Fabio Bartolo Rizzo (born 22 May 1979), known professionally as Marracash (), is an Italian rapper. Starting his career in the rap group
Dogo Gang, he debuted as a solo artist rising in fame in the 2010s releasing six studio albums that reached the top ten of the
Italian Albums Chart, including two top positions with
''Santeria'' (2016) and ''
Persona
A persona (plural personae or personas) is a strategic mask of identity in public, the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. It is also considered "an intermediary ...
'' (2019). The rapper has also released numerous successful singles and collaborations scoring seventeen times the top ten of the Italian Singles Chart. Thanks to his work he has sold over 5 million copies in Italy, becoming one of the top selling Italian rappers in the 2010s.
In the course of his musical projects he has sung and written songs with numerous artists including rap artists like
Gué Pequeno,
J-Ax
Alessandro Aleotti (; born 5 August 1972), known professionally as J-Ax (), is an Italian rapper and singer-songwriter, part of the rap group Articolo 31 with his DJ Vito Luca Perrini (DJ Jad). He is the brother of Grido (formerly part of Ge ...
,
Fabri Fibra,
Emis Killa,
Club Dogo,
Baby K, and pop influences artist as
Tiziano Ferro,
Elisa
The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay is a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence of ...
,
Giusy Ferreri,
Federica Abbate
Federica Abbate (born 23 January 1991) is an Italian composer, lyricist and singer-songwriter.
Life and career
Abbate started playing piano at 5 years old and graduated in sociology. In 2013 she won a contest for songwriters promoted by SIAE an ...
and
Elodie.
In 2013, together with producer
Shablo, he founded the independent record label Roccia Music, which involves established figures and newcomers to rap, producers and DJs. From 2012 to 2014 he host
MTV Italy
MTV is an Italian pay television network, owned by Paramount Networks EMEAA.
History
Prior to the launch of a 24-hour Italian speaking MTV, MTV viewers in Italy received the pan-European version of MTV Europe, MTV. Regionalization of MTV in Eur ...
's
freestyle music
Freestyle, or Latin freestyleKlanten, Robert (1995). ''Die Gestalten Verlag: Localizer 1.0''. Die-Gestalten-Verlag. . Quote: "The other unavoidable influence n NYC hard housewas latin freestyle. A blend of hip hop, synth pop and salsa, latin fr ...
TV program ''MTV Spit.''
Biography
Fabio Rizzo Bartolo was born in
Nicosia
Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities.
Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...
, Italy, from a mother who worked as a custodian and a father who worked as a truck driver. He has a younger brother, his family then moved from
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
to
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
in a house in Bramante;
when he was ten, he was expelled from his home with his family, who moved to the suburbs of
Barona, where he grew up and still lives.
After graduating as an electronical technician, Rizzo recorded his first verses under the pseudonym Yuza delle Nuvole, appearing in Prodigio's 1999 demo "The Royal Rumble", alongside
Il Guercio, Fame, Aken and Corvo D'Argento. He adopted the stage name Marracash after his childhood nickname, , jokingly because of his
Sicilian origins), as a pun on the name of
Marrakesh
Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...
.
Career
Its debut dates back to 2004 in the PMC VS Club Dogo mixtape – the official Mixtape, product born from the collaboration between the
Club Dogo and the Massive Crew Portion, contacts in Milan and
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
. In the same year the collective Dogo Gang came to life, within which Marracash's militancy is gradually consolidating, marking a new stage with the participation within ''Regular'', album of
Club Dogo, and of ''Hashishinz Sound Vol. 1'', by
Gué Pequeno and Deleterio.
In 2005, under the Contagion Area label, Marracash published "Popolare", a single product by Don Joe made available for free download for network users. The song anticipated the release of the mixtape ''Roccia Music I'', mixtape in which the Dogo Gang (Club Dogo, Vincenzo da Via Anfossi, Deleterio and Ted Bundy) collaborated and guests such as
Inoki,
Co'Sang, Rischio,
Shablo, Misa and Royal Mehdi.
In June 2008, his first solo album
''Marracash'' was released by
Universal Music
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...
