Raige
Tora-Ki

This album is a rap album. And precisely because it is a very mature rap, I would like this review to be read by those who are prejudiced against this musical genre.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of trash out there, and often it is this that gets the most visibility.

This album may not be to the taste of those who hate the genre itself, but it could make them understand that rap is not just ignorance and sterile complaints, it is not arrogance for its own sake, but it is one of the three components of hip-hop, a true Culture born from alienation, the dark side of globalization that characterizes our time.

Raige is one of the most promising rappers of the new school, he comes from Alpignano, near Turin, and his lyrics are a good reason not to commit suicide, I give you my word. The only flaw of his rap might be his sometimes baroque and exasperated technique, but never unpleasant. Maybe it is necessary to point out to all those who often label rap as commercial and empty music that this guy works as a laborer and while creating the album he was dealing with a job that kept him away for 17 hours a day, yet he managed to put his soul into every single verse of the 16 tracks.

As for the album itself, it's better to start from the intro, which is a real declaration of the MC's poetics.

In this track, Raige first attacks the state of rap in Italy, complaining that everyone wants to do it, and since 90% of the time they produce very poor work, they foster false beliefs and prejudices about this musical genre. He attacks the rap scene in Italy and describes it as "the era of pimps all with big guns and with bam-bam" (club dogo? truceclan?) but the key verses are those that close the piece:

Another key track is the title track: Tora-ki. The title is taken from a Japanese legend, the legend of the tiger with jade eyes. Basically, this tiger was the protector of humanity but was blind; while protecting humans, it desired sight and eventually gave in to temptation, but as soon as it gained sight, it began to hunt those it once protected.

Here I quote Raige's own words in an interview:

"This piece was born as poetry. Tora-Ki is the translation of this part of my life and my family. It serves to remind, first of all to myself, that we already have everything that matters; that it's time to let go of material things (the jade eyes) and hold on to true values (the energy of the tiger)."

The other significant tracks are definitely "Mai," which in my opinion is a true poem, with verses like: "today time is silk that flows over your breast if it weren't for me pressing, to see it slip down" which I personally find gorgeous. Another significant track is "Hey Pa" dedicated to his deceased father, where Raige truly lays bare his intimacy, and apparently, it's a text he wrote primarily for himself. "L'unica" is another track of very high quality, technically surprising, and the scratch intermezzos by dj Tsura are beautiful. But the song that lyrically stands out the most besides Tora-Ki is "Ora dormi," which I don't want to describe for fear of ruining it.

As for the productions, honestly, I don't appreciate much Zonta's beats (the producer) which I find a bit old school although very well-crafted. I greatly appreciate the work of dj Tsura, dj Shocca, and dj Rockdrive.

In conclusion, it's a mature rap album truly made with heart by a guy who strays far from genre stereotypes and has much within his soul to share.

"Mine are marginal stories, beautiful marginal stories. Stories that for this time come out of the dark. This is their album. An album of "heroes by chance" found and lost in the inexplicable flow of destiny. My protagonists are silent people, who in the shadow live experiences of courageous simplicity."