Sottotono

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Sottotono
General information
origin Varese
Genre (s) Hardcore rap , pop rap
founding 1994
resolution 2002
Last occupation
Tormento (Massimiliano Cellamaro)
Fish (Massimiliano Dagani)
former members
rap
 Nega (until 1995)
DJ
 DJ Irmu (until 1995)

Sottotono was an Italian hip hop group that was active between 1994 and 2001. At first it consisted of the rappers Nega and Tormento , the producer Fish and DJ Irmu. Nega and DJ Irmu left after the first album, so Sottotono continued as a duo.

Already in the first album on an independent label ( Soprattutto sotto on Vox Pop) the influences of West Coast hip-hop were noticeable, a style that persisted even after the change to the major label Warner . In their seven years of activity, the group was able to reach a wide audience, also through participation in Festivalbar 1997, the MTV Days 1997 and 1999 and the Sanremo Festival 2001 . After the album … In teoria (2001), Tormento and Fish broke up the group to pursue solo careers.

In addition to Sottotono, Tormento and Fish also founded the collective Area Cronica Entertainment , which, in addition to Spaghetti Funk, brought together some of the most important Italian rappers of the late 1990s.

Band history

The beginnings and the success

Sottotono was formed in 1994 as a merger of the rappers Tormento and Nega , the DJ and producer Fish and DJ Irmu, who had just left the group Otierre . The first publication took place on the compilation Nati per rappare and still in the same year the first album Soprattutto sotto was released by Vox Pop. It also contained the song La mia coccinella , which became a radio hit. The second single was La biccia giusta . As early as 1995, Nega and DJ Irmu left the group for unknown reasons.

In 1996 the second album Sotto effetto stono followed on the major label Warner Music. Tormento took on the name Antonio Mantelli here, while Fish appeared as Rosario Madonìa. The album was a huge hit and earned Sottotono double platinum . The duo then had a number of television appearances, for example with Domenica in or on the stage of the Concerto del Primo Maggio . The first single was Tranquillo , a song with a strong funk influence , followed by Solo lei ha quel che voglio and Dimmi di sbagliato che c'è . Sottotono was also in the 1996 Premio italiano della musica , where the rapper Frankie hi-nrg won.

After the album, Tormento and Fish recorded the single Ieri, oggi e domani with Kay Bianco and Speaker Cenzou , the proceeds of which went to the ONLUS Lega italiana per la lotta contro l'AIDS . At the 1997 Festival Bar Competition, Sottotono and Dimmi di sbagliato che c'è won the Discovery of the Year award; the duo also took part in the MTV Days in Bologna in 1997 and 1999 . The next album, Sotto lo stesso effetto , was released in 1999, with the singles Amor de mi vida and Mai più , the latter in collaboration with Shola Ama.

In the soundtrack of the film Zora la vampira by the Manetti brothers , Sottotono was represented in 2000 with Ora la colpa a chi la dai ; Tormento also played the role of the rapper Cianuro in the film .

The ongoing success and the Sanremo controversy

In 2001, Sottotono took part in the Sanremo Festival and presented the song Mezze verità , which reached 14th place. In the television program Striscia la notizia , however, the duo was accused of plagiarism: their song was a copy of Bye Bye Bye by the group * NSYNC . During the press conference of the festival, Valerio Staffelli tried to award the duo the Tapiro d'Oro satirical award, after which a fight broke out, after which Staffelli was hospitalized; Raffaella Carrà , the presenter of the festival at the time, showed understanding for the duo, which had been exposed to the pressure of the festival. But there were also problems with the festival management, as the lyrics were criticized as too vulgar in places; Sottotono then simply left out the criticized passages, which gave the impression of censorship.

On the album La mia anima by Mietta the duo was represented with the song Un uomo per cui ucciderei . Still in 2001, finally … In teoria , an album on which Sottotono developed more towards soul and R&B ; it included collaborations with rapper Nesli and singer Al Castellana. Following the album, Tormento and Fish broke up the duo and started solo careers. In 2003 the first compilation Vendesi - Best of Sottotono with two previously unpublished songs appeared; The single from it was (Sei tu) che mi dai .

After the separation

Tormento 2008

In 2007 Warner released the second compilation Le più belle canzoni dei Sottotono , this time without any new material.

Tormento released his first solo EP Una nuova visione del mondo in 2002 , followed in 2004 by the first album Il mondo dell'illusione . For this he had adopted the new pseudonym Yoshi Torenaga, but subsequently returned to the name Tormento, starting with the double album Il mio diario . Fish, on the other hand, began in 2004 in collaboration with rapper Esa, Tormento's brother, with the release of several singles: Resta ancora with the reggae singer Retnek and Cos'è che vuoi da me , with the singer Kelly Joyce. After the third single, the album Robe große was also released, on which other rappers such as Mondo Marcio , Vacca and Medda ( Microspasmi ) also appeared. Fish then worked with Fabri Fibra , for example on the 2006 album Tradimento and 2007's follow-up Bugiardo .

Area Cronica Entertainment

Area Cronica Entertainment is a rap collective founded by Sottotono in 1996, at the time of the release of Bassi Maestro's album Contro gli estimatori ; The crew included Tormento, Fish and Bassi Maestro Sab Sista, Left Side, Lyricalz, Maku Go & Sardo Triba and Jasmine. Between 1999 and 2000 she published the five compilations Areacronica.com , Nel vortice vol. 1 , Nel vortice vol. 2 , Nel vortice vol. 3 and Nel vortice vol. 4 ; Marya, Don Joe ( Club Dogo ), Kaso & Maxi B, Cricca Dei Balordi, Fritz da Cat and Microspasmi were also involved. After 2000, however, the collective broke up.

