Primo Brown, pseudonym of David Maria Belardi (
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, June 14, 1976 - Rome, January 1, 2016), was an Italian
rapper
Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...
, known for having played in the
rap band Cor Veleno.
Introducing himself to the
music scene since the late 1980s, Primo is remembered as an artist of fundamental importance for the development of
hip hop culture in Italy, especially in the
capital
Capital and its variations may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital
** List of national capitals
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter
Econom ...
.
Biography
Initially known under the pseudonym of ''Scheggia'', the rapper began to make his name known within the
Italian hip hop scene in 1993, when he performed together with
Grandi Numeri at the Palladium, on the occasion of the Zulu Party. Thus begins to form the first nucleus of the musical group
Cor Veleno (in which
DJ Squarta will also be present), so much so that this name is also mentioned in an episode of the broadcast Italy in direct, conducted by the presenter
Alda D'Eusanio, in which Primo and Grandi Numeri performed in connection by the
Circolo degli Artisti. Track 21 Tyson will then be released under the name Cor Veleno, present in the mixtape of the Rome Zoo collective dedicated to
Roman hip hop, entitled ''La banda der trucido''.
The debut with an official album of the trio will then take place in 1999, with the release of the album ''Sotto assedio'', followed two years later by ''Rock 'n' Roll'', and then again with ''Heavy Metal'' in 2004. Also in 2004, he participates in the ''
60 Hz'' album by
DJ Shocca with what will become in the years to come one of his best known songs, ''Sempre grezzo''. In 2005 Primo recorded the ''Bomboclat'' album with Squarta, while in 2006 Cor Veleno signed a contract with
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...
, with which they released ''Nuovo Nuovo'' in 2007 and ''Buona pace'' two years later. In the meantime, Primo had released another album with Squarta, entitled ''Leggenda'', followed by ''Qui è selvaggio'', from which the song ''Cantano tutti'' (based on the Cucchi case) is extracted.
Once published ''Qui è selvaggio'', Primo decides to devote himself to solo projects, as evidenced by the three volumes of the ''Rap nelle mani'' mixtape, in which however there is no shortage of collaborations. The latest official project featuring Primo Brown is ''El micro de oro'', created together with rapper
Tormento and released in 2014 for the ThisPlay Music label. During the promotion period of the album, however, the artist finds himself having to announce the cancellation of the tour and the withdrawal of the scenes due to serious health problems, which will lead to his death on
New Year's Eve 2016 at the age of 39 and was buried in the
Flaminio Cemetery.
An evening in memory of the artist was organized on 25 March 2016 at the Atlantico club in Rome, which was filmed and made available on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
one year after his death.
The film ''
Zeta - a Hip-Hop Story'' by
Cosimo Alemà, released in 2016 and set in the world of
hip hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
, was dedicated to his memory.
Discography
Solo
; Albums
* 2005 – ''Bomboclat'' (with
Squarta)
* 2008 – ''Leggenda'' (with Squarta)
* 2011 – ''Qui è selvaggio'' (with Squarta)
* 2012 – ''Fin da bambino'' (with Ibbanez)
* 2014 – ''El micro de oro'' (with
Tormento)
Mixtapes
* 2011 – ''La Scanizza mixtape'' (with Ill Grosso)
* 2011 – ''Rap nelle mani volume 1''
* 2012 – ''Rap nelle mani volume 2''
* 2013 – ''Rap nelle mani volume 3''
With Cor Veleno
* 2001 – ''Rock 'n' Roll''
* 2004 – ''Heavy metal''
* 2007 – ''Nuovo nuovo''
* 2010 – ''Buona pace''
* 2018 – ''Lo spirito che suona''
(posthumous)
References
External links
''Primo Brown'' on ''
Discogs
Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...
'', ''
Zink Media''.
*
Primo Brown', on
MusicBrainz
MusicBrainz is a MetaBrainz project that aims to create a collaborative music database that is similar to the freedb project. MusicBrainz was founded in response to the restrictions placed on the CDDB, Compact Disc Database (CDDB), a database for ...
,
MetaBrainz Foundation
MusicBrainz is a MetaBrainz project that aims to create a collaborative music database that is similar to the freedb project. MusicBrainz was founded in response to the restrictions placed on the Compact Disc Database (CDDB), a database for soft ...
.
*
Primo Brown', on ''
Genius
Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for the future, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...
''
{{Authority control
1976 births
2016 deaths
Musicians from Rome
Italian male rappers
Burials at the Cimitero Flaminio
Rappers from Rome