Rkomi

Mirko Manuele Martorana (born 19 April 1994), known professionally as Rkomi, is an Italian rapper and singer-songwriter.

Early life

Rkomi was born and raised in Milan in the famous district of Calvairate, located in the eastern part of the suburbs of Milan. He attended the CFP Galdus hotel Institute until the third year, and then dropped out at the age of 17 without obtaining a diploma. Until the age of 21 he worked as a bartender, bricklayer and dishwasher.

He became friends with rapper Tedua, who was his roommate. Tedua himself originally planned to become a tour manager.

Career

''Calvairate Mixtape and Dasein Sollen''

Rkomi has stated several times that he was initiated into a musical career due to his best friend Tedua.

Rkomi's first musical projects were ''Keep Calm Mixtape'' (with Sfazo) and ''Quello che non fai tu'' (with Falco) in 2012, ''Cugini Bella Vita EP'' (with Pablo Asso) in 2013, followed by the more famous amateur songbook ''Calvairate Mixtape'', which was created by six people (including Tedua and Izi), in 2014.

That was followed by almost two years of silence, then Rkomi published the song ''Dasein Sollen'' on the YouTube platform. The song's title is a direct reference to the Heideggerian concept of Dasein. The rapper learned about it through a random search on the Internet. On 13 October 2016 Rkomi released an EP ''Dasein Sollen'' in collaboration with the Digital Distribution label.

First collaborations and ''Io in terra''

Following the good reception of ''Dasein Sollen'' (the single ''Aeroplanini di carta'', created in collaboration with Izi, was certified platinum), Rkomi was hired by an indie singer-songwriter Calcutta for the opening of the show live in Turin.

Having come into contact with Shablo, former producer of the album ''Aeroplanini di carta'', Rkomi decides to sign a contract with the Rock Music label managed by Shablo himself and Marracash. On 13 March 2017 the rapper announced that he was going to release his first studio album ''Universal''.

On 8 September 2017 Rkomi released the album ''Io in terra'', consisting of 14 tracks, some of them created in collaboration with Marracash (in ''Milano Bachata''), Noyz Narcos (in ''Verme'') and Alberto Paone (in ''Mai più''), a drummer. The album was preceded by the singles ''Solo, Apnea'' and ''Mai più''. After its debut in the music charts, ''Io in terra'' reached the top of the FIMI chart and was certified gold, while ''Milano Bachata, Apnea'' and ''Mai più'' were certified platinum.

''Ossigeno – EP'' and ''Dove gli occhi non arrivano''

On 26 June 2018 Rkomi announced the upcoming release of an EP, entitled ''Ossigeno – EP'', which was released on 13 July 2019 accompanied by a vinyl edition and an autobiographical book. The CD features the single ''Acqua calda e limone'', which was written in collaboration with rapper Ernia, as well as songs written in collaboration with Tedua, Night Skinny and Mc Bin Laden. At the end of 2018, the single ''Non ho mai tanto la mia età'' was released on the occasion of the release of the video game Assassin's Creed: Origins. It is a tribute to a video game saga created by Ubisoft. ''Solletico'' and ''Acqua calda e limone'' were certified gold.

On 19 February 2019 Rkomi revealed that he intended to release the album ''Dove gli occhi non arrivano'', which was released on 22 March 2020. Jovanotti, Elisa, Carl Brave, Sfera Ebbasta, Dardust and Ghali also worked on the disc. The album successfully debuted at the top of the FIMI rating, as did ''Io in terra''.

2021–present: ''Taxi Driver'', Sanremo Festival and ''No Stress''

In April 2021, Rkomi announced his third studio album ''Taxi Driver'', which was released on 30 April. The first single from the album "Ho spento il cielo" with Tommaso Paradiso was released on 14 April. The album debuted at the top of the FIMI Album Chart, while the track "Nuovo range", a collaboration with Sfera Ebbasta, reached the top of the Top Single. On 24 September 2021 the live album ''Taxi Driver (MTV Unplugged)'' was released. It included previous tracks edited and sung live.

