Fabri Fibra

"Caos" (2022) had been a surprise, after a series of less brilliant albums. Meanwhile, Fabri Fibra has become more known even among very young audiences as a judge on "Nuova Scena," the rap-themed Netflix talent show, the Italian adaptation of the format "Rhythm + Flow." "Mentre Los Angeles brucia" is a more heterogeneous and less sharp album which, like the previous one, has moments of lost inspiration but also records some strong strikes from an old lion of the scene, now approaching fifty.

If "Caos" started with a sample of Gino Paoli, this time it is Francesco Guccini who introduces the dark trap of "L’avvelenata (Pretesto)." It mainly anticipates the spirit of the more aggressive and gloomy songs, such as the trap "Karma Ok" (“Tu puoi ammazzarti come il cantante dei One Direction”; “Tutti i miei drammi, e il disco lo droppo / Chi cazzo pensavi fossi Sangiovanni?”), the muscular "Sbang" (ft. Noyz Narcos), or the bleak and bitter "Come finirà?" (“Casa pulita così sembra tutto a posto”), but in reality a good part of the tracklist is anything but avvelenata.

There are at least two attempts at hits, honestly not very convincing: the melancholic pop-rap of "Che gusto c’è" (ft. Tredici Pietro) is a social critique far too bland and well known; "Stupidi" (ft. Nerissima Serpe & Papa V) mainly serves to make him known among minors, but it’s too close to the old "Dietro front" with Emis Killa.

Better is the electronic mixed pop-rap of "Milano Baby" (ft. Joan Thiele), a sorrowful relational watercolor that recalls "Stavo pensando a te," and the tragic denuncia of youth malaise in "Tutto andrà bene." There is also room for a dedication to the son he will never have ("Figlio"), too predictable in its development.

There is also a touch of early Fibra: the ragged and caustic style of "Tutti Pazzi" (“Mai andato nel dark web / Ci trovi solo armi e puttane / Come le canzoni rap italiane / Al numero uno tutte le settimane”) and the one that tells the hell of domestic life in "Mio padre" (“Dentro me so di essere fottuto / Sarà che non parlo con nessuno / Passo dentro periodi di buio / Colpa della infanzia che ho avuto”). Even a track by Uomini di Mare, the historic trio in which Fabri Fibra played before his solo career, reappears: "Verso altri lidi" is effectively a classic, polished here with a new beat but still from another category, although it dates back to 1999.

"Mentre Los Angeles brucia" is not the half-rebirth that "Caos" was. It alternates various incarnations of Fabri Fibra: the hit maker, the intimate rapper, the ultra-forty-something who still wants (and can) to be relevant, and also the cult artist who can refer back to his classics more or less explicitly. When he nails the rhymes, he is still infallible, without showing off virtuosity and without losing communicability. Amid the chaos of releases in our mainstream hip-hop, it remains an above-average album but in his discography it seems mainly an excuse to remind us that Fabri Fibra is still here and can still add something to the (new) scene.

20/06/2025