Mr. D, the rapper-lawyer “exposes” hip hop

Keep it real. First commandment of hip hop culture expertly expressed in the chorus of “Masks”new single from the legendary Turin producer Mastafive and the rapper from Battipaglia Signor Dstage name of Dario Rosa, 37 years old. « Be yourself, not a cliché: love your character, throw away the masks»: the song produced by Revolutionary Records, a newly formed record label from Battipaglia which has the ambitious aim of revolutionizing the genre, sounds like a declaration of intent. revolve it was said in ancient Rome: return to the origins. To the spirit that August 11, 1973, induced Dj Kool Herc to the happiest of musical experiments. «I don’t believe in your language, I only believe in family» sings Signor D in “Maschere”. «The bar I care most about», he confesses, keeping time as he plays the piece from the PC of his law firm: beyond the desk, in fact, the artist who was little more than a boy merges into 2003, when he recorded his first song in the studio of the famous producer Fabio Musta, and the lawyer who learned to love law from the professor of the “Besta”, Eva Lieto.

Son of a traveling merchant, he devoured his law exams. And the beats too. «These two presumed parallel lines, which for some would never meet, in reality I see them as very close», says Mr. D. The robe and the microphonethe harangue and the freestyle: «He raps – he adds – was born from the demands of African Americans forced to helplessly witness the rapes suffered by their mothers and sisters and the abuses of power perpetrated by the system. The rhymes served to invoke justice». Far from the too frequently stereotyped “gangs” and “bangs”: «The lawyer defends people from injustice, the rapper too. And I’m proud to be a lawyer who’s a rapper and a rapper who’s a lawyer».

They ask him if there‘hip hop can educate about legality and he doesn’t let even a hundredth of a second pass before replying with a sharp «absolutely yes“, Why “my rap is based on being good and supportive, on erasing negativity and seeing the positive sides, recognizing one’s own mistake: even the accused do it when they realize they made a mistake. It is purity, inner peace: being at peace with yourself is the first step to being at peace with others». Peace: key word in the over fifty-year-old culture, which in 2001 induced over 300 pioneers and activists of the genre (among others Krs One and Afrika Bambaataa) to present the Hip Hop Peace Declaration to the UN. Founding values ​​frequently overlooked by impersonal emulators and inattentive listeners («Don’t blame trap but your deaf ears », sings Mr. D again). “Maschere” is against all this: «Today’s generation – explains Mr. D – he is sadly adapting to wearing the mask, to society’s standards. All the same: the last influencer does nothing but mimic the first. It doesn’t apply to everyone: whiteflies are always there. I am a transparent fly». The antidote is in the chorus: «You should just start believing in yourself, now it’s time to live, stop pretending ».

Authenticity. Axiom for Mr. D, also revealed in the title of the latest album released in 2022, BOSS, which is not an exaltation of the underworld but the acronym for Back to the old school sound, the return to the old school sound. This is how he won over Mastafive, a cult beatmaker who has collaborated with the greats of the scene: Fabri Fibra, Clementino, Ensi and many others. «We met at the Cypha Kings in Rome: it was Principe who invited me. I asked him to listen to BOSS, he did: on the phone he congratulated him, confessing that one of my pieces, “Fogli nel Dna”, had even moved him, and he invited me to take part in a contest». The prize was precisely a collaboration with Mastafive: «I didn’t win, but he told me that we would have done the piece together anyway: “We have already closed the collaboration in Rome“, her words». Genesis of “Maschere”: the golden hands of Mastafive sewed a hypnotic beat on the skin of Mr. D, capable of desecrating massification with rhymes, punchline and high-sounding quotes. There is even Dante Alighieri (“he described society in rhyme: a rapper”, says the artist) with the “eternally condemned» Paolo and Francesca and the “judge” Minos, who sees masks on this side. Beyond clichés. Keep it real.