While Shiva is still up on the fifth floor having the last photos taken in his grandmother's apartment, we find ourselves downstairs waiting. The photo shoot is taking longer than expected, also due to the little room to maneuver for an entire crew of photographers, stylist, sound engineer, artist plus members of the management, inside a tiny three-room apartment in the popular neighborhood of Corsico, a few kilometers south-west of Milan. The result is that we are behind schedule. So, down in the street, those who aren't strictly necessary upstairs gather, or those like me who have already done part of their work as an interviewer and are waiting for the next change of location of the set to continue the chat with the rapper.
Thus I find myself in the middle of an afternoon at the end of March among the crew of West Milan, spread out partly on the walls and partly on the T-Max scooters. «Uncle, but you can't do things like that», he reproaches his partner, one of the brothers, talking about the gym, which is one of the recurring topics. «If you do chest then you have to do back. You must always counterbalance by training the opposite muscles. There's no point in doing chest and legs”, concludes the boy in West Milan Club outfit, Shiva's brand, showing off a lean physique, one of those all nerves and muscles that give you the clear sensation of being perfectly capable of beating up people twice your size. «Brother, what can I tell you», replies the partner who, weighing the same as the vehicle he is sitting on, could instead beat anyone within 40 kilometers if he wanted to. “And then I don't even like doing legs, of course.” Voice of the verb to place, in short.
[…]
After trouble with the law, three children in three years and an album that, at the time of the interview, is already practically gold even before it comes out having already had almost 30 thousand physical pre-orders, Shiva seriously begins to reflect on what makes sense and what doesn't. Like the Hindu deity from which it takes its name, it destroys the past to transform it into rebirth, dissolves its own universe to allow a new cycle. Today Andrea wonders how much one thing is worth compared to another and, above all, whether his conduct as a father, and that of his father before him, will one day be weighed by someone up there.
These are very lofty thoughts on which theologians, men of letters and thinkers of all kinds have agonized over the centuries. And now, lo and behold, they are also troubling the mind of a boy who has always described himself as cynical. But who, seeing the dawn of his 30s, perhaps got tired of making records with the words “gang, cash, flex” in them (as he himself admits in one track). The title of the album should have been From the Gospel according to Shiva. Then for some reason, perhaps not wanting to be too profane, he opted for a more lapidary Gospel. The intent remains the same: to tell a sacred code valid only in certain places, among certain people. God recognizes his own, and so does Shiva.
Have you ever seen so many people in this room?
You want it, sure. There's also a photo where there were like 20 of us. Because I was recording there, on that bedside table behind you. I made my first hits here: Mon fre, Take 1, Rip RMX, some old stuff. Then I also chose this room and this bed for the cover of the 2020 Routine EP. Now you see it empty, but it was full of stuff when I lived there. It has an important meaning. Even when I was recording it was a big mess over there. People coming in and out. In this building, however, there is always a mess. My friends, but also relatives or friends of my grandmother. She sleeps in the living room even now that I no longer live here and this room is unused. He prefers it that way.
She must also be a religious woman, judging by the sacred figures of the Madonna hanging around the house. Are you a believer?
Yes, I am a believer. I recently got into religion. My mother is Buddhist, I'm not baptized or anything. But let's say that I believe in faith more than in the Church. It's something that has helped me, especially in the difficult times I've had in the last three years. I understood that having faith, whatever it is, is fundamental. It may not be a purely Christian faith, but I believe a lot in God, or that there is something. It's the coincidences, the signs that led me to believe it. In prison I had clear signs that brought me here and those were indeed Christians. The presence of religion is very much felt there. But then my thoughts developed. I have always had a relationship with an inner faith, I have always believed in a destiny. Everything that happened to me seems like part of a plan that was already written. I've learned to accept some things.
At first the title of the album was different, right?
Yes, it had to be From the Gospel according to Shiva. Because I wanted to talk about my relationship with God, all the things that have happened to me and the questions I ask myself. Then in the end I chose only Gospel. In this historical moment I feel that there is a great need for faith, especially in my generation. There's this giant void that belief somehow helps you fill. It helps you make sense of everything, of what you're doing.
