Articolo 31
Strade di Città

THE REVIEW

Many of you consider Articolo 31 as mere media trash fit only for Festivalbar or All Music, and, in part, you are right, but in 1993, a year dominated by Grunge, two guys from the Milan suburbs released an album that laid the foundations for Italian hip hop (unfortunately with disastrous later results).

When one talks about Italian hip hop, groups like the pathetic twins Gemelli Diversi (did your mother really birth twins? There are many contraceptive methods or toys that faithfully reproduce the male member in every shape and size, and your mother could have chosen from many things before bringing you into the world, damn...), Sottotono (damn bastards, I won't add more...), that fool er Piotta (jerry can of gasoline and a match please), Fabbri Fibbra (who deserves a little bit of respect even if he's an impressive loser) and other fools with pants below the butt cut, with NBA shirts and costly branded sneakers (... Anyway, I'm singing about a generation's hardship, I'm a misfit, and I talk about teenager problems of bbbestia damn... Ooooh ooh Mary... Well, screw you, and all those like you, hold hands, line up two by two and don't look when you cross the street, I insist, especially near busy ring roads during rush hours).

Few remember Frankie Hi-Nrg or the debut of these two guys J Ax and DJ Jad, from the outskirts of Milan, broke, as angry as howler monkeys with burning butts, truly immersed in a reality where you have to watch your back every day to get home without bruises or worse and to stay afloat in a world that most well-meaning eyes refuse to see... But it exists...

I reviewed Jeff Buckley and Temple of the Dog, so I'm going to get a lot of crap for this but:

1° every record I thought of has been reviewed at least twice or more, and I did not know what the fuck to talk about

2° I am not ashamed at all to review this record because, in the end, it deserves a few words and respect.

"Strade di Città" starts with the "Intro" where a radio tunes to a female voice explaining the meaning of the name Articolo 31 "Article of the Irish Constitution that guarantees freedom of speech in media".

"Strade di Città" talks about the difficulty of life in the Milanese ghetto, Ax's voice is slow, rhythmic, sharp, articulating words to convey the discomfort felt on the streets, the filth one is forced to see every day, the desire to escape, to carve out a clean space far from the usual crap. Joining him is the voice of Chief, another burnt-out and angry M. C., and the two swap verses over a really well-mixed beat by DJ JAD.
"Fotti la Censura" is a clear diatribe against everything blocked by our beloved trash television and what is fed to us every day to lobotomize our brains (enough of Iva Zanicchi, Little Tony, or Cugini di Campagna... Damn Cugini di Campagna!!!... It's absurd that they're still being invited everywhere to rehash stuff that was already crap back in the day... Or the idiotic friends of TransMaria Defilippide and DinoErre Costanziopoli (may God smite you and resurrect you on a deserted beach where the Tsunami of the century is about to hit, you bags of rotted fertilizer!)... Do you realize what crap we had to swallow in 2007?). Still, the track has a splendid base from our JAD, who does a great job on the records, and Ax impresses with his speed of speech without ever running out of breath. Impressive. One of the best of the album.
"Cantico Errante di due DJ Notturni" is a showcase of what Jad can do, supported by DJ Wladimiro (what a freaking name...) on the decks, three moments of scratching that highlight all the properties of these two crazies, and it results in something sublime.
"Legge del Taglione" tells a slice of life experienced in the neighborhood, where someone gets beaten by two punks at the bus stop (dear Ax I hope it wasn't you, otherwise you really took a beating that day...).
"Ti Sto Parlando" follows the canons, though a little slower, of "Fotti la censura" but again Ax amazes with the multitude of words in sequence he can rap, the whole is an encouragement to those who just don't want to listen or refuse to do so.
"Dj Jad" is a tribute from Ax to his DJ, who, on the decks has no rivals (Look at him, listen to him, he's unmistakable... Look at him, listen to him, he's unstoppable... Look at him, listen to him, he's uncatchable... Dj Jad on the decks!!). Jad shows his skills here as in every track and proves to be one of the best in his field.
"Tocca qui" is the most commercial track, perhaps the most known, where Ax distorts the last words of each sentence to alter the true meaning and tells about meeting a slightly snobbish chick interested in art exhibitions, while in the end, the brush she wanted was something else. Good idea, very entertaining.
"Solo per Te" is the best track on the album, a somewhat peculiar love hymn, with Jad's samples from artists like Notorius B.I.G. and James Brown (Great Jad!). It's about a relationship with someone truly special, who perhaps will never return, with whom you shared a part, perhaps the most important, of your life, with whom you've never been uncomfortable and who truly understood you before you even spoke. Praise how it was rhymed and the base. Dedicated to all the sun-heart-love songs.
"Questo è il Nostro Stile" extols the Italian tradition in the world and the truly unique style of these two youngsters who really wanted to say something with this album, but over time, money, record labels, etc., they slowly forgot. A pity.

The CD version features two additional tracks, "Pifferaio Magico", which many dismiss as nonsense, like the album itself, but with a seemingly silly lyric encourages each of us to think with our own head as we see fit and "Nato per Rappare" is an anthem for all those who want to try putting their thoughts to music.

In conclusion, I know I'll definitely receive crap from all sides for reviewing an Articolo 31 album, bring it on, I'm ready! But, as I said, this record deserved at least a mention after reading the review of "Di Sana Pianta" by J Ax.

They may not be the Beastie Boys, true, but with this record, they deserve a bit of respect.

J Ax: Shame on you, you damn fool, and remember you could have nurtured something serious in this country, instead, you only became trash suitable for fertilizing fields. Even Jad left you because he couldn't stand you anymore, jerk!