Raps (Italian Edition)

These groups are more explicitly ideological that those working outside of the centri sociali and their music tends to be characterised by explicit references to anarcho-communist philosophy well to the left of the realities being offered by political parties. Of the early artists, perhaps the most important was Sangue Misto , a Neapolitan-Sardinian outfit who pushed African and black American influences to the front of the tracks.

Like many crews their lyrics are focused issues about race and discrimination, though unlike the Porzione Massiccia Crew, their work begins from biography and ends with a serious intervention in the space of European high culture. The citation, though, does not serve to sanitise the track as a mere retreat into the world of letters but frames an angry, biographical reflection on being humiliated in literature class: Shut up and go back to where you came from!

Italian Rap Artists

A more enduring example of this energy — or at least a group that has proved to be more dynamic in representing contemporary youth struggles - can be found in the work of Assalti Frontali. The group was born in after the collapse of the Onda Rossa Posse who were among the most important of the social centre punk groups in the late s. Over two decades they have released tracks to coincide with a changing activist landscape, from anti-Berlusconi protests to environmental struggles.

This bagpipe-led battle hymn is an unambiguous call to arms and casts a dark shadow on the Occupy period as imagined by many in the liberal media white, middle-class tent cities and harmless bongo circles.

Many Anglophone journalists have puzzled as to why Italy had no Syntagma Square or Puerta del Sol in and this track is itself an answer: While the political efficacy of these spaces is a topic of considerable debate, this song revels in the extremes of its utopian imagination: While the Italian hip-hop scene has seemingly been dominated by venues and labels in the Northern cities, the poor southern regions of Puglia, Calabria, Campagna and Sicily have long been present in both the background of the stars and the subject matter of the lyrics.

Naples and Palermo are among the most impoverished metropolitan spaces in Europe and the unemployment rate in these two cities is almost double that of the entirety of the north. The Sicilian duo Stokka and Madbunny , in particular, have been pioneers in the musical response to this, drawing heavily on the popular fear of rioting and political terrorism as a means of ramming home the implications of this poverty for young people: The chorus recalls the rage of Assalti Frontali, taking it further, to the point of actively inciting violence: All the kids in the street, rock on!

Anticipating this reaction, and confronting it head-on, Stokka saves a combative line for his critics: His music is pompous and experimental, fuelled by a devious Eminem-like humour and exaggerated Balkan beats. Here his ironic bombast is deployed against the stereotype of his home region as a paradise of sand and sun: At the end of the video the tourists, led by their devious guide, come across the population of a village dead in the square.

Italian hip hop

As the final chorus begins the Puglian people return to life as zombies and charge at the onlookers: For those who remain, though, hip-hop remains one of the most important cultural forms through which to express anger at a corrupt elite and articulate dreams for different ways of living.

It was met with the usual boos and the commentariat took no time at all to raise the national lament.

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Yet while the critics despaired rappers and groups across the country - Murubutu , K Maiuscola , Inversi -were continuing to work beneath the radar of the industry and without the support of journalists. At the heart of this is language itself, in this case, sharp, angry and at times, poetic. While the possibility of this mobilizing globally as many utopian thinkers suggested in the 90s now seems a pipedream, its importance in Italy should not be underestimated.

For some, rap is part of a movement for social justice, for others it is the only way out of hell. If you enjoyed this article then please consider liking Can Europe Make it? He is a contributing editor to openDemocracy and a co-founder of Precarious Europe precariouseur. We encourage anyone to comment, please consult the oD commenting guidelines if you have any questions.

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The pioneers of Italian rap | Euro Music | English - Eurochannel

We publish high-quality investigative reporting and analysis; we train and mentor journalists and wider civil society; we publish in Russian, Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese and English. Social centres and urban activism One of the most interesting political characteristics of Italian hip-hop, however, is its considerable overlap with political street movements and urban activism. If you have any queries about republishing please contact us.

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Pagination

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