Articolo 31

Alessandro Aleotti and Vito Luca Perrini, known as J-Ax and Dj-Jad, met in Milan in '90. They were among the first names in Italian hip-hop to reach the mainstream, setting aside the unusual case of Jovanotti. Their debut "Strade Di Città" (1993) sold 90,000 copies in Italy. "Messa Di Vespiri" (1994) struck a better balance, leaning mainly on lighthearted, carefree songs; it sold 140,000 copies. J-Ax's lyrics were the key weapon in winning over the market, even if his rebellion was adolescent and harmless. The road to success kept opening up: "Così com'è" (1996) is perhaps the most representative album of their sound, and its success was unprecedented, selling over half a million copies. After further hit singles and albums, a stylistic shift followed: with "Domani smetto" (2002) and "Italiano medio" (2003) they built a bridge to rock, pop-punk and reggae and metal influences. Both albums sold very well, the band remained etched in the collective memory of the generation born in the '80s, and J-Ax went on to a hugely commercially successful solo career in pop-rap. They reunited in 2023, and only in 2024 did they release the follow-up to "Italiano medio", "Protomaranza".

(Antonio Silvestri)