Liberato

Liberato is one of the most enigmatic and innovative musical projects on the contemporary Italian scene. Active since 2017, the mysterious Neapolitan rapper and singer has managed to win over a wide audience by blending tradition and modernity, singing in Neapolitan dialect and fusing elements of trap, electronic music, hip-hop and Italian melodic song. His anonymity is an integral part of his artistic identity: his face is unknown, and his live performances feature individuals who all wear the same outfit and present themselves as "Liberato."

Liberato made his debut on February 9, 2017 with the track "Nove Maggio," a viral hit that introduced him as a unique phenomenon. The song, accompanied by a video directed by filmmaker Francesco Lettieri, weaves together romance and urban settings, telling stories of teenage love against the backdrop of a contemporary Naples. The following release, "Tu t'e scurdat' 'e me," cemented his fame thanks to a poignant chorus and an equally evocative visual aesthetic.

2018 marked a crucial moment for Liberato, who released "Je te voglio bene assaje" and "Oi Marì," tracks that further explored Neapolitan musical tradition, reinterpreting it through a modern lens. That same year he performed live for the first time at a free concert on the Naples waterfront, an event that drew thousands of fans and helped strengthen his legend.

In 2019 he released his first, self-titled album, "Liberato," a collection of ten tracks released on May 9th, keeping the number 9 as a recurring symbol in his aesthetic. The record is a musical journey combining stories of love and disillusion, continuing the dialogue between Neapolitan dialect and international sounds.

The stories told in the videos all share this "Liberato Cinematic Universe" (as fans have ironically dubbed it), a romantic Naples steeped in an eternal summer of loves and passions, where the characters take turns embodying the many faces of Neapolitan life.

Three years later came the follow-up, the album "Liberato II" (2022), an evolution of his style, experimenting with new sounds while still maintaining ties to his Neapolitan roots.

Liberato's second effort broadens the musical scope of his debut, while still remaining true to the expectations of both fans and critics. The paths traced by the project belong to an imaginative world that is as personal as it is dynamic and vibrant, but above all without imitators. Indeed, what clearly emerges is a sense of manifest superiority toward Italian mainstream music, a context into which Liberato could never fully fit (we might more accurately call it "midstream"). The fact remains that in a national scene populated by sharks and record labels whose only goal is immediate profit, no one has yet managed to steal either his insights or his underlying, proud self-awareness.

Between the two projects came the soundtrack to the film "Ultras," dated 2020.

The mystery surrounding Liberato has sparked numerous speculations and theories about the artist's identity, with guesses involving various musicians and producers. However, Liberato has always avoided revealing himself, letting his music speak for him instead. This anonymity has turned him into a sort of "collective mask," a symbol of a Naples that is at once global and nostalgic.

Liberato's sound stands out for its use of trap rhythms, electronic beats and nods to Neapolitan melodic tradition. The lyrics, often centered on love, memory and his relationship with the city of Naples, capture a wide range of emotions, from intimate regrets to the celebration of everyday life.

In 2025, though, the return with “Liberato III“ falls short of expectations… The tracklist is made up of nine songs and opens with “Turnà”, dense with references: an electronic intro that uses the gating technique in exactly the same way as “One More Time” by Daft Punk, a vocal sample from “Voglia ‘e turnà” by Teresa De Sio, and further on a vocal interpolation from “Don’t Cha” by the Pussycat Dolls.

These are choices that reveal a lazy, simplistic approach.