Rischio
Lo spettacolo è finito

So, when I bought this CD, I was convinced it was a kind of particular music, the first time I listened to it, well, I didn’t like it nada.
Then I listened to it again.
I listened to it again.
And I listened to it again.
and here’s the review:

Rischio a.k.a. Jimmy Spinelli + Tagadà Nochalance produced by 5Dan Coo., all members of the Porzione Massiccia Crew. I didn’t know them. “Intro” with scratches by Jay Kay, and a piece with Joe Cassano's voice in the background (probably a tribute), and that's what drives me crazy about this intro, the old Joe occasionally emerging from Jay Kay's scratches. eheh, really nice. It is followed by “Mai Mai” with Ask, a beat that seems a bit like the Mexican rebel, with something bluesy in Ask, and Jimmy Spinelli rapping the verses. At the third track “Lo Spettacolo è Finito” with Dj Gora and Inoki, I understand the flaws and merits of this CD.

This CD can only appeal to
1) lovers of Bolo hip-hop
2) myself
3) those who aren't interested in listening to the words
4) those who like the underground, the Mexican rebel, politic-rap, who love PMC, and those who feel a bit Gangsta (this last thing, along with politics, I don’t like)
“Lavoro Pulito pt.1” is a nice song mix between Rischio, Nochalance, Papadan, and Word. A mix between anonymous Italian hip-hop and anonymous foreign hip-hop. They talk about ganja and denounce the world as it is, like in every song on the album. “Tranquillo!?!” is the first skit on the CD, which will be full of them, the skits are tasty, beat underneath and gangsta setting (here one of the few things I like about gangsta is the skits), they talk about shady deliveries. About giving, and taking, about debts to pay. “Figli” with Royal Mehdi, they talk about the hip-hop generation, and here the flaw of the CD is clear, the beats are almost all the same, the Mexican rebel stands out more than the verse, if you will. “Figli” is one of the few tracks with a chorus. Yes, at the end of the day Jimmy Spinelli knows about classic rap, the kind that doesn’t care about where the beat goes, like Fibra in the early days, with few choruses and rhymes so fast and dense that you don’t understand them. It may please or displease, I like it. The next skit “Adesso Aspetti!!...” introduces “Il Giro”, we enter into the ganja-chilling zone, in “Adesso Aspetti!!...” the guy with the papers arrives late and wants the joints almost immediately, the others don’t take it well in “Il Giro”, it talks about those who don’t respect the ganja circle, which is passed around without skipping a turn. Then comes the philosophical moment with “Estinguersi O Distinguers?!?”, they think the issue is all there, between extinct and distinctive, there are no middle ways. Every track is introduced by a radio station change, which after a while blends too much with the similar beats.

Then comes the CD's masterpiece “Mondodroga” track by Rischio from 2003 remixed by Dj River. It talks about our world, Italy, the whole contemporary scene, and lots of crime. Beautiful, yeah. In “Dura Natura” we enter the revolutionary area, the song opens with a radio statement that the Liberian Liberation Army has attacked don’t know what. It evolves with a political outburst of which little is understood, the beat is not bad, between Mexican rebel, blues, and hip-hop, but nothing is understood!!
“...era nell’aria” skit, introduces always in a somewhat gangsta-like manner the song “Nell’Aria”, in “era nell’aria” fantastic the scratching beat introduction, and the Latin intermezzo, then comes “Nell’Aria”, it talks about oneself, nice beat, usual modus operandi, few choruses, fast and breathless rhymes, politics and Mexican rebel (I call it that, it would be a kind of combat-folk like the latest Modena City Ramblers, mixed with a hip-hop base), interspersed with female choir, sensual and beautiful. “Magna Magna pt.2” with Word, Word has a unique voice, the song is cute, though I prefer the others, “Lavoro Pulito pt.2” with Soul Boy, continues the theme of the first part, but better the beat of the first. “Non Scordare”, a great beat. Yeah, nice song, it talks about suburbs and the usual settings in which a rapper grows...
“Un Peso Una Misura” a terrible beat, but Rischio’s voice saves it, the rhymes start slow and marked to become faster and more elusive, as the base does spot on. The CD closes with “Outro” together with Dj Locca and Dj Shablo, the most beautiful beat of the CD, melancholic, nostalgic, poignant, I swear, when I heard it after the whole CD, I was moved.

Yes a nice CD, indeed. Why did I not give it a 5 if I liked it so much?? In the end, I subjected it to very few criticisms, well four because:
1) the beats;
2) it evokes old-time hip-hop, few choruses, dense base, dense rhymes, monotonous, long, angry;
3) the historical cues from 1977 to 1948, which give a nice image of culture to the CD;
4) the unmistakable voice of Joe Cassano in the “Intro” under Jay Kay’s beat (and well it's PMC, who are certainly among the best in Italian rap!!).

And four because
1) usual gangsta references, which are bearable only on someone like Joe, who really was gangsta, but in life;
2) the Mexican rebel after a while takes away longevity from the record;
3) too politicized;
4) a bit too monotonous.

But still a nice CD that I recommend to all lovers of old and new hip-hop...