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The rapper from Olbia has come a long way: his musical career began in 1999 with "premeditazione e dolo", a rap group that disbanded shortly after forming. Almost all the members, including Salmo himself, reunited and formed Skascico, a Sardinian Nu Metal group active until 2008.
Salmo, stage name of Marizio Pisciottu, born in June (during a time when some went against the tide) in 1984, started making music at a very young age, displaying considerable talent. The turning point in his career came in 2010 when he officially joined the Machete crew and released "The island chainsaw massacre", which cemented his reputation in the underground scene while also granting him significant national notoriety.
Today, we know him like this: dubstep and metalcore beats, violent lyrics with messages that are never too superficial.
I traveled back in time to 2004, when MTV still played music videos, MySpace was still used, Eminem was all the rage, Fabri Fibra and Club Dogo were gaining fame in the Italian rap underground... in other words, the good old days.
A productive period for the Sardinian rapper as well, alternating with albums by our version of Deftones, producing two demos, each lasting around 50 minutes. I recently discovered the old Salmo and, well, I must say I didn't expect it at all. I glimpsed a twenty-year-old guy with a unique voice (very different from today) and a strong desire to express his ideas, his main passion: music.
Sottopelle and mr. antipatia are not that different from each other: both feature funk, rock, and electronic sounds combined with minimalist yet effective beats and a very distinctive voice, as mentioned earlier, that not everyone will like (or perhaps just at first, as happened to me).
Both contain mostly easy-going lyrics, but infused with small scattered meanings here and there, combined with the rapper's total goofing around, showing that he knows how to rap as God intended. Take, for example, the track "mr. antipatia" from the album of the same name. A perfect beat, fast words, sometimes not easily understandable (at least on first listen), an unrecognizable voice, and a rather simple but entertaining text. This is characteristic of early Salmo, as demonstrated in "sul serio?", "più me la meno" and "brutta influenza".
However, within the two demos, there are also some gems that I personally appreciated, which enhance and complete the picture. "In un attimo" is wonderful in every way: the lyrics are thoughtful without being either ingratiating or garish, the beat is (as always) outstanding, and the flow is fast and clean.
"E viviamo in lutto solo pochi giorni,
ci distraiamo ci dimentichiamo che non torni.
Siete gente in gamba ma presi nella bamba,
veleno nel sangue come i morsi del Black Mamba" (in un attimo)
999 is a social critique of the Italian religious system. A much darker and more pessimistic song, here everything is in its place:
"ci si incammina ad occhi chiusi giu all'inferno,
show del padreterno sangue sul mio teleschermo..
e sono appeso a testa in giu con braccia aperte,
un cerchio d'acqua santa prende fuoco sulle mie coperte,
prova a confessarmi quando il buio tocca,
mentre togli i miei peccati sto schiumando dalla bocca"(999)
There's also space for more romantic songs (nothing to do with Ramazzotti) like the beautiful "vestito di spine", reminiscent of Fibra in "luna piena", that is, the more melodic and less "hardcore" side of Mr. Simpatia.
Salmo is a great rapper, and these demos clearly show it. He stands apart from Fedez, Emis Killa, or Moreno; he's a step ahead of all the current ones, even with the slight decline of his recent works. With him and many other masters of Italian rap and beyond (Sangue misto, Kaos One, but also Wu-tang, De la soul, and the like), I discovered a genre often underrated and devalued. These demos are a rarity today, but they not only attest to Salmo's skill but also showcase the unique beauty of Rap, the good kind.
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