Hip Hop in Italy: an history made of geniuses

An excursus to the roots of Italian hip-hop and its pre-commercial years

A picture of Fabri Fibra, one of the main protagonists of the Hip-hop ambient, first of the underground scene and then of the commercial one

Hip Hop music in Italy (and in Italian) has a very particular history, which is born in the 1980s
The evolution of Hip Hop at the time is creative and uniform, especially in the capital, Rome, where it was born in the late 1980s.
There are experiments made by groups in English, but the first rap success in Italian is made by Jovanotti, with "La mia moto".
They are, however, light years away from hip hop, and rap is used simply as a method of expression.
It was not until 1990 that the group "Onda Rossa Posse" released the LP "Batti il tuo tempo".
From this group, born from the widespread at the time, the 'Posse', the first experimenters of the genre would be born, again in the capital.
This is the era of characters like MC Giaime, Piotta and Crash Kid, almost legendary figures in the music scene.

A picture of MC Giaime and Crash Kid together. Sadly they both passed away tragically, one at 23 and the other at 26

Parallel to the Roman scene, another one developed in Bologna, with rappers such as Inoki and especially Joe Cassano, defined as "the greatest devotee of the golden age in Italy".
This is the so-called 'golden age' of Italian hip hop: in this period, which runs from 1993 to 1999, and groups such as 'Articolo 31' and 'Neffa' also receive some support from the public

Uomini di mare

This period saw the birth of the group 'Uomini di mare', formed by Fabri Fibra and DJ Lato.
This group is one of the most important artists in Italian rap: from the first demo "Dei del mare quest'el gruv", through "Il Rapimento del Vulpla" to their masterpiece: Sindrome di fine millennio (End of the Millennium Syndrome).

Sindrome di Fine Millennio

Sindrome di Fine Millennio (End of the Millennium Syndrome) is the masterpiece of Uomini di Mare: a demo of 18 tracks, composed of lean and elegant beats validated by twisted and brilliant lyrics, full of metaphors and references to the world of the late '90s. It is also full of collaborations with artists of the time, such as Inoki, Joe Cassano and El Presidente.
I personally invite you to listen to the tracks, and then read the translation: in fact, it is not enough without the backing tracks, which create an incredible and suggestive atmosphere.

The early 2000s and the end of the underground

The cover of Mr. Simpatia, an album that had misantropy and hate as core: his violent and nihilistic lyrics shocked audiences and critics alike, becoming the first horrorcore album that gained success in Italy

At the end of the millennium, the Hip Hop scene underwent a period of depression: despite the release of great albums such as Basley Click's "The Album", Fabri FIbra's "Turbe Giovanili", Caparezza's "Verità Supposte" and Truceboys' "Sangue", Hip Hop was relegated to a niche, after the great successes of the 1990s.
Great albums such as "60hz", "Mondo Marcio" and especially "Mr. Simpatia", with a huge media success, will reawaken the public's interest.
However, this success represents a very important fact that is about to happen: the entry of rap into the mainstream.
In fact, the major artists began to sign with the majors: Fabri FIbra signed with Universal, Inoki with Warner and Mondo Marcio with EMI, producing albums of great commercial success. The fact in itself is not a problem, but with it the underground scene is destroyed, leading to ever lower quality records, with monotonous lyrics and bases that, despite the hiring of experienced producers and greater investment, are forced to follow pop trends. With the entry of rap into the mainsteram, this concludes our (brief) excursus.
In Italy, the underground scene is not really dead, and artists such as Vashish and TruceKlan continue to produce music of excellent quality and absolutely able to entertain, but the public has turned its interest towards new sounds and lyrics, with a fundamental (re)fall into the niche of proper hip-hop.

This was written by aIDserse with Notepad++.