Ligurian:
# Marco Carbon (1966)

Nasciuo à Zena, o Carbon o se definisce da pe lê «poeta de stradda, muxico autodidatta, fabbricante de tambui». Veteran da scena reggae italiaña, da pöcassæ vintiçinqu’anni o se mescia inte l’ambiente zeneise, con produise da lê de menue cheuggeite de versci e «Januaican music», seu personale reinvençion e re/creaçion da muxica giamaicaña inte un contesto zeneise. O Carbon o ne conta unna realitæ donde «se scoran soin semeggeivi de lengue despæge, nasce de neuve poule da-a contaminaçion e da-o mescciâse de despæge etnie e coltue, tutte a-a reçerca de unna sciortia da- scistemma in vigô chi detta de regole asciurde pe conservâ i privilegi di pöchi à danno do ben stâ de tanti… o zeneise, che pe secoli o s’é impadronio de poule de tante lengue do mediterraneo ch’o l’à incontrou ò co-e quæ o s’é scontrou into corso de l’istöia, o se mesccia inte sto mondo globale co-a coltua giamaicaña e i soin do reggae inte un mix teorizzou pe çerti versci ascì da-o monemento da Creolité, chi tende a-a valorizzaçion do kréyol comme neuva coltua da pe lê, corzeu de varie coltue e tradiçioin, che pròpio inti Caraibi an attrovou un stranio mòddo pe mescciâse…». E o l’azzonze ascì: «Aloa, pòrte averte a-e contaminaçioin, che pe-e lengue a l’é a sola mainea de arrestâ vive». E poexie do Carbon, destinæ sorvetutto à ëse cantæ e «interpretæ» da-o seu autô à uso dub poetry ò reggae, son accheuggeite inte ben ben de autoediçioin feua commerso.

Chì o dio Ogun (o sciumme Niger) o vëgne identificou, into rito sincretico braxilian de l’Umbanda, con San Zòrzo, o tradiçionale santo protettô di zeneixi ch’o l’ammassa o drago, comme quello chi reportiâ tra de niatri l’òrdene e unna quarche forma de giustiçia soçiale.

Into Carbon a l’é evidente unn’anscietæ millenaristica e religiosa de giustiçia, espressa de soventi pe mezo ascì de çitaçioin testuale da Scrittua, stranniamente mescciâ à di proverbi, diti popolari, esprescioin tipiche do zeneise.

[1] «o droghê o se mangia o succao e o caigâ o va co-e scarpe rotte»: en di mòddi proverbiali zeneixi, pe indicâ scituaçioin donde chi travaggia o n’arriësce à refâse do seu giamin ò di seu sfòrsci, sensa arriescî manco à provedde à lê mæximo.

Inte tanti caxi co-o Carbon se trovemmo de fronte à unna poexia «de servixo», donde l'urgensa de denonçiâ e ingiustiçie do scistema capitalista e globalista o sobransa tutte e atra conscideaçioin.

Di ardii accostamenti e invençioin de poule, insòlite assoçiaçioin de idee in stile surrealista, en caratteristichi da poexia do Carbon.

[2] «arröba dub»: da «Inna rub-a dub, stile de reggae con ben ben de percuscioin.

[3] Blackheart man o l’é un album (ponto fermo do reggae) do Bunny Wailer do 1976.

English translation:
# Marco Carbone (1966)

Carbone was born in Genoa, and calls himself a “street poet, self-taught musician, drum maker”. He is a veteran of the Italian reggae scene and has been active in the Genovese sphere for about twenty-five years, self-producing small collections of verses and “Januaican music”, his personal reinvention and re/creation of Jamaican music in a Genoese context. Carbone tells us about a reality where “similar sounds of different languages are pursued, new words are born from the contamination and mingling of different ethnicities and cultures, all in search of a way out of this current system that dictates absurd rules to preserve the privileges of a few at the expense of the welfare of the many… the Genoese language, which for centuries has made its own words from the various Mediterranean languages it has encountered or with which it has clashed throughout history, mixes in this global world with the Jamaican culture and the sounds of reggae in a mix theorized in some ways also by the Creolité movement, which tends to the valorization of kréyol as a new culture in its own right, a melting pot of various cultures and traditions, which precisely in the Caribbean have found a strange way to mix…”. He further adds, “So, open doors to contamination, which for languages is the only way to stay alive…”. Carbone’s poems, intended primarily to be sung and “interpreted” by their author in dub poetry or reggae style, are collected in numerous out-of-print self-publishings.

Here the god Ogun (the Niger River) is identified, in the Brazilian syncretic rite of Umbanda, with St. George, the traditional dragon-slaying patron saint of the Genoese, as the one who will restore order and some form of social justice among us.

A millenarian and religious yearning for justice is evident in Carbone, frequently expressed even by means of verbatim quotations from Scripture, curiously mixed with proverbs, popular sayings, and expressions typical of Genoese.

[1] “o droghê o se mangia o succao e o caigâ o va co-e scarpe rotte”: Genoese sayings, indicating situations in which those who work are unable to make up for their toil or efforts, failing even to provide for themselves.

In many cases with Carbone we are faced with “service” poetry, in which the urgency of denouncing the injustices of the capitalist and globalist system overrides all other considerations.

Daring juxtapositions and word coinages, unusual associations of ideas in surrealist style are characteristic of Carbone’s poetry.

[2] “arröba dub”: from “Inna rub-a dub, a style of reggae with lots of percussion.

[3] Blackheart man is a 1976 album (a milestone in reggae) by Bunny Wailer.