, which reached the ninth position of the Italian Albums Chart, receiving a gold certification. Guests of the album are
Gué Pequeno and
J-Ax
Alessandro Aleotti (; born 5 August 1972), known professionally as J-Ax (), is an Italian rapper and singer-songwriter, part of the rap group Articolo 31 with his DJ Vito Luca Perrini (DJ Jad). He is the brother of Grido (formerly part of Ge ...
, Vincenzo da Via Anfossi and
Jake La Furia. Two singles were extracted from the album: "
Badabum Cha Cha", which becomes the singer's first top ten, and "Estate in città".
In 2009, he participated together with 55 other Italian singers in the realization of "Domani 21/04.2009", a musical track published in a charitable way to remember the victims affected by the
2009 L'Aquila earthquake
An earthquake occurred in the region of Abruzzo, in central Italy, at 03:32 Central European Time#Central European Summer Time, CEST (01:32 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC) on 6 April 2009. It was rated 5.8 or 5.9 on the Richter scale and 6.3 on ...
. Towards the end of the year the song Cani pazzi, which anticipated Marracash's second album ''Fino a qui tutto bene'', out on 13 July 2010. The collaborations present are with
Giusy Ferreri in "Rivincita" and
Fabri Fibra in "Stupidi", with less success than the previous project.
In September 2011, he released the song "King of rap", which anticipated the eponymous album released in October. The album debuts at the third position of the FIMI chart receiving the platinum certification. Later in 2012 he released the collaboration "Giusto un giro" with
Emis Killa and announced the inauguration of his own record label, La Roccia Music.
On 22 December, Marracash conducts the first episode of ''
MTV Spit,'' a television program focused on the rap battle between artists of the underground scene.
After the release of the collective album ''Genesis'' with the artists of the Rock Music of 2013, on 20 January 2015, he published his fourth studio album ''Status'' which reached the number 2 position of the Italian Albums Chart and 32 of the Swiss Charts.
From the album he releases the homonymous single "Status", which peaked at number 2 of Italian Singles Chart, "Senza un posto nel mondo" with
Tiziano Ferro, "In radio" and "Niente canzoni d'amore" with
Federica Abbate
Federica Abbate (born 23 January 1991) is an Italian composer, lyricist and singer-songwriter.
Life and career
Abbate started playing piano at 5 years old and graduated in sociology. In 2013 she won a contest for songwriters promoted by SIAE an ...
.
In 2016 the rapper announced the release of a studio album with
Gué Pequeno. Published on 24 June of the same year, the album is entitled
''Santeria'' and is composed of fifteen tracks, which became his first number one album. The forerunner single "
Nulla accade", released on 7 June, is certified double platinum and reaches position number 16 of the Italian Singles Chart.
After the release of the album collecting hits for the 10th anniversary of ''Marracash''s release, on 12 June 2019, he published the collaboration with singer
Elodie, "
Margarita
A margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila, triple sec, and lime juice. Some margarita recipes include simple syrup as well and are often served with salt on the rim of the glass. Margaritas can be served either shaken with ice (on the rock ...
", which peaked at number nine of Singles Chart and selling over 100,000 copies in Italy. On 31 October 2019, the sixth album of the rapper ''Persona'' is released. The album peaked at number one of FIMI Chart and receiving the double platinum certification. It was supported by several hit singles, including "Marylean", with
Salmo
''Salmo'' is a genus of ray-finned fish from the subfamily Salmoninae of family (biology), family Salmonidae, and is part of the tribe (biology), tribe Salmonini along with the sister genera ''Salvelinus'' and ''Salvethymus''. Almost all ''Salmo ...
and Nitro, "Crudelia - I nervi" and his number one song" Supreme - L'ego".
On 6 March 2020 he released a new track "Neon - Le Ali" featuring Italian songwriter
Elisa
The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay is a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence of ...
, peaking at number five of Italian Singles Chart. In 2020 the rapper collaborated with
Dardust in "
Defuera" and the third lead single from ''Persona'' "Sport - I muscoli", which peaked at number three of Italian Chart.
