favorável", which featured choreography by Fátima herself and Leonardo Veras.
During Lollapalooza 2016 in Brazil, the duo Jack Ü (Skrillex and Diplo) invited Binn to come on stage to sing the hit "Tá Tranquilo, Tá Favorável".
On May 17, 2016, it was announced that MC Binn would be on the program for the Warm Up festival, an event held by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, in the United States. The Brazilian singer had his show scheduled for July 23, but he was unable to obtain his visa, as he was blocked by the consulate and canceled the performance. He then declared that he had already thought about changing his name.
2024–present: Big Brother Brasil and new stage name
On January 5, 2024, Mc Binn was confirmed as one of the participants in the twenty-fourth season of the reality show Big Brother Brasil, as a member of the group "Camarote". Binn was seventeenth on the program on April 4, 2024, with 80.34% of the votes in a match against Davi Brito, finishing in 8th place. After leaving the reality show, the singer changed his stage name to MC Binn, in order to avoid any reference to Osama bin Laden, the terrorist responsible for the attack on the Twin Towers.

Personal life

During an interview, Binn says he is evangelical. Today, he has his own house and gives his younger brother "everything he can have that I couldn't have."
On March 31, 2016, Binn began talks to join the Green Party and thus run for councilor in the city of São Paulo, according to his advisor. However, the following day, he said that party membership was nothing more than "a bad joke" and stated that he would rather stay at home "eating cookies" than enter politics. During the same interview, he stated that he only studied until eighth grade.

Controversies

On November 3, 2014, when announcing a show on a social network, the funk singer said he would "terrorize" Porto Alegre. He also posted photos to social media "advocating the use of weapons and drugs." During this show, at the Stuttgart nightclub in Porto Alegre, two armed men allegedly overpowered the security guards at the entrance of the club and, soon after, entered the club. Inside, they found members of a rival gang who were already armed. At this point, they began an exchange of fire. The shooting left 16 injured; Tiago Querubim Silveira, 19, was taken to the hospital, but did not survive. Silveira had a criminal record for drug trafficking, bodily harm and vehicle seizure.
On April 1, 2015, the funk singer's managers sold two shows at the same time, one at Tradição and the other at the house in Nilópolis. The artist arrived in Nilópolis more than an hour late. The presentation, scheduled for 4:20 am, only started at 5:40 am and there was almost no one waiting. The confusion ended at the 57th DP, in Nilópolis, as the producers wanted to receive the remainder of the R$15,000 fee, even without an audience.
In April 2015, the Public Ministry of São Paulo opened an investigation into "strong erotic content and sexual appeals" in songs and choreographies by children and adolescent musicians. MC Binn was on the list of those being investigated for recording inappropriate songs featuring these youths.