When you rap that you made a record “without the words gang, cash, flex” are you basically saying that these things aren't enough for you anymore?
Of course, take into account that there is a swear word in the whole album. I wanted to challenge myself and say: I've gotten to a point where I don't need to use such cutting language to get the message across. I want to use other ways and I am able to. There is definitely something more, I want to dare more in the music and its content. I'm also a father, I'm 26 years old, I'm no longer a kid. I feel the need to convey something more.
I heard, speaking of words, that you are a fanatic of Settimana Enigmistica.
Do I like them? (He turns towards Laura who replies: «Lots of crosswords. It's his favorite sport», ed.). I started with crosswords without a pattern, then they became easy. Then I became passionate about obligatory intersections, which have no pattern and no order. So they are mega difficult to do. I have a very good friend, and when we are together I can always solve them.
You're nerdier than people imagine.
My identity has always been that. In rap, similes are often used, as you know. And mine often refer to the fantasy world, or in any case to universes opposite to ours. I really like science fiction like Dune. Even Star Wars. And then oh well I also like The Lord of the Rings. I absorb everything that is dystopian or allegorical in an incredible way. Because we're literally walking towards it, that's what's crazy. It's a scary present. The artificial intelligence for example flashed me. We're getting used to amazing things too quickly. How bad were AI-generated images just two years ago? Watch now. You can't tell them apart from the real ones. And then: if you entrust every fucking reasoning, mental effort, ability to remember to a machine, don't you risk losing these abilities sooner or later?
And this is precisely why I personally try to keep my mind trained daily. You do crosswords, for example I play Magic cards.
What the fuck are you talking about? Bro, I play Magic too. I'm a great player.
Are you serious?
Uncle, under house arrest I found myself with a lot of free hours. So I opened the PC and started discovering incredible worlds. So I started playing Magic online, although I also played games with real cards with some friends. Somehow I had to pass the time, keep my mind occupied. Then, when I was released from house arrest, I gave up everything. The only thing I have kept is my renewed faith.
What do you mean when you say you are proof that God exists?
Well, maybe yes, maybe no. It's a continuous contrast and my life has put me in the position to think so, it has shown me. Maybe I expressed this contrast a little. One moment you're up, the next moment you're down. People you love are perhaps complete enemies one moment later. People you love then you hate them. And constantly so, under the cosmological law of this binomial. And so I want to analyze this thing, I want to dig into it, I want to understand something, understand why. There are times when faith is not enough, even in good will. Yes, perhaps they are proof that God exists or proof that he doesn't exist at all. I do not know. We will see.
“I can go back to prison and blame God, or make the album of the year and say: it's thanks to me”.
I have always had a decidedly cynical nature. Many things have always happened, for better or worse, before prison. But what happened three years ago made me reflect, because you really understand the things that are worth acting for. Fight the enemy to what extent if you are the one who defeats us? Every now and then maybe we need to sit down and take things more calmly. Patience is what I have learned. Letting certain things slip on you. Turn the other cheek (laughs).
Photo: Michele Perna. Shiva outfit. Jacket: Dolce&Gabbana.
Jeans: Purple.
Belt: Htc Los Angeles. Shoes: Timberland. Hat: Fitted Mains x New Era. Glasses: Chrome Hearts
Taken from the paper issue of Rolling Stone Italia dedicated to Shiva now on newsstands and on our online shop.
***
Photographer: Michele Perna
Interview by: Claudio Biazzetti
Editor in Chief: Alessandro Giberti
Music Content Editor: Claudio Todesco
Producer: Maria Rosaria Cautilli
Art Director: Pierfrancesco Gallo
Magazine Editorial Curator: Mattia Barro
Editorial Coordinator: Eric Fiorentino
Business Development Manager: Matteo Berciga
Editorial Marketing Manager: Matteo Zampollo
Fashion Editor: Francesca Piovano
Graphic Designer: Stefania Magli
Talent Management Agency: Enzo Leone
Talent Label Manager: Jacopo Pesce
Photographer Assistant: Antonio Sanasi
Talent Personal Stylist: Gaia Dallorto
Style Assistants: Camilla Sudati, Alice Voria
Talent Grooming Specialist: Marta Carrara