In December 2021, Rkomi published the collaboration '' La coda del diavolo'' with Elodie, which peaked at number one on the Italian singles chart. The same month Rkomi participation in the Sanremo Music Festival 2022 with the song " Insuperabile", where it placed 17th in the grand final. The songs were included in the reiussed of ''Taxi Driver +''. In February 2022 he collaborated with Elisa on the song ''Quello che manca'' from the singer studio album '' Ritorno al futuro/Back to the Future''.

In July 2023 Rkomi released the collaborative album ''No Stress'' with Irama.

In December 2024, Rkomi was announced as one of the participants in the Sanremo Music Festival 2025. He placed 28th with the song "Il ritmo delle cose".

Style and influences

Although the rapper's first songs belong to pure rap and do not include other genres, Rkomi proposed himself as an exponent of indie rap. The album ''Io in terra'' has often been considered as an example of hip-hop influenced by the genres of prog, funk and others, because of the original and innovative bases (in addition to the drums, the electric bass, guitar and trumpet appear). With ''Ossigeno - EP'', Rkomi began to approach a more funk and pop version of rap, establishing a new musical dimension with the album ''Dove gli occhi non arrivano'', characterized by purely pop sharing.

Rkomi's work was influenced by such indie artists as Saint PHNX, Gorillaz and Twenty One Pilots. As for hip-hop, the rapper's work was influenced by Italian artists Noyz Narcos, Marracash, Fabri Fibra, Gué Pequeno, and such foreign artistes as German rapper Cro, French rapper Lomepal and American rappers Tyler, the Creator, Chance the Rapper and Kendrick Lamar.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

* ''Taxi Driver (MTV Unplugged)'' (2021)

EPs

* ''Dasein Sollen'' (2016)
* ''Ossigeno'' (2018)

Mixtapes

* ''Calvairate Mixtape'' (2014)

Singles

* "Dasein Sollen" (2016)
* "Sul serio" (2016)
* "Sissignore" (2016)
* "180" (2016)
* "Aeroplanini di carta" (with Izi) (2016)
* "Oh mama" (2016)
* "Rossetto" (2017)
* "Solo" (2017)
* "Apnea" (2017)
* "Mai più" (2017)
* "Acqua calda e limone" (with Ernia) (2018)
* "Non ho mai avuto la mia età" (2018)
* " Blu" (with Elisa) (2019)
* "Visti dall'alto" (with Dardust) (2019)
* " La coda del diavolo" (with Elodie) (2021)
* " Insuperabile" (2022)
* "Ossa rotte" (2022)
* " 5 gocce" (with Irama) (2022)
* "Hollywood" (with Irama) (2023)
* "Sulla pelle" (with Irama) (2023)
* " Il ritmo delle cose" (2025)

Music videos

* "Dasein sollen" (2016)
* "Sul serio" (2016)
* "Sissignore" (2016)
* "180" (2016)
* "Aeroplanini di carta" (2016)
* "Oh Mama" (2016)
* "Fuck Tomorrow" (2016)
* "Rossetto (intro)" (2017)
* "Bimbi" (2017)
* "Solo" (2017)
* "Apnea" (2017)
* "Mai più" (2017)
* "Milano Bachata" (2017)
* "Acqua calda e limone" (2018)
* "Non ho mai avuto l'età" (2018)
* "Visti dall'alto" (2019)
* "Vento sulla luna" (2019)
* "Ho spento il cielo" (2021)
* "Fottuta canzone" (2021)
* "Insuperabile" (2022)
* "Ossa rotte" (2022)

Awards and nominations

* MTV Europe Music Awards
** 2021 — Nomination Best Italian Act
* Sanremo Music Festival
** 2022 — 17th place with the song "Insuperabile"
** 2025 — 28th place with the song "Il ritmo delle cose"

References

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Italian male rappers
21st-century male rappers
Living people
21st-century Italian male singers
1994 births
Rappers from Milan