Naples - "Rap saved my life. It could have been a bad ending." Clementino celebrates twenty years of his career and retraces his personal and artistic journey in a lengthy interview with Gianluca Gazzoli's Bsmt, available on digital platforms. An intimate account, in which the Neapolitan artist reaffirms his profound connection to hip hop: "It's culture, it will never die. It's not just a musical genre, it comes from society, like rock."
Clementino proudly maintains a loyalty to his roots, even now that the general public knows him as one of the coaches on The Voice Kids, the Rai1 talent show hosted by Antonella Clerici. "I'm on television, but I feel more hip-hop than most," he emphasizes.
From tourist villages to the first records
The beginnings weren't easy. Clementino took his first artistic steps in tourist resorts, before his rap "fascination" and his debut album. In 2006, he released Napoli Manicomio, an album that caught the attention of purists of the genre. Shortly thereafter, he signed with an independent label and released his second album, Iena, cementing his credibility in the Italian rap scene.
The meeting with Fabri Fibra and the commercial turning point
The turning point came with his meeting with Fabri Fibra. "I met his manager, Paola Zukar, we recorded a song together, and from one day to the next, we decided to make an album," Clementino explains. Thus was born Rapstar, a project that marked a turning point in his career.
His true breakthrough came with 'O Vient, a song that climbed the charts. "At the time, there was no commercial Neapolitan rapper. When that song came out, I realized things were really starting to click."
Pino Daniele and Sting, life-changing encounters
The story also highlights the most significant encounters, especially the one with Pino Daniele. "When I saw him for the first time, I thought: is it really him? I'm sorry I only had a few years with him, but they were incredibly intense." Clementino recalls the sessions in the singer-songwriter's Roman studio, the performances together in Naples, and a deep human bond: "Pino Daniele is the point of light on the totality of things in music."
Her relationship with Sting is different but equally special: "We have a great relationship. One time we were at the movies and I was eating candy, and he was taking it from my bag."
Success, excesses and rebirth
Popularity, Clementino admits, hasn't always been easy to handle. "I've experienced it in two moments: one beautiful, when I didn't believe it, and another when I wasn't well and didn't understand the significance of what was happening to me." Years of excess, a "rock star life" of nights out and transgressions, before the inner transformation: "I took refuge in meditation."
Today, Clementino looks back with greater clarity. "I'm lucky because I can talk about it now," he concludes. And he promises: "One day I'll write a book about my life. A rap star, in every sense of the word."
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
Clementino's story is very interesting and makes us reflect on how music can impact people's lives. He's an example of resilience, but there are many things we don't fully understand about his career and how he faced challenges.