GUESTS
Jacopo Ferri
Jacopo Ferri aka “DeadPoet“, was born in Rome on 9 May 1995. Graduated in Ethno-Anthropological Disciplines at the Sapienza University of Rome, he combined his studies with a passion for Hip-Hop culture by creating a research thesis which forms the basis of his first book: “The Intelligent Movement: Body, individual and community in hip-hop culture”, published in November 2024 with the HipHop publishing house Seeds. He currently teaches ‘Hip-Hop: Roots and Culture’ at the Skillz Academy in Rome. He has been a member of the Roman crew Raw Muzzlez since 2014 and B-Boy since 2008.
Víctor Olid
Underground director. Responsible for the short film Mi mujer me pose los cuernos… o no (2009) with Andrés Pajares, which pays homage to the genre that made the actor popular, and for the documentaries Te En-Video (2009) and Universo Pinzás (2019) selected in the Brigadoon section of the Sitges Film Festival. Editor and actor of Jess Franco’s latest film, The revenge of the Alligator Ladies and responsible for the making of the film Matusalén (2023) by David Galán Galindo. He is also a writer, his essays include El descacharrante cine de Pajares y Esteso (Vial Books, 2015), Urinarios de celluloid (Vial Books, 2020) and Hip-Hop Movies: Películas desde el barrio (Vial Books, 2024) among many others. Likewise, since 2022 he has been curator of the La Noche Z section of the Cineteca Madrid, where he programs films of a trashy or niche nature on a monthly basis. Olid has been a rapper since the late 80s and a scholar of 90s rap.
DJ Hernia
Alfonso Gonzaleza.k.a. DJHernia a.k.a DJ H. Ache, is a multifaceted vinyl artist. His musical inspirations range from salsa to Latin American roots, mixing with hip hop, funk, reggae and dub, generating a unique experimental melody with a Latin flavor in 4/4. Considered one of the pioneers of the Venezuelan Hip Hop scene, he began his artistic career as a DJ in ’96 with important groups and in the clubs of his hometown, Caracas. As a DJ he was part of legendary Hip Hop groups such as: 187, Vzla Subterránea, Vagos y Maleantes, 3 Dueños. His ear and versatility led him to join legendary experimental groups such as Bacalao Men and Papashanty Sound System. As soloist he has promoted musical research projects such as: Comba Digital, H.Ache Crew and Apollo Sound Machine. He is one of the founders of Club Vinil, a crew of DJs from Caracas specializing in sonic delights.
Giuseppe Gatti
Giuseppe “Nexus” Gatti is a research fellow at the Department of Humanities of the University of Turin where he teaches “History of American Cinema” and “Museology and Film Archive”. With more than twenty years of experience as a b-boy and performing artist, he has previously taught “Hip-hop history and philosophy” at Urban Dance Academy in Rome. Author of Hip-hop Roadmap (Stradario hip-hop, 2020), his current research focuses on the cultural exchange between Italian cinema, art, and fashion, and American hip-hop with a transnational and intersectional perspective.
Doodie
Doodie (Rome 2006) is a young Hip Hop producer and DJ. He approached music as a child and, retracing the history and culture of Hip Hop, fell in love with it. At just 16 years old he began performing at underground evenings in the capital and collaborated with various emerging artists, since then he has continued to improve his skills.
His style is inspired by the old school, influenced by artists such as Dj Premier, Q Tip, J dilla, Dj Shocca, combining scratches and sampling with modern influences.
Ice One
Better known by his satage name, Ice One is an Italian rapper, beatmaker and writer from Turin. Ice One is one of the pioneers of Italian underground hip hop, having started to perform in 1982. During his career, Ice One worked with two of the most important Italian hip hop groups of the nineties, Colle der Fomento and Assalti Frontali.
Giallo
Gianlorenzo De Donno aka Giallo, 34 years old, a journey that began with breaking in 2001, has refined his art through contests, choreographic competitions and theatrical performances with the group The Heroes Crew since 2004. The theatrical experience has had a significant impact on his artistic development, leading him since 2010 to work in musicals, TV and cinema, concerts and video clips of well-known Italian artists. His ability to blend breaking with physical theater, combined with remarkable expressiveness and mastery of the body, has made him a versatile and appreciated artist. His career is characterized by a continuous search for new expressive forms and the ability to adapt to different artistic contexts
François Gautret
Director and co-founder of the Urban Films Festival, curator at the Philharmonie de Paris for the Hip-Hop 360 exhibition. Born as a bboy in Paris and moving from a young age with the “Quintessence” company and with the pioneers of French hip hop. As an event producer, it unites and promotes urban cultures around international events.
