Luaty Beirão is a prominent Angolan dissident rapper and pro-democracy campaigner. In 2015, he gained global attention for his 36-day hunger strike during his 375-day detention in Angola’s infamous “15+2” case in which the regime of former dictator José Eduardo dos Santos jailed 17 activists for rebellion for discussing Gene Sharp’s book “From Dictatorship to Democracy.”

Beirão is the co-founder of the protest group Central Angola 7311, which mobilized citizens in some of the first mass pro-democracy protests in the country during the Arab Spring, Handeka, an NGO focused on defending human rights and election integrity, and since 2021, he has led the civil society platform MUDEI. Despite arbitrary detentions and other forms of intimidation, he has courageously stretched the limits of freedoms and public accountability in Angola, and championed the aspirations of Angolans seeking to break free from five decades of dictatorship under the dominant MPLA party-state.

Recognized today as Angola’s most well-known politically-conscious musician, Beirão started writing and performing songs denouncing social injustices at age 14. He has suffered the cancellation of his shows and concerts and the de facto ban of his music on radio and television.