There is no doubt that the Night Skinny album was one of the most anticipated of the season. The wait paid off in a big way: Containers it is the most advanced street rap album in Italy, confirmation that the genre is not dead, indeed it is in the hands of very young rappers who grew up at the free university of Night Skinny, students who are already little masters.
As the producer from Milan South tells us in this interview, to make a record like Containers it's not enough to lay a good foundation, you have to be a bit of PR and a bit of a coach: team up with nights in the studio and dinners at restaurants, meet new friends, never compromise, and above all always be “hungry”.
That group of rappers – Kid Yugi, Papa V, Nerissima Serpe, Artie 5ive – that you started forming with the Players Club project and that you have now brought into Containers It seems to me that it represents you a lot, more than your other previous projects. Do you agree? It's like you've finally found the right ones to work with, even though they're half your age…
As Nerissima says, when we work together we are the same age (the producer is 41, the rapper is 24, ed.). With the boys in the last two years we have studied each other carefully, we have made many songs together: with Tony Boy I would have an EP ready that perhaps will never be released, with Nerissima and Papa we have new projects underway, with Artie we meet very often…
What struck you about these artists?
The rap market in Italy is now at its peak, the level has risen, but it is still ready to welcome new records and artists. However, the Players guys don't want to compromise, they don't need to work alongside big names to emerge, they prefer to collaborate with each other, they act instinctively and know what they want.
They are almost provincial boys, some from Puglia, some from Pavia. Do you recognize yourself?
Historically, we in the provinces have always been hungrier (Night Skinny was born in Termoli, ed).
Did you hang out with them a lot?
For the last year and a half I have lived between the studio and home, together we spent late nights in the studio and went out to eat. We like to eat well.
Are you being a big brother to them?
They all have a good head on their shoulders, and experience: Tony Boy has been releasing records more or less as long as I've been releasing them. They have already seen rap die and be reborn, now they are “pushing” and enjoying the moment, with a smile and with sharp bars…
Speaking of bars, how much of your own do you put into the lyrics of the record?
Enough. With Noyz I have a relationship of exchange of opinions consolidated over the years; with Fiber for Waltz I told him that he had to trust, that he would have two very strong men (Papa and Nerissima) with him and I asked him for a lethal and irreverent attack like his legendary “On my record I say whatever the fuck I want…”. He laughed and jumped straight into the piece with a legendary start; we talk to Yugi and the others, we compare notes.
What do you look for in the rappers you call on your record?
Above all, a relationship of friendship, people with whom I can share a vision of the album that will be: I propose, invite, submit collaborations, above all I say: come to the studio and let's listen to things together.
Do they also come to you because they know they will make a street piece with a unique brand?
If by street we mean hearing the king of Rome, Noyz Narcos, open up and talk about his dad, then I answer yes. I consider a banger to be a street but fun track that makes your head move, not just brutal and mean.
Were there any particular influences musically? The previous album, Botoxit was more experimental, but I think of new pieces like Number 5 with Artie 5ive, with that sampled choir…
It's a Slovenian choir of white magic… Botox it is the photograph of the period in which it was born: a post-Covid album, full of indie influences, a market that existed even if rap and urban music is now popular. Now it's a different time, I hang out with other people.
I imagine it's difficult to fit into one album so many young stars stressed by commitments in a booming record market. Is yours also a PR job?
Absolutely, there's a lot of pierraggio, it's one of my characteristics and I need it to give solidity to the record. I've never received a verse via email and when I received one, like on this record, it didn't come out because I didn't think it was up to par.
Did everyone come to record at your place? It's very rare, usually they send in pieces via email…
Of course, everyone except Shiva for obvious legal reasons, but I went to him. Only in this way can we understand if we are all happy, me and those who rap, it is more human as a relationship.
Is there jealousy when your album is created? Like «Ah fuck Skinny called that guy and not me»…
It also happened that I called someone who then didn't come to do the verse. It's okay, it's part of the game.
Are there any artists you had to give up for this record?
At least three, for reasons of record policy, music industry dynamics that this time I respected and took action on. For example Health card it would never have existed if a very large piece had not been “frozen”. And then practically at the end I made the track with Papa and Nerissima.
You said that the level of rap in Italy is high now, but it seems difficult to make predictions about the future. Do you think this crowded rap game will hold up or will people get tired of 30 releases every Friday?
For now yes, kids always want new artists, new collaborations, it has become like Fantasy Football. I think it will go on like this for a while.
Among 30 new rap songs that come out every Friday, on average how many are good ones?
If I listened to them I could tell you, either they are songs from friends or I don't listen. I hear Pusha T, a bit of Travis Scott, I love the freedom The Alchemist has to do and publish what he wants, today it's a reference for me.
Do the producers disagree? Has this ever happened to you?
I don't want to answer this question because I'm in mine now firstI don't give a shit. After the album came out I'm starting to enjoy it.
And are they copied? Have other producers ever copied you?
When one of my bases starts up you can immediately recognize that it is mine. I'm happy if someone is inspired and me, I'm also inspired by something else, I haven't invented anything. But I have my own style.
What is your favorite bar of Containers?
There are many, but I would say Shiva's verse, the most beautiful of the two I have ever heard. Then Nerissima and Papa in Health cardand Kid Yugi of course.