Jack the Smoker, pseudonym of Giacomo Giuseppe Romano (Milan, December 20, 1982), is an Italian rapper and record producer active since 2000. [1]
The Milanese artist, son of a Neapolitan father and a mother half from Apulia and half from the Marche region, is part of the Spregiudicati collective, of which the notable rapper and producer Mace is also a member. The duo worked together in the early 2000s on the La Crème project, first on the Zeus One album Il sonno della ragione, then releasing the album L'alba for Vibrarecords in 2003; the La Crème project subsequently took part in DJ Fede Presents Vibe Sessions in 2005 and in Applausi by Palla & Lana. [2]
In 2004 Jack the Smoker participated in 2theBeat, being defeated in the first round of the first evening by rapper Danno. The following year he participates again in the event, coming out in the semi-finals against Kiave, [3] while in 2006 he reached the deathmatch of the final evening against Jesto, Ensi and Clementino, however coming out first. [4]
On September 23, 2011, two years after the release of the solo album V.Ita, Jack the Smoker returns with a mixtape entitled Game Over Mixtape Vol. 1 which boasts the collaborations of many artists, such as Nex Cassel, Bassi Maestro, Rayden, Emis Killa and Vacca. In July 2012 he published the EP Grandissimo, while in December of the same year he signed for the Machete Empire. The following year he released the Smokin 'Room Mixtape Vol. 1 mixtape for free download. [5]
In 2016 Jack the Smoker presented his second solo album, Jack Uccide. Later he took part in the production of Dani Faiv's debut album The Waiter, participating in the songs Dalai Lama and 4MST. Two years later he took part in the mixtape Machete Mixtape 4 . On June 3, 2020, he announced his third album Ho fatto tardi, released a month later. [6]
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.
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.
Fabio Bartolo Rizzo, better known by the stage name Marracash, is an Italian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Starting his career in the rap group Dogo Gang, he debuted as a solo artist rising in fame in the 2010s releasing six studio albums that reached the top ten of the Italian Albums Chart, including two top positions with Santeria (2016) and Persona (2019). The rapper has also released numerous successful singles and collaborations scoring seventeen times the top ten of the Italian Singles Chart. Thanks to his work he has sold over 5 million copies in Italy, becoming one of the top selling Italian rappers in the 2010s.
Justin Lewis Scott, better known by his stage name Big K.R.I.T., is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, he began his musical career in 2005. He was signed to Def Jam Recordings by Sha Money XL in 2010, and first gained recognition following the release of his single "Country Shit" in September of that year. The following year, he guest appeared on T.I.'s promotional single "I'm Flexin'", which became Scott's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100.
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.
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.
Moreno is an Italian rapper and singer. He rose to fame after winning the 12th series of the Italian talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi.
Maurizio Pisciottu, known professionally as Salmo, is an Italian rapper. Since his debut in the Italian music scene, he has released five solo albums, peaking at number one three times, and numerous successful singles and collaborations, selling over 3 million copies in Italy.
Fenomeno is the ninth studio album by the Italian rapper Fabri Fibra. It was released on 7 April 2017 by Universal Music Group.
Jackman Thomas "Jack" Harlow is an American rapper and singer. He began a musical career in 2015, and released several EPs and mixtapes until signing with Don Cannon and DJ Drama's record label Generation Now, an imprint of Atlantic Records in 2018.
Lauro De Marinis, known professionally as Achille Lauro, is an Italian singer, songwriter, and rapper. He gained popularity in the Italian hip hop scene and he competed in the Sanremo Music Festival 2019 with the song "Rolls Royce", at the 2020 edition with the song "Me ne frego", and at the 2022 edition with the song "Domenica". He represented San Marino at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with the song "Stripper", after winning Una voce per San Marino, but failed to qualify for the final.
Pierfrancesco Botrugno, better known by the stage name Madman, sometimes stylized as MadMan, is an Italian rapper.
Rhys Angelo Emile Herbert, known professionally as Digga D, is a UK drill artist. He rose to fame in 2017 along with his UK drill collective CGM. His mixtapes Double Tap Diaries and Made In The Pyrex reached No. 11 and 3 on the UK Albums Chart, respectively. His third mixtape Noughty By Nature was released on 15 April 2022, debuting at number one on the UK Albums Chart. His fourth mixtape Back To Square One was released in August 2023.
Tecniche Perfette is an event linked to Italian hip hop, and in particular to freestyle rap.
Francesco Marcello Scano, professionally known as Enigma, is an Italian rapper. He is mostly known for the project he created with Salmo, Slait and Hell Raton, Machete Empire Records, which he left for reasons not yet fully certain.
Nicola Albera, known professionally as Nitro, is an Italian rapper from Vicenza, Veneto.
Rosa Luini, known professionally as Rose Villain, is an Italian singer-songwriter. Villain first achieved popularity in 2016, thanks to the platinum certified single "Don Medellín" together with Italian rapper Salmo and then, in 2020, with the quadruple platinum certified single "Chico", together with Italian rapper Guè Pequeno. In 2021, she collaborated once again with Guè Pequeno on the songs "Elvis" and "Piango sulla Lambo". In 2022, her single "Michelle Pfeiffer" with Tony Effe was certified platinum. Furthermore, Villain signed a deal with the Italian hip hop label Machete Empire Records and also signed a record deal with Republic Records.
Manuel Zappadu, known as Hell Raton, is an Italian rapper and record producer. He is best known for his project Machete Empire Records and his crew Machete Crew, founded in 2010 with Salmo, Slait and En?gma ; as well as for being one of the four judges in the fourteenth season of X Factor Italia, which was won by Casadilego who formed part of his category (Girls). He returned for the fifteenth season and won again with Baltimora.
L'unico compromesso is the first studio album by Italian rapper Gemitaiz, released on May 28, 2013 by Tanta Roba. The album represents the rapper's recording debut after numerous independently published mixtapes and features collaborations with various exponents of the Italian rap scene, including MadMan, Salmo and Bassi Maestro.
Freestyle rap in Italy started back in 2003, when the Tecniche Perfette contest was born by Mastafive and DJ Double S. The next important contests are the 2TheBeat, the most relevant one that has ever taken place in the country despite having only had 3 editions from 2004 to 2006, and MTV Spit in 2013, that saw as participating rappers who are currently big names in Italian rap like Nitro, Rancore or Clementino.