Italian hip hop is hip hop music rapped in the Italian language and/or made by Italian artists. One of the first hip hop crews to catch the attention of the Italian mainstream was Bologna's Isola Posse All Star, then and still today produced by Sandro Orru, who had written the soundtrack to the animated Signor Rossi TV series Signor Rossi in the 1970s. The European Music Office's report on Music in Europe claimed that in general, hip hop from the south of Italy tends to be harder than that from the north.
Luis Armando Lozada Cruz, known by his stage name Vico C, is an American rapper, singer and record producer. Regarded as the founding father of reggaeton, Vico C has played an influential role in the development of Latin American hip hop and urban music.
Club Dogo is an Italian rap group from Milan that consists of Gué Pequeno and Jake La Furia, and beatmaker Don Joe.
Sandro Orrù, known as DJ Gruff, Gruffetti or Lowdy N.C.N., is a pioneer of the Italian hip hop scene. Known for his original take on rapping and scratching techniques since 1982. He has been active as a turntablist, DJ, beatmaker, rapper and producer.
Fabrizio Tarducci, better known by the stage name Fabri Fibra, is an Italian rapper and singer. In his career he has sold more than 2.3 million certified copies.
Otierre are an Italian hip hop band.
The name means Originale Trasmissione del Ritmo.
Bad Balance is a Russian rap group considered to be one of the first rap acts in USSR. The group maintained a devoted underground following during the 1990s. The group made huge contribution to the hip-hop culture in Russia and ex-USSR countries. SHEFF is often considered as original creator of hip-hop culture in Russia, and for years the leader of Russian old school hip hop.
David Sánchez Badillo, known professionally as Tempo, is a Puerto Rican rapper and songwriter. He was the leading figure in the reggaeton scene from the late 1990s until his arrest in 2002. He was released in 2013 after spending 11 years in prison. Although Tempo had success during the emergence of reggaeton, his popularity faded following his imprisonment; he is nowadays regarded as a controversial figure within the genre.
Clemente Maccaro, known by the stage name Clementino, is an Italian rapper, songwriter and actor, proficient in freestyle in both Italian and Neapolitan language. Along with rapper Fabri Fibra, he is a member of the group Rapstar, formed in 2012. After winning several freestyle competitions between 2004 and 2006, he signed a contract with the independent record label Lynx Records, releasing the debut album Napolimanicomio in 2006. Three years later, he joined Videomind, releasing IENA in 2011. In 2013 the rapper signed a contract with the record label Universal, publishing shortly afterwards Mea culpa, who had a moderate success in the motherland, reaching fourth position in the FIMI album charts and being certified a gold record.
Jari Ivan Vella, known professionally as Ensi, is an Italian rapper proficient in freestyle. He won the first edition of MTV Spit in 2012.
Noyz Narcos, stage name of Emanuele Frasca, also known as Noyz, is an Italian rapper, beatmaker and writer. He is also a member of the Italian hip-hop collective TruceKlan.
Cosimo Fini, better known by the stage name Guè, previously as Gué Pequeno, is an Italian rapper. He is also a member of the famous hip hop group Club Dogo with rapper Jake La Furia and producer Don Joe. Between 1999 and 2001, he was also in "Sacre Scuole", a group made up by Gué Pequeno, Dargen D'Amico and Jake La Furia. In his career he collaborated with international artists such as Benny the Butcher, Kool G Rap, Akon, Rick Ross and Jadakiss.
Inoki, also known as Inoki Ness, pseudonym of Fabiano Ballarin, is an Italian rapper and record producer.
All the Moron's Men is a 1999 Italian comedy film directed by Paolo Costella.
Davide Bassi, better known by his stage name Bassi Maestro, is an Italian rapper, deejay, beatmaker and producer from Milan, Italy. Bassi is one of the pioneers of Italian underground hip hop, having started his career back in 1988.
Primo Brown, pseudonym of David Maria Belardi, was an Italian rapper, known for having played in the rap band Cor Veleno.
The Targa Tenco is a prize awarded annually by the Club Tenco. Founded in 1984, it has a large jury of 200 journalists and critics awarding the best works of the year. It is considered the most prestigious award in Italian music.
