''Prisoner 709'' is the seventh studio album by the Italian rapper

Caparezza Michele Salvemini (born 9 October 1973), better known by his stage name Caparezza, (sometimes written CapaRezza) is an Italian rapper. Born in Molfetta, in the southern region of Apulia, Caparezza debuted in 1997 at the Sanremo Festival under t ...

, released on September 15, 2017 by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

Conception

Recorded between

Molfetta Molfetta (; Bari dialect, Molfettese: ) is a town located in the northern side of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy. It has a well restored old city, and its own dialect. History The earliest local signs of permanent habit ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

together with

Chris Lord-Alge Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic range compression for molding mixes that ...

, it is a concept album composed of sixteen tracks, some of which were recorded in collaboration with John De Leo, DMC and

Max Gazzè Massimiliano "Max" Gazzè (born 6 July 1967) is an Italian singer-songwriter and musician. He is known for his high-pitched voice. He is also a member of the trio Fabi Silvestri Gazzè with Niccolò Fabi and Daniele Silvestri. Biography M ...

. The album is the result of a profound internal crisis for the rapper and focuses on the theme of being trapped within one's own mental dimension (or prison, as the artist himself stated). Compared to his previous album Museica, released three years earlier, Prisoner 709 features sounds much closer to hip hop and rock and more intimate and reflective themes. The album also features numerous references to tinnitus, a disorder that struck the singer in 2015 and which significantly influenced his making of the album.

Title

During the album presentation, which took place on September 14, 2017 at the Fabbrica Orobia in

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 ...

, the rapper clarified the meaning of the number 709, which represents a sort of identity crisis that the singer had in previous years. The number 7 represents his name Michele, composed of seven letters, while the number 9 represents his stage name Caparezza, composed of nine. During the same event he also declared that for each song he enjoyed finding contrasts between words of seven and nine letters, in order to emphasize the introspective meaning of the album. The number 0, on the other hand, represents the continuous choice between 7 and 9, and is also a reference to the circular shape of a musical record.

Track listing

# "Prosopagnosia" (The crime - Michele or Caparezza) (feat. John De Leo) # "Prisoner 709" (The penalty - Compact or streaming) # "La caduta di Atlante" (The Weight - Abuse or justice) # "Forever Jung" (The psychologist - To heal or to get sick) (feat. DMC) # "Confusianesimo" (Comfort - Reason or religion) # "Il testo che avrei voluto scrivere" (The Letter - Novel or biography) # "Una chiave" (The Interview - Opening or closing) # "Ti fa stare bene" (Rec time - Frivolous or busy) # "Migliora la tua memoria con un click" (The Flashback - Remember or forget) (feat.

) # "Larsen" (Torture - Forgiveness or punishment) # "Sogno di potere" (The Revolt - To Serve or to command) # "L'uomo che premette" (The Guard - Harmless or criminal) # "Minimoog" (The Infirmary - Scratch or scar) (feat. John De Leo) # "L'infint"o (The Window - People or programs) # "Autoipnotica" (Escape - Flee or Return) # "Prosopagno sia!" (On the run - Freedom or imprisonment)

Conception

Title

Track listing

Bonus tracks

Commercial performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References