After the controversy raised in recent days following the choice to exclude Tony Effe from the New Year's Eve concert in Rome, Mahmood, who was supposed to be on that stage, chose not to be there. He announced it in a story on Instagram: «I waited until the last minute because I was hoping to read different news than the exclusion of Tony Effe from the New Year's Eve in Rome. I believe it is a form of censorship which is why I also decide not to participate in the Capital's New Year's Eve. I firmly believe that any form of art can be discussed and criticized but there must be no censorship.”
I ENJOY Mahmood certainty pic.twitter.com/2p6DSPLFpG
— elena (@badchanneI) December 18, 2024
An issue that in recent days has triggered a stance, not only from the rapper's management who spoke of «damage to the image suffered by the artist» who was exposed to «strong media pressure, risking compromising his image and career”, also from the organizers Vivo Concerti and Friends & Partners in a joint note in which they speak of “deep amazement and regret since the decision was taken in the absence of valid reasons, even after the announcement and the press conference in which it was presence announced and publicized Tony's.”
But not only that: Jovanotti, a Beastsdeclared that «music is never harmful, there is no such thing as harmful music, it may be that there is boring music, boring music, but not harmful music. Mozart and Tony Effe are colleagues.”
Accusations to which Mayor Gualtieri responded by declaring that there is “no censorship”, “but it is inappropriate to use citizens' resources to host Tony Effe at the New Year's concert”.
Among those who spoke out against the Capitol's decision there is also Junior Cally, at the center of controversy at Sanremo 2020 for the lyrics of his old song Witch. «Enough of those who consider young people to be idiots! I find it absurd that, even today, there are those who decide to censor an artist like Tony Effe, preventing him from performing at the New Year's concert in Rome. I hoped that what happened to me in 2020 in Sanremo would remain an isolated case. But it is clear that these episodes do not only concern a debate on Italian rap music and its lyrics, but there is a generation gap of great incomprehension that has never existed in the past. But Noemi's story also came from a little while ago, and she wrote: «I think that censoring artists is not the solution. Art must remain a place of expression, even when it causes discussion” and by Emma, which you can find below:
Tony ❤️ pic.twitter.com/gcIwZ2hkze
— Emma Marrone (@MarroneEmma) December 18, 2024
