Debut album of the hip-hop group from Rome Colle der Fomento, initially formed with the name Taverna Ottavo Colle (referring to the seven hills of Rome) and also including Piotta, here guest together with Kaos and Julie P. Ice One is the main producer, although Julie P and Danno are also credited with him.
The title refers both to the tag of a writer friend of theirs and to the film recently released in France "La haine" (1995), one of the best movies of the season. The cover, originally in light blue and blue to portray the nocturnal sound of the record, changes to warm tones such as yellow, orange and red in its 1997 reissue, with the addition of bonus tracks: from left to right, the three members of the group Massimiliano "Masito" Piluzzi aka Beffa, Sebastiano "Ice One" Ruocco and Simone "Danno" Eleuteri.
The disc is a classic in its canonical meaning, it's considered one of the most hardcore underground efforts of the period and it's fundamental to lay the foundations of Italian rap. It's easier listening than you can actually imagine: Danno and Beffa deliver battle rap and hardcore bars for fifty minutes on a simple boom bap production of Ice One. The rhythms are rough, dark, captivating, honest, composed of repetitive and haunting loops, and from samples that are more in search of a good drum than a melodic sound that helps the smooth flow of the two MCs. The record is hard and raw, direct despite its lyrical and musical monotony.
Among these fourteen tracks, you can distinguish "Solo hardcore", "Sopra al colle" (beautiful elegant piano keys), "Funk romano" and "Ciao ciao". This last track is so well done that it almost has nothing to do with the rest of the CD. Ice One takes an orgasmic female vocal sample from "Mannequins On Guard", song from the soundtrack of the slasher film "Tourist Trap", and loops it throughout the track, instantly giving a very dark and eerie tone to the song, accompanied by a keyboard. It's one of the best rhythms of the year. Danno introduces the performers whispering in the background, a satanic laugh introduces a very heavy and very deep fantastic bass line, then comes the drum, lively, crackling, fresh. The title and intro are a tribute to "Don Kaos", a piece by Kaos featured in "Rapadopa" by DJ Gruff (1993).
The beat is left to breathe again, sublime choice, then Danno makes a sensational entrance and launches a very long sprint, practically this is a 4x100 relay, and delivers what can easily be the Italian verse of the year. Hardcore, smooth, fluid, excellent flow. Kaos brings some energy despite a calm style, then Piotta makes the decisive tear that elevates this cut to one of the best released in Italian hip-hop of 1996: he walks in, delivers twenty powerful hardcore bars with frightening energy and confidence, and steals the show, before Masito closes.
The record gets a good success with the public in the underground circuit and allows the group to carve out an important place in the Roman scene, before the reissue of Virgin in 1997 which launched them among the top exponents of national hardcore rap.
Rating: 7/10.
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