Izi (rapper)

Diego Germini (born 30 July 1995), known professionally as Izi, is an Italian rapper and actor.

His studio albums ''Pizzicato'' (2017) and ''Aletheia'' (2019) peaked number 1 of FIMI's albums chart.

Biography

Early years and ''Fenice''

Born in province of Cuneo, he grew up in Cogoleto, in province of Genoa. At the age of 17 he abandoned school and ran away from home, starting to experience a period of wandering during which he also had to deal with a diabetic coma. At the same time, he began to write songs and perform them, inspired both by Italian and international rappers and by songwriters on the Italian scene.

In the first years of activity he went by various pseudonyms, such as Eazyrhymes and then Izi Erre. Furthermore, he joined the crew Wild Bandana and adopted the definitive pseudonym Izi for the assonance with the English term "easy". In 2015 he appeared, together with Tedua, in the song ''Mercedes nero'' by Sfera Ebbasta and Charlie Charles, taken from the album '' XDVR''. The following year he collaborated with Tedua on the song ''Circonvalley'', from ''Orange County Mixtape''.

In 2016 he was chosen by director Cosimo Alemà as the protagonist of the film ''Zeta - Una storia hip-hop'', in which he plays a young rapper in search of fame. Following the release of the film, Izi released his first studio album ''Fenice'', preceded by the single ''Scusa''. In July of the same year, following the rapper's participation in the social party of the Croce d'oro of Sciarborasca, during which the artist's performance was interrupted prematurely because, according to the organizers, he had sung rhymes against the authorities, Izi was caught by the police of Arenzano with a quantity of marijuana that exceeded that of personal use, resulting in a complaint against him.

Around the same time, Izi collaborated with Charlie Charles on the single ''Niagara'', released on December 19, 2016. The collaboration was renewed in March 2017 with the single ''Bimbi'', which also featured rappers Rkomi, Sfera Ebbasta, Tedua, and Ghali. Izi also took part in Tedua's song ''Telefonate'', included in the album ''Orange County California'', released in January 2017.

''Pizzicato'' and ''Aletheia''

In May 2017 he released his second album ''Pizzicato'', preceded by about a month by the single ''Pianto''. On the album he collaborates with other artists belonging to the Italian hip hop scene, including Fabri Fibra and Caneda. The second single from the album was ''4GETU''. In December 2017 the album ''Pezzi'' by DJ producer The Night Skinny was released, in which Izi appears in the song ''6 A.M.'' with Gué Pequeno.

In October 2018 the single ''Fumo da solo'' was released with the production of Charlie Charles and Thasup, as the first preview of his third studio album.
In January 2019 it was the turn of the title ''Magico''. After a collaboration with French rapper Dosseh on the remix of the single ''Habitué'', Izi released his album ''Aletheia'', preceded by the second single ''Dammi un motivo''.

In July 2019, '' Machete Mixtape 4'' was released, in which Izi is present in ''Mammastomale'', a song recorded together with Gemitaiz and Salmo. In the same year ''Mattoni'' by The Night Skinny was also released, in which Izi is present in the song ''Mille strade'' together with rapper Ketama126.

''Riot''

On October 30, 2020, his fourth album ''Riot'' was released, preceded by the single ''Pusher''.

In 2022 he is among the protagonists of the documentary ''La nuova scuola genovese'' by Claudio Cabona, directed by Yuri Dellacasa and Paolo Fossati, which narrates the common thread that links Ligurian songwriting to the hip hop scene that has established itself since the 2000s. On 10 February 2023, on the occasion of the fourth evening of the 73rd Sanremo Festival, dedicated to covers, he duetted with Madame singing the song ''Via del Campo'' by Fabrizio De André.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Fenice'' (2016)
* ''Pizzicato'' (2017)
* ''Aletheia'' (2019)
* ''Riot'' (2020)

Mixtapes

* ''Macchie di Rorshach'', with Sangue (2013)
* ''Kidnapped Mixtape'' (2014)
* ''Julian Ross Mixtape'' (2015)

Filmography

References

Italian male rappers
21st-century male rappers
Living people
21st-century Italian male singers
1995 births

{{Italy-singer-stub