«Grass in the jeans it is at the same time the end and the beginning of a journey», says Not Good, real name Jari Melia, rapper born in 1997 who released the EP two days ago. «The end because it contains the most important songs written for me in this last year, the beginning because it begins to trace a direction of intentions of my path. The EP ranges 360° touching different sounds but keeping one thing in common: the importance of words».
And who influenced him in the use of words? We asked him to explain it to us in a playlist. He goes from Fabri Fibra of Men of the sea (Fibra is a feat of the EP) to Sfera Ebbasta passing through Marracash, Ghali and of course Emis Killa. Grass in the jeans is in fact a project of Hateful, the “gym of talent” founded and managed by the rapper of The bad grass.
“To other shores” Men of the sea
End of Millennium Syndrome it’s an album that I recovered when I was older and more aware, temporally it doesn’t belong to me, but To other shores it’s a timeless song, you can feel the passion of an artist who is still sailing. The first time I heard that refrain it immediately entered my head, it was as if Fabri was telling a piece of my story, and it is a skill that few artists have.
“At the last breath” Club Dogo
To stay a little nostalgic, remember when I was in middle school and I listened to the rap that my friends’ older brothers were playing. I remember that I was very small but this phrase struck me: “success is rarely forgiven”. Club Dogo have been a fundamental part of my life, they were the rap group par excellence and the very first to propose a genre that I could feel was mine.
“The crumbs were enough” Marrakech
Marra is my favorite Italian rapper. The crumbs were enough it’s a bit like that song you listen to when you want to get some fresh air away from plastic music, it’s a timeless piece. Talking frankly about her whole life sharing it with the public literally spurred me to write about myself. “From the poor to talk about how you eat but it is from the rich that I learned to choose restaurants”. I think no other words are needed.
“Neither cure nor place” Marracash feat Salmo
Staying on topic, Neither cure nor place is another great classic. A song that marked me, I remember listening to it ad nauseam, it was just one of those songs that I put into my headphones every time I went to school by bus. The older I got, the more that piece took on meaning.
“The bad grass” Emis Killa
When I saw Emis Killa make the leap into the world of mainstream with The bad grass I remember being really fascinated. He had one foot in the underground and one that aimed at the general public, and in my opinion that’s something that was almost impossible at the time. Today it’s easy to hang out in multiple environments, at the time I remember that there was a little snobbishness from great singers or TV. Emis took rap at a time when it was hard to get noticed seriously and proved that rappers were the real lyricists. The bad grass It’s one of the best written pieces ever for me.
“Pills” Guè Pequeno feat Duellz
Another great cult, Duellz makes the piece literally iconic. When it came out Pills I remember not realizing it right away, it was as if I couldn’t properly appreciate what I was feeling. As I listened to it again, I realized how much I liked it. It is an intense piece that tells the discomfort in the most subtle way possible.
“God bless me” Luchè
God bless me it’s a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, it’s one of those songs that when it starts I can’t stop, I have to sing it out loud. I’ve always liked Luchè’s attitude, he exudes passion and it’s obvious. In general, I think there are some passages from which the experience is perceived as soon as they begin, they are not just words written on a sheet, they are emotions that need a means to be conveyed. God bless me it is also a good omen in general.
“It is needed to write” Fabri Fibra
The title already says it all. This is a song that according to it hasn’t received the success it deserved, the sound is super current and it’s from 2013, which is saying something. This piece particularly inspired me. The simplicity of the message, the video, the sound… it’s kind of the piece that makes you think: “wow, I wish I had written it”.
“Tupac and Biggie” Ghali
This was one of the first pieces that gave a nod to American sounds without looking bad in the slightest. Ghali is a sublime pen, I am a lover of words and being able to hear a piece that does not give up on content while winking at today’s trap is not obvious. I remember very well when the video came out, as I am a film lover I loved the quote from LaHaine and from there I started to get passionate about cinephile quotes.
“OGNT” Ebbasta sphere
If you talk about Italian rap you cannot fail to mention Sfera Ebbasta, he is one who has changed the rules. Indeed, he is someone who first changed the rules and then remade them to suit him. I admire his dedication, it really shows that he is a hitmaker and that he was born to do it, this is one of his favorite songs by him, it inspired me to see the artistic path of Sfera, every step he took from OGNT to this day, he has always been forward. To this day nobody cares if you do trap, rap, drill, pop or indie. The important thing is to do it well and in my opinion Sfera is the GOAT in its sector.