On 17 November 2021, Marracash surprisingly announced on Instagram his seventh studio album ''
Noi, loro, gli altri'' (Us, Them, The Others), which was released two days later. The album, consisting of fourteen tracks, was entirely produced by Zef and Marz and features three guests: Gué Pequeno,
Calcutta
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
and
Blanco
Blanco (''white'' or ''blank'' in Spanish) or Los Blancos may refer to:
People
*Blanco (surname) Fictional characters
*Blanco, a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth
*Blanco Webb, character in the BBC sitcom ''Porridge''
*Graboid#El Blanco, ...
. The first extract from the album was "Crazy Love", promoted by the related music video, starring his ex-girlfriend Elodie.
Music influences and style

In a TV interview with
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
in July 2008, Marracash said he regularly listened to
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
and
883 as a child. He takes inspiration from American artists such as
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...
,
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals and creatures
* A male duck
* Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
,
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
,
DJ Khaled
Khaled Mohammed Khaled (; born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry ar ...
,
Nas
Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones.
Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to:
Aviation
* Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea
* National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia
** Nas Air (S ...
,
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...
,
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...
. From Italy, he cites
Frankie Hi-NRG MC.
Marracash described his writing and writing process for the 2019 album ''Persona'' in an interview on
Rolling Stone Italy: "''It develops over time, in the sense that I mature stuff, it's something I do on an introspective level, I do it without writing. I just take notes and then at a certain point I throw them out, and when I started writing the pieces flowed out like blood from a wound.''" He then describes his feelings and the way he analyzes the situations he reports in the texts: "''I exercise a constant self-consciousness that leads me to experience emotions very intensely.
..But each time I tend to pull the rope a bit to its extreme and it is perhaps also a way to feel alive, a search for adrenaline, because in the end I detach myself enough to find them stronger than before.''"
Criticism and controversy
In 2006, when Marracash criticized
Nesli's way of rapping through the song "Popular", a kind of rivalry between the two began. The following year, in fact, Nesli responded to Marracash with the song "Life is just one", accusing him of making neighborhood rhymes and being a chatterbox. Marracash's response came in 2008 with the song "Dritto al punto", in which he reversed the quotations made by the opposing rapper, who replied with "Riot", closing the debate.
On 14 January 2017, six months after the publication of Santeria, Marracash and
Gué Pequeno gave an interview to
Corriere della Sera
(; ) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average circulation of 246,278 copies in May 2023. First published on 5 March 1876, is one of Italy's oldest newspapers and is Italy's most read newspaper. Its masthead has remain ...
, in which they commented on the musical style adopted by their colleagues
Fedez
Federico Leonardo Lucia (born 15 October 1989), better known by the stage name Fedez (), is an Italian rapper, singer-songwriter, social media personality, and businessman. In 2011, he released the albums ''Penisola che non c'è'' and ''Il mio pr ...
and
J-Ax
Alessandro Aleotti (; born 5 August 1972), known professionally as J-Ax (), is an Italian rapper and singer-songwriter, part of the rap group Articolo 31 with his DJ Vito Luca Perrini (DJ Jad). He is the brother of Grido (formerly part of Ge ...
, at the time close to the publication of ''
Comunisti col Rolex'', criticizing the artists and accusing them of masking their intent to make numbers and money with false intentions. Fedez responded to the accusations by explaining that the two rappers criticized the duo on purpose to have visibility, as well as calling Marracash a coward to not meet him during
Moschino
Moschino () is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house founded in 1983 by Franco Moschino in Milan known for over-the-top, Camp (style), campy designs. The company specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, and fashion accessories.
Moschino's ...
's fashion show; Marracash, referring to Fedez as "''dwarf with
Napoleon complex''", denied what Fedez said about the fashion show, claiming that the colleague had not even sought eye contact with him on that occasion, and ironic about the choice to attend the parades with bodyguards.
Personal life
Between 2019 and 2021, the rapper was in a relationship with singer
Elodie.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Mixtapes
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Other selected charted songs
Guest appearances
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Official website*
{{Authority control
Italian male singers
Italian male rappers
People from Nicosia, Sicily
Living people
Musicians from the Province of Enna
1979 births
Rappers from Milan