Ape
Generazione Di Sconvolti

Generazione Di Sconvolti, 2005, by Ape, a young Milanese rapper.
I admit I'm skeptical, it's not a bad CD, but there's something missing.

The CD opens with "Artista Distratto," oh God, it's not that great, not a good start, no. But Ape is not stupid and already from "Morgante" he shows that he knows how to mix his warm, almost black voice with particular beats. Ape loves reading and cinema, and it shows, he rhymes about Ellroy, Bukowsky, and others. He considers himself the Morgante of rap... should we give him credit?
Let's go on to find out. "Senza Rimpianti," a beautiful song about a street kid starting out in crime. Yes, a beautiful song even if "he only thought about cash" resonates too redundantly, like the continual emphasis on smoking and the cursed aspect of the protagonist. But the beat is nice, and the rhymes are not bad at all. Should I change my mind? The 4th track "Ne Parlerò Con Te" seems to tell me yes, Ape is good and the song is wonderful. A beat based on a rhythmic and poignant piano, a song dedicated to the Church: the non-believer Ape, speaks face-to-face with God about his messengers on earth, with a very critical look. A beautiful song, for beat, rhymes, and content. Ape attacks the instrumentalism of Christ, clerical hypocrisy, yet admits, as if to say it will never change, that he too, the non-believing rapper, is grateful to the Lord for the sales...
in "Ci Confondiamo," Ape introduces us to the features (in this case backing vocalist Federica) with whom he chooses to talk about relationship problems. Nooo!!! There couldn't be a rap song missing in "Monologo Rap" here we understand Ape's intentions in the genre: the cash.
Business is always at the center of the discourse, Ape criticizes the posses, the American rappers, but you can always hear the economic goal in the background. And it starts to become a bit annoying.
"Generazione Di Sconvolti" "senza santi ne eroi (Vasco) siamo noi, con i nostri se e i nostri ma" launches a defense of his generation. Yes, nice song, if you look at it from the perspective of a teenager like me, but perhaps still too gangsta and forcibly cursed to be complete as a song. We return to talking about relationships with "L'invidia" and then here's Bassi accompanying him in an open national self-criticism in "La Mia Nazione." The base of "L'invidia" is perhaps a bit too CapaRezzian, but "La Mia Nazione" has a nice beat, and it's not bad in rhymes...
There are continuous Bukowskyan quotes, as soon as the rhyme is fertile... I have to admit it excites me as a Bukowski fan. After "La Mia Nazione" comes another great track from the CD "Tundi" with Federica's choirs, a story of an Eastern European prostitute who falls for a pimp to turn her life around (here comes another Bukowskyan theme: prostitution), the song is very beautiful and sad, and it closes the actual CD. Then from the following "Idea 2005" to "Altra Domenica" the tracks become more playful and gangsta with features:
Asher Kuno (see "Serata Maledetta"), Sir Bod, Nobile Tino, Tuno and Federica (see "Databile 2005") and Tuno (see "l'Altra Domenica"). The Bukowskyan references, amid alcohol and misdeeds, remain, but the beats become a bit too commercial.
Three reasons why 1. Bukowskyan references 2. really good beats 3. "Senza Rimpianti," "Ne Parlerò Con Te" and "Tundi" deserve it
And three reasons why 1. a bit too forced and in some things melodramatic to be fully Bukowskyan 2. a bit too gangsta 3. not very lasting and with few scratches (after Tundi you get bored)

But Ape is not bad, and his themes are interesting after all, a CD for those who love street stories (like those who are convinced that to make "rap" you have to be a criminal) and for those who love Bukowskyan references (me). Anyway, at least for the few beautiful songs that are there, it's worth listening to, but it probably won't appeal to lovers of old school or the golden period '96-'99 (which for me extends until 2002 with "Tutta Sostanza" by Sparo).
But... a piece of advice? if you want to listen to something beautiful by this rapper, look for the song "Cose Che Succedono," which is really beautiful.