Vybes releases his first album on Friday 19 June: it's called Socially usefulgoes out for Artist First and it is a project that intertwines autobiographical writing and attention to social issues. Identity, relationships, affection, family, migration, money, loneliness and personal freedom are the themes around which the Roman singer-songwriter builds his debut album, alternating introspection and analysis of society.
Already in the title and cover there is the declaration of intent. It's the same Vybes to explain it:
“I thought about every detail of this album, taking care of it with the utmost commitment. The cover takes 'Freedom of Speech', Norman Rockwell's painting which represents the celebration of freedom of expression. This is everything I would like to convey with my music and with the lyrics I write. Each song, in its own small way, addresses a social issue that is close to my heart.”
“Sociamente useful” by Vybes, the nine songs on the album
This is the complete tracklist of Socially useful:
- How it turns you
- I was doing three
- Animal love
- Sex
- The penny dance
- Firm land
- All the impossible
- My beautiful Rome
- I just want to fall in love
The nine songs of Socially useful they start from personal experience to extend to a collective gaze. To open it is How it turns youa disillusioned song under a summery surface, which tells of the malaise of a generation between apathy and irony and is openly inspired by the masters of Vybes, Fabri Fibra and Caparezza, capable of transforming light slogans into profound messages.
Continue with I was doing threededicated to childhood experienced as a refuge and the condition of an only child, and with Animal loveabout the bond between a man and his dog, built around the most well-known expressions of those who live with an animal, from “man's best friend” to “to err is human, to forgive is canine”.
Sex addresses sexuality in all its forms, described as one of the purest expressions of individual freedom, while The penny dance puts the weight of money in human relationships at the center, on a blues rock imprint designed for the stage. As Vybes explains, it is a song born “with a strong live vocation”, built to involve the audience.
Among the most intense pieces there is Terra Firmareflection on migration inspired by Bread and Courage by Ivano Fossati, with a reference to the image of the “marshal taking off his hat” and a quote from the book The stars of Lampedusa by Pietro Bartolo, the doctor who for years assisted the migrants who landed on the island.
They close the record All the impossibleabout the fragility of couple bonds and inspired by the solid marriage of Vybes' parents as a rare exception, My beautiful Romeironic comparison between Milan and Rome in the wake of Cranio Randagio, e I just want to fall in lovethe most intimate piece, chosen as the finale. Here Vybes compares his own generation with that of his parents, describing the difficulty in recognizing oneself in ideas such as marriage and parenthood. It is, in his words, the piece in which he “exposed himself most”.
Who is Vybes
Stage name of Gabriel Monaco, Vybes was born in Rome in 2003. He published his first single in 2018, in 2021 he was selected among the eight artists of Musica Contro le Mafie and in 2022 he published the EP Summertimebefore entering ad Friends. Having concluded the program in the spring of 2025, he resumed his journey with Ask for help and a series of songs focused on generational distress and personal growth. Living with dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysorthography, she has made writing a tool to transform her frailties into strength, a message aimed above all at younger people.
Socially useful releases on all platforms Friday 19 June.
