NUMERO ZERO - Extra#4 - Neffa
Neffa looks back on his first rap clashes, his early unfamiliarity with hip-hop culture, and why he believes art should answer critics better than words.
Published June 11, 2015
Early Encounters with Hip-Hop Culture
Neffa recalls that his first conflict in hip-hop involved rappers from Turin, in the Camarano and Pergola scene. At that time he could not yet rap. The Turin rappers dismissed him with the phrase "isola po you and shit." Neffa responded by confronting them and asked why they did not mind their own business.
He says he had not yet known this hip-hop culture.
Views on Hip-Hop in Italy
Neffa states that Italians embraced one of the elements of hip-hop more than the others. He adds that this element is also the one he regrets least. He does not accept a logic in which artists stop being themselves at a certain point.
Competition and Its Limits
Neffa uses the example of an American rapper, referred to in the transcript as "My Davis." He states that such an artist would not stop and issue a dismissive challenge to a rival. Competition existed in the culture, but it took place through music. Rap, in his view, is a genre built on words, yet the contest itself was expressed through performance.
Personal Principle
Neffa states that his guiding principle has always been not to answer with words. He argues that an artist who creates music or art, and invents something from nothing, should do that work and do it well.
Early Encounters with Rap
Neffa recalls his first rap encounters and the rivalry that started them.
- He recalls a first clash that began when certain Torinese rappers, including a group from Camarano in Pergola, challenged him.
- At the time he did not yet know how to rap.
- The rappers made taunting remarks and he says he did not yet know this hip-hop culture.
- He says this episode is the part of hip-hop he regrets least.
Competition and Musical Culture
Neffa rejects the idea that rap rivalry should be a matter of verbal competition and gives an analogy about how musical competition works.
- He says he cannot accept a logic where, at some point, one artist claims to be superior to another.
- He gives an analogy about an artist who does not stop to trade insults with a rival.
- He says competition in hip-hop was expressed through playing music, not through insults.
- He notes that rap is a genre of words but argues that musical skill matters more than wordplay.
Philosophy of Response Through Art
Neffa states his personal creed: respond to critics through art, not through words.
- His lifelong creed is never to respond with words.
- If someone makes music or art and invents things from nothing, they should do that and do it well.
- The excerpt ends before the full argument is finished, with unclear remarks about rap style.