Marracash facts for kids

Fabio Bartolo Rizzo (born on May 22, 1979), known as Marracash, is a famous Italian rapper. He started his music journey with the rap group Dogo Gang. Later, he became a solo artist and grew very popular in the 2010s.

Marracash has released six studio albums that reached the top ten on the Italian Albums Chart. Two of these albums, Santeria (2016) and Persona (2019), even reached the number one spot. He has also released many successful songs and worked with other artists. His songs have appeared seventeen times in the top ten of the Italian Singles Chart. Marracash has sold over 5 million copies of his music in Italy, making him one of the best-selling Italian rappers of the 2010s.

He has worked with many artists, including rappers like Gué Pequeno, J-Ax, Fabri Fibra, Emis Killa, Club Dogo, and Baby K. He has also collaborated with pop singers such as Tiziano Ferro, Elisa, Giusy Ferreri, Federica Abbate, and Elodie.

In 2013, Marracash and producer Shablo started their own music label called Roccia Music. This label helps both new and experienced rap artists, producers, and DJs. From 2012 to 2014, he hosted a TV show on MTV Italy called MTV Spit, which was about rap battles.

Biography

Fabio Rizzo Bartolo was born in Nicosia, Sicily, Italy. His mother worked as a custodian, and his father was a truck driver. He has a younger brother. His family moved from Sicily to Milan when he was young. When he was ten, his family moved again to the suburbs of Barona, where he grew up and still lives today.

After finishing school as an electronics technician, Fabio started recording his first rap verses. He used the name Yuza delle Nuvole and appeared in a song called "The Royal Rumble" in 1999. He later chose the stage name Marracash. This name came from his childhood nickname, "Marocchino" (meaning "Moroccan" in Italian), which was a playful reference to his Sicilian background. It's also a play on the city name Marrakesh.

Career

Marracash's music career officially began in 2004. He was part of the PMC VS Club Dogo mixtape, a project with Club Dogo and Massive Crew Portion. In the same year, the Dogo Gang group was formed, and Marracash became a key member. He also appeared on Club Dogo's album Regular and Gué Pequeno's Hashishinz Sound Vol. 1.

In 2005, Marracash released a free song called "Popolare" online. This song was a preview of his mixtape Roccia Music I. Many artists from Dogo Gang and other guests like Inoki and Co'Sang worked on this mixtape.

His first solo album, also called Marracash, came out in June 2008 with Universal Music. It reached number nine on the Italian Albums Chart and was certified gold. The album included popular songs like "Badabum Cha Cha", which was his first top ten hit, and "Estate in città".

In 2009, Marracash joined 55 other Italian singers to create "Domani 21/04.2009". This song was released to raise money for the victims of the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake. Later that year, he released "Cani pazzi", which was a preview of his second album, Fino a qui tutto bene, released in July 2010. This album featured collaborations with Giusy Ferreri and Fabri Fibra.

In September 2011, he released the song "King of rap", which was followed by his album of the same name in October. The album debuted at number three on the FIMI chart and was certified platinum. In 2012, he collaborated with Emis Killa on "Giusto un giro" and announced his new record label, La Roccia Music. On December 22, Marracash hosted the first episode of MTV Spit, a TV show about rap battles.

After releasing the group album Genesis with Roccia Music artists in 2013, Marracash released his fourth studio album, Status, on January 20, 2015. This album reached number two in Italy and number 32 in Switzerland. Hit singles from this album included "Status", "Senza un posto nel mondo" with Tiziano Ferro, "In radio", and "Niente canzoni d'amore" with Federica Abbate.

In 2016, Marracash announced a new album with Gué Pequeno. This album, called Santeria, was released on June 24, 2016, and became his first number one album. The first song from the album, "Nulla accade", was released on June 7 and was certified double platinum.

To celebrate 10 years since his first album, Marracash released a new song on June 12, 2019, called "Margarita" with singer Elodie. This song reached number nine on the Singles Chart and sold over 100,000 copies in Italy. On October 31, 2019, his sixth album, Persona, was released. It reached number one on the FIMI Chart and was certified double platinum. The album had several hit songs, including "Marylean" with Salmo and Nitro, "Crudelia - I nervi", and his number one song "Supreme - L'ego". On March 6, 2020, he released "Neon - Le Ali" featuring Italian songwriter Elisa, which reached number five. In 2020, he also worked with Dardust on "Defuera" and released "Sport - I muscoli", which reached number three.

On November 17, 2021, Marracash surprised fans by announcing his seventh studio album, Noi, loro, gli altri (Us, Them, The Others), which came out two days later. This album had fourteen songs, produced by Zef and Marz, and featured Gué Pequeno, Calcutta, and Blanco. The first song from the album was "Crazy Love", which had a music video starring his former girlfriend Elodie.

His latest album, È finita la pace, was released on December 13, 2024, and also reached number one on the Italian charts.

Music influences and style

Marracash performing in 2007

Marracash has shared that when he was a child, he often listened to bands like Metallica and 883. He gets ideas from American artists such as Jay-Z, Drake, Kanye West, DJ Khaled, Nas, Kendrick Lamar, and Wu-Tang Clan. From Italy, he looks up to Frankie Hi-NRG MC.

Marracash explained how he writes his songs for his 2019 album Persona in an interview with Rolling Stone Italy. He said that he thinks about things for a long time without writing them down. He just takes notes, and then when he starts writing, the words flow out easily. He also described how he feels and analyzes situations for his lyrics: "I constantly think about myself, which makes me feel emotions very strongly. ... I tend to push myself to the limit each time, and it's also a way to feel alive, a search for excitement."

Personal life

From 2019 to 2021, Marracash was in a relationship with singer Elodie.

Discography

Studio albums

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Marracash para niños