Articolo 31
Strade di Città

THE REVIEW

"Ah, it was better when it was worse!"

"Ah, they don't make tomorrows like they used to!"

"Ah, there are no more in-between seasons!"

"Ah, how great J-Ax was in the Articolo days, back in 'Strade di Città', unlike now when he's so commercial!"

_{(Some Nostalgics)}

Hello folks,

by now you've realized that I adore J-Ax, so I have a blast reviewing his albums. I started with his solo ones, and many of you would always say that you preferred Ax when he was with Articolo 31, especially during the ''Strade di città'' era, when he wasn't ''so commercial'' yet.

Well, of course, when in 1993 J-Ax and Dj Jad, two kids from the Milanese suburbs furious with the world and eager for revenge, recorded their debut album, they didn't really focus on the catchiness of the tracks (most of the choruses are simply repeated phrases, and some tracks don't even have them). Then there's their inexperience as budding artists (hahaha! Did you get it...?): Jad's beats are still raw, with edgy, urban sounds, while Ax's rap features many clichéd rhymes with infinitives, a still uncertain rhythm, and some entirely avoidable virtuosity like phrases rapped so quickly that the listener can't catch their meaning.

However, the album gains from its spontaneity. The charm of the work lies more in its disarray than in its genius (which will start to assert itself forcibly from the second album onwards).

The lyrics talk about street life ("Strada di Città", "Legge del Taglione"), their music ("DJ Jad", "Ti sto parlando", "Questo è il nostro stile"), anarchic desires ("Fotti la censura", "Pifferaio magico"), the dream of making it ("Nato per rappare"), love ("Solo per te"), and sex ("Tocca qui").

"Tocca qui", a fun narrative full of sexual innuendo, is also the only major radio hit of the album, as it's more carefree in lyrics and refined in its beat (it even clashes a bit with the rest of the tracks), and it will also give momentum to subsequent albums, which are less angry and more ironic.

A reflection: many accuse Articolo of selling out because after "Strade di Città'' they stopped talking about street life, focusing on other subjects and less harsh sounds. Now, when they wrote their debut album, Ax and Jad lived in the world they talked about; then the album launched them up the charts, and they became happier and more fulfilled, so they started talking about what they were experiencing at that moment.

If we closely follow their journey, we first see anger and uncertainty in "Strade di Città", then happiness and relief in "Messa di Vespiri", followed by resentment mixed with feeling accomplished after criticism from purists and the underground world ("Così Com'è", "Nessuno"), then the apathy when rap began to tire them ("Perchè Sì") and the subsequent shift in genre (from "Domani Smetto" to Ax's solo albums).

I believe that Ax in particular is a true artist who tries to do what he feels, even at the risk of being considered a sellout and not selling anymore, but who preferred to take the risk rather than resigning himself to endlessly copying himself (as many do in Italy). Regarding the fact that he's more commercial now, I think it's "smarter" to stick to a predefined genre like hip hop, especially for someone like Ax who made money from it, than to invent a mix of genres and do something unusual like he did... Right? End of reflection.

Returning to the album, my rating is four stars.

Cheers.