Introducing the Italian black music scene
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Loading... - Bahi Lazrak
- 08 Jun 2022
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The Italian black music scene, which includes rap, trap, drill, but also other trends such as Latin sounds and contemporary pop, is steadily growing within the music industry.
2015-2021: six years that changed everything:
2015 and 2016 are considered the turning point for the black music genre. During those years, artists such as Sfera Ebbasta, Ghali, Capo Plaza, Izi, Rkomi, Tedua, Ernia, Dark Polo Gang, Enzo Dong became really known to the general public.
If we compare today’s black music market share to that of 2015, we can see a significant increase. To demonstrate such growth we can see that in 2016 there were only three Italian rap albums in the top 30 best-selling records in Italy: “Hellvisback” by Salmo (13th), “Santeria” by Marracash & Guè Pequeno (24th), “Nonostante tutto” by Gemitaiz (26th). In 2017 instead, we find J-Ax & Fedez (2nd), Ghali (5th), Fabri Fibra (9th), Guè Pequeno (10th), Coez (11th), Caparezza (13th), Sfera Ebbasta (19th), Dark Polo Gang (23rd), Tedua (29th), and at the 30th place again “Santeria“, a year later. The presence of the genre in the top charts has, therefore, more than tripled in a single year, and the number of copies sold have also nosed up, bringing four artists from the black music world in the top-ten best-selling records.
2018 continues with this trend. Sfera Ebbasta‘s single “Rockstar” reached n.1 in the best-selling record charts of the year, followed by Irama (with two albums), Salmo, Capo Plaza, Gemitaiz, Tedua, Noyz Narcos, Carl Brave (also with two projects), MadMan, Guè Pequeno and Nitro.
The 2019 top-30 included: Salmo, Machete Crew, Marracash, Fedez, tha Supreme, Lazza, Capo Plaza, Coez, Sfera Ebbasta, Rkomi, Mahmood, Luchè, Gemitaiz & Madman, Night Skinny and Izi; the strong increase that had begun in the previous years continues once again.
From a market point of view, 2020 can be considered a turning point.
“Persona” by Marracash, scored as the fifth best-selling album of 2019. In 2020 the album triumphed as best-selling album of the year in Italy. Marracash’s success is followed by seven black music records by Sfera Ebbasta, tha Supreme, Ghali, Guè Pequeno and Ernia – these are, in this order, the six best-selling records of the year, while Tedua’s “Vita vera mixtape” ranks tenth.
Looking at the top 30, we observe the Machete Crew with “Bloody Vinyl 3”, Geolier, Salmo, J-Ax, Emis Killa & Jake La Furia, Lazza, Elodie, Rocco Hunt, the “Machete Mixtape 4” (from 2019) and Achille Lauro. Even when it comes to the best selling singles of the year, the black music takeover is confirmed: the top-selling one is “Karaoke” by Boomdabash with Alessandra Amoroso. In the rest of the top 30 we find Rocco Hunt, Irama, Ernia, Shablo with Geolier and Sfera Ebbasta, Guè Pequeno with Rose Villain and Luchè, Baby K, Fred De Palma, Fedez, tha Supreme, Carl Brave, Ghali, Salmo, Random and Elodie.
After years spent laying the grounds, the Italian black music scene now owns the biggest share of the recording industry in Italy.
Italy & the rest of the world: it’s time to build connections:
Today, Sfera Ebbasta is the biggest artist in the Italian black music scene thanks to millions of monthly listeners and international collaborations of the level of Quavo, Offset, Future, SCH, Tinie Tempah, Miami Yacine, Lacrim, J Balvin, and many others. Along with him, other artists have begun to build important collaborations with foreign colleagues in different ways.
Some of these collaborations are the result of record label deals, however, Italian artists have shown they have created real connections with foreign colleagues by doing studio sessions with them, attending public events, visiting their cities, and posting on social media. These kind of relationships go well beyond the record deal, as in the case of “Baby” by Sfera with J Balvin.
To mention others, Ghali and Stormzy; Capoplaza, Ninho and Morad; Mahmood and Feid (thanks to the amazing success of “Soldi“, winner of Sanremo festival in 2019 and #2 at Eurovision, Mahmood has become widely recognized all over Europe); Izi, Dosseh and IDK; Lazza and Kaydy Cain; Rocco Hunt and Fred De Palma with Ana Mena; Rondodasosa and Central Cee. These are just some of the names that are starting to pave their ways abroad, creating organic and long-term collaborations bringing together the Italian music scene with the rest of the world, and vice versa.
Other important names among the black music scene are Marracash, Guè Pequeno, Noyz Narcos, Tedua, Ernia, Rkomi, Luchè and Geolier among the male artists. Elettra Lamborghini, Chadia Rodriguez, Beba, Anna, Priestess, Gaia, and Elodie prove that female artists’ overall presence in the black music scene has also been steadily growing in the last few years. Read More...