Style and Influences

Snoop Dogg 2008

The style of Sottotono mainly uses two American styles: on the one hand the hardcore side, inspired by West Coast hip-hop , with exponents like Warren G , Snoop Dogg , Dr. Dre , Tupac Shakur , Ice Cube , NWA, or Bone Thugs-N-Harmony ; on the other hand the lighter side, inspired by soul and its classical interpreters like Marvin Gaye , Al Green or Curtis Mayfield as well as Conscious Rap with reference to Raphael Saadiq or Common . The lighter side came to the fore especially from the third album Sotto lo stesso effetto , accompanied by a stronger focus on drum and bass, which was popular at the time .

Discography

Albums

  • 1994 - Soprattutto sotto
year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
IT IT CH CH
1996 Sotto effetto stono IT13 (30 weeks)
IT 		-
1999 Sotto lo stesso effetto IT4 (11 weeks)
IT 		-
2001 ... in teoria IT24 (7 weeks)
IT 		-
2003 Vendesi - Best of Sottotono IT39 (3 weeks)
IT 		-
  • 2007 - Le più belle canzoni dei Sottotono

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
IT IT CH CH
2001 Amarti ripettarti
… In teoria 		IT23 (5 weeks)
IT 		-
Mezze verità
… In teoria 		IT14 (11 weeks)
IT 		-
2003 Pronti
 - CH54 (3 weeks)
CH
Effedi feat. Sottotono

More singles

  • La mia coccinella (1994)
  • La biccia giusta (1995)
  • Tranquillo (1996)
  • Ieri, oggi e domani (1996)
  • Solo Lei Ha Quel Che Voglio (1996)
  • Dimmi di sbagliato che c'è (1996)
  • Amor de mi vida (1999)
  • May più (1999)
  • (Sei tu) che mi dai (2002)

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b Tormento, un rapper with “Alibi”. In: LaStampa.it . Italiana Editrice, July 22, 2007, archived from the original on May 4, 2008 ; Retrieved November 6, 2016 (Italian).
  2. ↑ see CD back cover
  3. ↑ a b c d Bentornato Tormento. In: Festivalbar.it. PromoEsse, July 18, 2005, accessed November 6, 2016 (Italian).
  4. ↑ a b Sottotono. In: Doppia H. Russo Bros., archived from the original on January 6, 2009 ; Retrieved November 6, 2016 (Italian).
  5. ↑ Diciannove artisti per il disco di “Musica!” In: Repubblica.it . Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso , April 21, 1998, accessed November 6, 2016 (Italian).
  6. ↑ Una festa per la musica da non dimenticare. In: Repubblica.it. Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso, April 21, 1998, accessed November 6, 2016 (Italian).
  7. ^ Sottotono / Kay Bianco / Speaker Cenzou - Ieri, oggi e domani. In: Discogs . Zink Media, accessed November 6, 2016 .
  8. ↑ Luca Bernini: Zora la vampira - colonna sonora. In: Rockol.it. Retrieved November 6, 2016 (Italian).
  9. ↑ Zora the Vampire. In: Internet Movie Database . Amazon.com , accessed November 6, 2016 .
  10. ↑ Sanremo 2001. In: HitParadeItalia . Retrieved November 6, 2016 (Italian).
  11. ^ Il tapiro accolto da calci e sputi, l'inviato di Striscia all'ospedale. In: Repubblica.it. Gruppo Editoriale l'Espresso, March 2, 2001, accessed November 6, 2016 (Italian).
  12. ^ Dario Olivero: Il trionfo di Elisa, Giorgia è seconda. In: Repubblica.it. Gruppo Editoriale l'Espresso, March 4, 2001, accessed November 6, 2016 (Italian).
  13. ↑ I testi dei Sottotono censurati since Sanremo . In: Corriere della Sera . RCS MediaGroup, February 14, 2001, p. 38 (Italian, online article ( memento of November 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) [accessed on November 6, 2016]).
  14. ↑ La mia anima - Mietta. In: Allmusic . Retrieved November 6, 2016 .
  15. ↑ ... in teoria - Sottotono. In: Allmusic. Retrieved November 6, 2016 .
  16. ↑ Fish - Robe large. In: Discogs. Zink Media, accessed on November 6, 2016 .
  17. ↑ Robe large - Fish. In: Allmusic. Retrieved November 6, 2016 .
  18. ↑ a b Area cronica Hip Hop . In: Corriere della Sera . RCS MediaGroup, December 23, 1998, p. 51 (Italian, online article ( Memento of December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) [accessed on November 6, 2016]).
  19. ↑ a b c Area Cronica. In: La Casa del Rap. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013 ; Retrieved November 6, 2016 (Italian).
  20. ^ A b Johnny Loftus: Sottotono. In: Allmusic. Retrieved November 6, 2016 .
  21. ^ I Sottotono, al secolo Fish e Tormento, insieme dal 1994. Warner Music Italy, archived from the original on December 8, 2002 ; Retrieved November 6, 2016 (Italian).
  22. ↑ Guido Racca & Chartitalia: Top 100 FIMI album . Lulu, 2013, p. 170 .
  23. ↑ Chart sources (singles):