Veronica “Benza” Benanti
She approaches Hip Hop thanks to her paternal aunt. After years of choreography dance and after having also approached other dance styles in 2022 she graduated at Skillz Academy, dedicating herself to Hip Hop Freestyle. In 2019 she begins to approach rap and write rhymes. In parallel with Hip Hop passions, in 2020 she graduated in historical-artistic studies at La Sapienza in Rome. Thanks to the support of professor Maurizio Quagliuolo, her study paths merged, giving life in 2022 to “Hip Hop Protection”, an association that promotes the recognition of Hip Hop culture as an intangible heritage of hum
Maurizio Quagliuolo
Archaeologist, museologist and cultural heritage manager with 40 years long experience, followed 950 projects in Italy and Abroad visiting 37 Countries with regard to: Trans-disciplinary Planning; Cultural Heritage Education; Integrated Territorial Communication; Informative Systems at Museums; Information Technology; Valorization of Cultural Destinations related to Tourism; Third Parties’ Projects Evaluation. He participated in drafting documents, guidelines and international declarations on invitation by: UNESCO, the World Bank, UNEP, UN-WTO, ICCROM, PNUD, OCSE. He taught among the others at the Università Ca’ Foscari, Università degli studi di Roma Tor Vergata, Università di Napoli Federico II, Amsterdam University, Complutense de Madrid, , Universidade Federal da Vale do Rio Doce.
Gino Rota
Graffiti artist and Bboy, Performer, Teacher, HipHop Culture Expert, Social Animator. In 1999 / 2000 he approached Hip Hop culture thanks to Graffiti (an art still practiced today). In 2002 he began dancing Breakdance. Co-founder of the Neapolitan Crew TCK with which they immediately obtained their first victories in the regional and national Hip Hop scene. In addition to having won numerous international competitions and having been part of dance troupes active both live and on television, he continues his path as an educator on multiple social projects.
Mathieu “Trota” Romeo
Graduated from the European Institute of Design, he is one of the creators and executors of the Cromiae project, an initiative promoted by the Urban Decor – Cabinet Office of the Mayor of Rome: a real revolution aimed at raising the level of Roman writing and bringing citizens closer to this world, which began with the Cromiae 2007 event. Over the years he collaborates with brands such as Hot Buttered and Gold as a graphic designer, deals with education, organizes events such as Muralex, Cromiae Prenestina, and Whole Train. For seventeen years he has been the owner of Graff Dream, the oldest shop in Italy dedicated to writing and Hip-Hop culture.
Luca Borriello
Luca Borriello, cultural anthropologist, contemporary art historian, business manager for culture and creativity. Director of INWARD National Observatory on Urban Creativity, he coordinated the first national scientific research and the international event “Pionieri della creatività urbana”.
Arash
Arash Rahimi, Rome based artist, felt in love with style writing in 2004. He came from a Roman Old School Hip Hop aesthetic, where skills and lettering study matters the most. before shifting towards a raw punk hardcore style, with the Die Young crew, with whom he left an indelible mark on Rome’s scene.A scene that he’s been exploring and documenting, since 2016, through ROMAN DOORS a project that goes beyond photography: publishing fanzine, organizing events, art performances and graffiti jams.
Wissal Houbabi
Activist, poet performer, artist, writer and part of the board of the Razzismo Brutta Storia association. She moves across various fields, from hip hop research to the writing of short stories that explore the condition of those who live “in between”, from oral, performative poetry shows with Mediterranean music, to training on decoloniality. She is passionate about everything she has managed to discover and collects new knowledge to hybridize practices and perceptions.
Daniele Diamante
Brazilian by birth but raised in Rome, as a teenager in the 90s, he became a rapper, audio technician and educator in schools through music workshops, all together passionately. Although he is part of the Italian hip hop scene, he speaks as a voice out of the chorus: he feels closer to American and French rap, with which he grew up. But his latest single, Bahia, is a tribute to his country of origin.
Amir Issaa
Born and raised in Rome in the Torpignattara neighborhood, son of an Egyptian immigrant and an Italian woman, he approached Hip Hop in the early nineties, first as a breaker and then as a writer in the Roman crew The Riot Vandals. Among the founders of the legendary Rome Zoo, a collective that included historic names of the Roman rap scene such as Colle Der Fomento, Cor Veleno, Flaminio Maphia, Piotta, and many others.
