Assalti Frontali
Profondo Rosso

I am not impartial when listening to the Assalti. No, I am not, because I have always thought that, along with a few others (Uochi Tochi, partly Dargen D'Amico, and very few others), they represent the best Italian interpretation of hip hop, made of experiences and denunciations, life at Forte Prenestino, and commitment, but also the desire to have fun with awareness. Here, “awareness” is the term that, in my opinion, describes the Assalti Frontali experience: being inside what you’re singing about. Not just composing a song, but living it first and foremost.

After a couple of albums (“Mi sa che stanotte...” and “Un'intesa Perfetta”) that did not convince me as much as the previous ones, the Roman Sound System returns with an album that goes straight to (my) heart and fits perfectly among the band’s masterpieces: “Profondo Rosso” is the album we expected from them since 2004's “H.S.L.”. It's an album where, alongside Militant A’s lyrics, there is great care for the musical part thanks to the involvement of the prolific Bonnot both as an active member of the sound system and as the sole producer of the sounds. The beats are engaging, never trivial, eclectic, and downright fun, with a now unmistakable style: an electronic “Profondo Rosso” that intersects with an almost rock sensibility, a “Cattivi Maestri” where Bonnot mixes the track with a nice guitar riff, others like “Banditi nella Sala” that represent irresistible hip hop standards, acoustic ballads like “Lampedusa Lo Sa”. The vocal part is entrusted to Militant A (and a series of more or less famous guests like Esa and Inoki in “Banditi nella Sala”) who, as usual, does not disappoint with his tense and nervous flow, his unmistakable timbre, and the sense of anguish he conveys. It is a non-commercial, but marketable and modern album.

Obviously, in the album’s economy, the predominant part is the lyrics where Militant A once again describes what he sees around him from his point of view, that of a person who has always lived within the movement, in a “red zone” (and he is forgiven for the inevitable slogans that pop up here and there). It ranges from the angry memory of “unexplained” deaths like that of Stefano Cucchi, to the “mixing” that is becoming part of our society and its desire for integration, to calls for resistance (even in schools, to which “Cattivi Maestri” is dedicated), to painful memories of humanitarian tragedies (the Merchant Vessel Pinar), up to the condition of economic, social, and emotional “deep red” to which (and perhaps this is the core of the album) our culture and awareness must oppose to mitigate and fight the desolation and poverty (especially intellectual) surrounding us. There is also room for a song with strongly personal and programmatic lyrics, “Spugne” (my favorite), where Militant A seems to assess the situation, the other side of the “deep red”, (“without struggle, I cannot be happy”), the positive aspect linked to the radically political-social experience of Militant and associates: never give up and continue to fight for what you believe in.

“Profondo Rosso” is yet another confirmation of what the Assalti Frontali are: partisan and biased, with their many strengths and weaknesses (the taste for slogans, certain commercial concessions in some songs...), engaging for those who are close to their ideas, indigestible for others.
The Assalti Frontali and Militant A are authentic people who talk about personal experiences, they have a stance (which might not be shared) and communicate it to us bluntly, without mediation, a strong position of antagonism: this is the true strength of the sound system. And this strength materializes in an album that, paraphrasing the epochal “Conflitto,” finds a home (Rome’s and Assalti’s “extended family”) to “go around the world” and tell us, always from a very specific point of view, what is happening.