In Greek literature, the word “katabasis” indicates the descent of a living person into the underworld. After a journey across the deepest and darkest abysses of the Earth (and of the human soul, too), such descent always ended with a resurgence to the light. Dante’s katabasis started with the famous “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here”; Rondodasosa starts with a nicer “Welcome to Tranches Baby”.

It is welcoming in its terms, of course, not in its intentions. Trenches Baby is a retrospective and sometimes dark journey across the story and the souls of Mattia Barbieri (his real name) before becoming Rondodasosa. His story starts from the public housing of via Zamagna, in the San Siro neighbourhood, and flies over the music charts of Europe. That story looks forward without forgetting the past and the concrete of his block.

For Rondodasosa, that block is not only home but also a true status symbol that forged him, that he now represents outside of it. The connection between “Rondo” and his Zone 7 is so strong that you cannot even describe it with the formula “you can a guy out of the block, but not the block out of a guy”. Because Mattia has no intention to leave it. Such attachment to his place is among the purest hip hop things around.

Not just drill: Rondodasosa experiments and succeeds

He is not shy to handle hip hop for example on Sin Cara, produced by Nko, Miles, and Low Kidd. He moves across rhymes and flow on a beat that is pure rap at first – bars only, no choruses, almost like a freestyle – and then, with no hesitation, on a beat that is more trap-oriented.

Those who expected an entirely drill album will be surprised. Well, yes, Trenches Baby has it all: egotrip, thotties, bitches that only want him now whereas no girl loved him before, a slang unintelligible to anyone older that 24, night strolls across the city. But it is not just that.

Below the front of the “bad boy” there is all the personal and musical universe of Rondodasosa. Besides being a star destined to shine beyond the borders of Italy, first of all he is a 20-year-old boy with his own fears, doubts, and will to experiment, also by stepping out of his comfort zone.

The collaborations of the album

Rondodasosa streches from his beloved drill (where he no longer needs to demonstrate to be a young king of the scene) to sounds that he never tried before, such as 2000s R&B à la Craig David (Yamaha) or Latin pop (Playa). But he is not alone. His companions in this journey are Lazza (among Rondo’s artistic “godfathers”) Vale Pain (also from San Siro), thasup (on Drillmoon), Capo Plaza (who shines also without autotune), Rose Villain, Ghali, and Gazo and Russ Millions as international guests.

Still, besides the collaborations, what really hits is Rondodasosa’s personal journey. He passed «from the block to all of this» only by himself. He did that through the pain and suffering that are expiated with the last, meaningful track, Dolore 2. At the end of it, after walking through hell, Rondo finally sees the light again. Because, even if you fail, «it doesn’t mean that there is no hope at the end».

PAOLOOO