Manuel Franco Rocati (born 30 January 1998), known professionally as Rosa Chemical, is an Italian rapper, singer, songwriter, graffiti artist and model.

Biography

Rocati was born in Rivoli and grew up in

Alpignano Alpignano (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located about west of Turin on the Dora Riparia in the Val di Susa plain. Twin towns – sister cities Alpignano is town twin ...

, in the metropolitan city of

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. His pseudonym is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of the terms "Rosa", his mother's first name, and "Chemical", from the American band

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance is an American Rock music, rock band from New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way. They are considered one of ...

. Before becoming interested in hip hop music, he was a graffiti artist, as visible in the programme ''

YO! MTV Raps ''Yo! MTV Raps'' is an American two-hour television music video program, which first aired on MTV Europe from 1987 to mid-1990s and on MTV, MTV US from August 1988 to August 1995. The American version of the program (created by Ted Demme and Pe ...

'', around

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. His music career began in 2018, when he released the single "Kournikova", becoming at the same time model for the Italian fashion label

Gucci Guccio Gucci S.p.A., doing business as Gucci ( , ), is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Florence. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and ...

. In February 2019, he began a collaboration with Italian rapper Greg Willen, releasing the single "Rovesciata", which anticipated the release of the EP ''Okay Okay!!''. From the EP the single "Tik Tok" was extracted, in collaboration with Radical, which reaches Spotify Italy's Viral 50. In 2020, he released the singles "Alieno", in collaboration with UncleBac, and "Polka", which anticipated the release of the first studio album ''Forever'', released on May 28, of the same year. On March 25, 2021, the album was reissued under the title ''Forever and Ever'', containing five bonus tracks, which was preceded by the single "Britney", in collaboration with MamboLosco and Radical. On 4 February 2022, he was a guest on the cover night of the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival ( ), officially the Italian Song Festival (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria, organized and broadcast by (RAI). It is the longest-running ...

, where he performed alongside

Tananai Alberto Cotta Ramusino (born 8 May 1995), known professionally as Tananai, is an Italian singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer. Biography Ramusino was born in Milan. His music career began in 2017, when he obtained a recording contract ...

a rearrangement of the song "

A far l'amore comincia tu "A far l'amore comincia tu" (; "You start making love first") is a song by Italian singer Raffaella Carrà from her album ''Forte forte forte'' (1976). It was written by Franco Bracardi and Daniele Pace, and produced by Gianni Boncompagni. Other ...

" by

Raffaella Carrà Raffaella Maria Roberta Pelloni (18 June 1943 – 5 July 2021), known professionally as Raffaella Carrà () and sometimes mononymously as Raffaella, was an Italian singer, dancer, actress, television presenter and model. She is often widely cons ...

, entitled "Comincia tu". On 4 December of the same year, it was officially announced that Rosa Chemical will participate in the

Sanremo Music Festival 2023 The Sanremo Music Festival 2023 (), officially the 73rd Italian Song Festival (), was the 73rd edition of the annual Sanremo Music Festival, a television song contest held in the Teatro Ariston of Sanremo, organised and broadcast by (RAI). The ...

. "

Made in Italy Made in Italy is a merchandise mark indicating that a product is all planned, manufactured and packed in Italy, especially concerning the Italian design, design, Italian fashion, fashion, Italian cuisine, food, manufacturing, craftsmanship, and ...

" was later announced as his entry for the Sanremo Music Festival 2023. In the final of the competition, he came in 8th place. On the final night of the competition, during his performance, he approached the rapper

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 ...

in the audience and the two mimed having sexual intercourse. The two were denounced for indecent acts in a public place, but the courts did not uphold the complaint. He performed as a guest on the second night of the

Sanremo Music Festival 2024 The Sanremo Music Festival 2024 (), officially the 74th Italian Song Festival (), was the 74th edition of the annual Sanremo Music Festival, a television song contest held at the of Sanremo, organised and broadcast by (RAI). It was held betwe ...

, performing his 2023 entry to the festival, "Made in Italy."

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Mixtape albums

Singles

As lead artist

Collaborations

References

{{Portal, Biographies, Music Living people Italian LGBTQ musicians 1998 births Italian male rappers Italian graffiti artists Italian male models 21st-century Italian male musicians