{Chapter 1} Nino e Fede
By: Aban
Tags: Rap, Aban, Data Visualization

INTERVIEW 1

Nino’s story

It was 2006.

I came out of South Fam. I should have recorded my album as a solo artist, but I preferred to dedicate myself to South Fam first and to reunite all of the Salento crews to make a collective. After it went to press, the collective split and I found myself making my solo album.

At the time I had a friend by my side who sang with me. Klein. He was really strong on a technical level. At a conceptual level, he was perhaps more tied to the current rap scene. We hung out.

I was listening to a backing track by Tre 6 Mafia and I wanted to tell a story that had to do with the street. I wanted something that allowed me to show that someone who is regarded as a sinner by the law is, from an ethical point of view, in fact not a sinner but the victim of a systemic injustice and of a reality that offers no alternative, help, choice.

People who turn to crime do not necessarily engage in criminal acts to consciously and willingly do bad; rather, they may find themselves in political, social, economic or personal situations that motivate them to make practical choices in order to feed themselves, those they love and are surrounded by.

I thought about what makes a dealer deal. Perhaps his life story is what took him in a certain direction out of necessity, out of survival.

I remembered when I used to buy hash in that epic square that everyone who had ever met Nino knew at the time. Nino was well known throughout the province. Cars cued up to see him as if waiting at a toll booth. Police never meddled. Everything was in order. It is as if the State acquiesced.

And everyone talked about Nino.

“Nino never got caught”. “Nino was never arrested”. “Nino is a spierto (a pro)”. Legend has it that the detective who skidded through town square in his cop car, got out of his vehicle and ran after Nino, shouting:

“Nino, è inutile ca fusci, tanto t’amu zziccatu”. | Nino, running away is useless. We got you.

After hearing these words, Nino stopped abruptly, turned around to show the cop the handful of hash he was carrying and yelled:

“Ma ci ati zziccatu?” | Who do you think you caught?

He ate all the hash. And the cop could do nothing.

This legend echoed in the alleys so strongly that everyone flocked to Nino, even just to take one look at him.

Nino and I were not close friends. But the way we patted each other on the shoulders when we crossed paths meant we had each other’s backs. I saw Nino as someone who had embraced negativity for forces that were beyond him, and I thought he was a genius for the way in which he handled things.

So, I decided to tell Nino’s story.

I this square I met Bee Killer, my first connection to Lecce rap.

When the cops drove by Nino would say:

“Fate comitiva, fate comitiva”. | “Get into groups. Get into groups.”

And we would all start talking to each other even if we did not know one another. One of those nights I found myself in front of Beppe Killer. We were both wearing oversized clothes, and when we heard “Get into groups, get into groups” we began to speak, initially to get into a group, and eventually………. for real.

“So, you do hip hop?”” “Same here.” “When did you get to Lecce?””

By the time everyone else fled the scene, Beppe Killer and I were still talking hip hop. Nino turns to us and says:

“Allora, c’ati decisu, ca moi nni carceranu”. | So, hurry up, what have you decided?

Sorry, sorry — we reply. And we break out quickly. After all, in that square, there were dynamics and rules you just had to respect.

Indirectly, through legend or reality, voices always carry. After this period of time in which Nino had always been alone, another character appeared. There was no longer one line of cars now cued up on the square. But two. Nino on the right, Fede on the left. She sold pieces of hash for 50 thousand lire and he sold the 20, 10 or 5 thousand lire pieces. The cars would pull up and Nino and Fede would ask:

“Quanto a ffare?”. | How much?

Depending on the answer, Fede or Nino would intervene. It was incredible to watch these two standing in front two lines of cars. And they were together.

The story gripped me so much that I asked for information. I was told:

“Quiggiu s’ha nnamuratu persu”. | He is madly in love.

She was spierta (a pro), she too came from the projects and had a past as a dealer. They were like Bonnie and Clyde.

All he wanted was the cash | Quello che voleva erano soldi contanti Didn’t care how but just how much | Non importava come ma soltanto quanti All of it running through the hands of the passersby | Tutti quelli che vedeva alle mani dei tanti As they walked and he sat on the bench nearby | Che ogni giorno alla panchina gli andavano avanti

The world of crime is a world in which you can never trust a soul and that is why it is a world of loneliness. But love makes you trust those who could end up stabbing you. And so Nino chooses Fede. He accepts her closeness. He teaches her all of the tricks. He points out those who needed to be paid off to silence the police. Those who were meanest. Those who needed to be given gifts, those to whom not a thing was to be given. Basically, he teaches her what took him a lifetime to learn. He teaches her to become a spierta (a pro).

In giving her all this knowledge, he also gives her the possibility to betray him. Nino knows this. But this is how love goes.

She doesn’t talk like a TV showgirl | Lei non parla come le veline quelle dei programmi

Fede had neither fear nor reverence.

He shows her the cost, the tricks, those who got the power | Per cui gli spiega costi i movimenti chi sono i potenti He shows her how to spot the cops in undercover | Come sgamare le pattuglie in borghese e gli agenti

The decalogue and the storytelling

And here comes the decalogue.