Matteo Cerasoli
PhD student at the Doctoral School in Social and Economic Sciences of La Sapienza University of Rome, responsible for the design area of ÀP – Antimafia Pop Academy and coordinator of the Keep It Real research. Main research interests: sociological theory; forms of unconventional political participation, urban movements, conflict for space and socio-territorial exclusion; paradigm/movement of popular education and non-formal education practices.
Mr. Thoms
Born in Rome, in 1979, Mister THOMS began painting Graffiti in 1996 and is currently one of the best-known Italian street artists. His very name evokes an onomatopoeic sound that suggests the elasticity of his art: Mr. Thoms, Diego della Posta’s real name, is in fact a multifaceted artist who expresses himself not only through Street Art, but also through painting, illustration and graphics, in a constant search for balance between the ironic mood and the expressive concept. Active in the street art scene, he participates in urban art events and festivals all over the world, Italy, England, New York, Denmark, Hong Kong. Germany, Russia, California, Mexico, Portugal and Spain, spreading his ironic and shiarp style.
Edizioni Drago
A publishing house of contemporary art and pop culture, a trend bureau and a communications agency, Drago is an organization for the dissemination of art and culture. Drago transforms ideas, trends, events and phenomena into products to use, services to buy and investment tools for the future. Voice of the international mind-set, Drago is the bearer of this new cultural movement that is nothing more than an avant-garde thought. The movement has been named by Drago “S.I.C.” or “Systema di Cultura Indipendente”. This system represents the remix of pop cultures (rep) and combines the essences of the two contemporary revolutions: the internet and street art.
Grandi Numeri
Grandi Numeri, stage name of Giorgio Cinini, is one of the founders of the hardcore Roman hip hop group Cor Veleno together with Squarta and Primo Brown (who died in 2016). He has also collaborated with other artists such as MadBuddy, Cico and Ibbanez. An artist who has influenced generations of Italian Hip Hop fans, he is considered one of the godfathers of Roman Rap.
Stritti
Simone “Stritti” Micozzi DJ, Dancer, MC and Producer since 1988, frequents the Ancona scene, in ’95 he began teaching Hip Hop Freestyle, among the collaborations as a dancer: OTR, Sottotono, Naughty By Nature, Public Enemy, The Next One. He began DJing in ’94 and hosts programs on U-Bahn Radio and the Streaming broadcast “We Got Flava” up to “Colors” on M2o. Among the record releases as MC: Nostalgico, HipHopCorn, Ri-Rappresento and Livematazz. Teacher at the “Poliarte” Academy of Hip Hop Dance, History of Hip Hop Culture and Deejaing at La Luna Dance Center and various Rap Workshops in High Schools with the “Rap-Porti” project. In 2022 was released his book “Due Strade Più Avanti”.
TUTORS
Daniela Cono
Bgirl since 1998, and visual artist, she has developed a strong passion for anything related to video (post production, visual effects and motion graphics, videomapping, vjing), in connection with Hip Hop culture and body’s expressions. Graphic designer and motiongrapher for TV and theater productions, she is the vicepresident of TBB/TBG Global Family (Italian Chapter), and member of HipHoperaFoundation, with the aim of promoting cultural, artistic and social events and projects, and spreading their founding values and principles. In 2015 she won “Cultura Futura,CreativiDigitali“, creating the experimental project See-Goal, in 2017 she co-founded Point2b, a dance and visual arts company.
Elisa Saiko Ciprianetti
Is a professional dancer and choreographer of Street dance, stand up andbreak dance, member of the Wild Up Bgirl Crew. She took part in multiple national andinternational shows and contests and her experience spans from live performance, theater showstillthe art education through the break dance. Socially engaged, she organizes international exchangesand participates in various social shows for world peace. Among her works we remember theparticipation in the Lions’ Gate Movie “Crew to Crew”, the theater show HipHopOpera Dr J&H as female protagonist
Bboy Zionn
Douglas Anibal Borges Quereguan, born in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1991. Stage name Bboy Zion. He started Breaking in 2009, traveled to different countries such as Colombia, Dominican Republic and Belgium, gaining experience and knowledge related to Breaking. He is currently a Breaking teacher and teaches in primary and middle schools in Rome.
Bboy Simba
Simba Sulejmanovic, aka Lionking, approached Breaking for the first time in 2014.
After an in-depth study of the discipline, having had the opportunity to study with some of the best Bboys/Bgirls in the world, he creates his own unpredictable and versatile style. To date he has various theatrical, television and national and international competition experiences.
In teaching, Simba tries to encourage his students to improve, through the discipline and dedication to Break Dance that he transmits to them.