{"id":216741,"date":"2022-07-26T08:51:39","date_gmt":"2022-07-26T12:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/?page_id=216741"},"modified":"2022-10-27T09:01:32","modified_gmt":"2022-10-27T13:01:32","slug":"afro-italian-rapper-amir-issaa-workshop-and-concert-oct-3-2022","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/events\/2022-23-events\/afro-italian-rapper-amir-issaa-workshop-and-concert-oct-3-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Afro-Italian Rapper Amir Issaa: Workshop and Concert (Oct. 3, 2022)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><span class=\"prpl-button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/8hYfx8w_XSY\">MSU COLLEGE RADIO INTERVIEW<\/a><\/span> <span class=\"prpl-button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/themontclarion.org\/entertainment\/afro-italian-sensation-amir-issaa-visits-montclair-state\/\">INTERVIEW WITH THE MONTCLARION<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Monday Oct. 3, 2022\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>8pm CONCERT by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amirissaa.com\/biography\/\">Amir Issaa<\/a>, followed by a Q&amp;A &#8211; Leshowitz Hall, inside Chapin Hall\/Cali School of Music at Montclair State University &#8211; see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/campus-map\/\">map<\/a>) <span class=\"prpl-button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/1U5xmz-FrhVa-yxT9xPzPpR1zQaPIYZ8yno6cpT_NV_M\">RSVP for Concert<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n<\/strong>Lyrics in Italian and English will be provided to the audience (see also <a href=\"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2022\/09\/Amir-Issaa-Lyrics-testi-Translation-Traduzione.pdf\">pdf here<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li><strong>5:30pm Potere alla parole\/Power to Words: A WORKSHOP in Italian led by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amirissaa.com\/biography\/\">Amir Issaa<\/a> (Schmitt 110) <span class=\"prpl-button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/1QDR6RaQT6rDbpaWKZasTzgd3Cz3OVu8WsQNxq_a4KIk\">RSVP for Workshop<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n<\/strong>Students develop their own rap lyrics based on models provided by Amir as well as his guidelines on how to articulate life experiences into a rap song<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-216742\" href=\"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/afro-italian-rapper-amir-issaa-workshop-and-concert-oct-3-2022\/amir-issaa-between-walls\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2022\/07\/Amir-Issaa-between-walls-1024x688.jpg\" alt=\"Amir Issaa between walls\" width=\"1024\" height=\"688\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Born and raised in Rome, in the neighborhood of Torpignattara, Amir is the son of an Egyptian immigrant father and an Italian mother. He initially approached hip-hop culture in the 1990s, first as a b-boy\/breaker (breakdancer), and then as a writer for Roma\u2019s graffiti crew The Riot Vandals. He is among the founders of the legendary Rome Zoo, a group made of Rome\u2019s rap artists such as Colle Der Fomento, Cor Veleno, Flaminio Maphia, Piotta, and many others.<\/p>\n<p>Hip-hop for Amir has gone from functioning as a safety valve for the emotional distress caused by the legal troubles of his father, who was incarcerated when Amir was still a child, to a tool for political activism focused on anti-racism and supporting challenged youth, especially through writing laboratories aimed at unpacking stereotypes and prejudices that lead to discrimination. To this goal, he has collaborated with Save the Children, Centro Astalli, the Community of Sant\u2019Egidio, and UNAR (Union for Anti-discrimination). Amir has played a prominent role as an activist in the campaign for the law on citizenship for children of immigrants in Italy (known as New Italians) through the support of petitions, a visit to the President of the Republic, and the launching of theme-focused songs (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WDygI2I1uEo\">\u201cStraniero nella mia nazione\u201d<\/a>, \u201cNon sono un immigrato\u201d, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0agrLoxFe_0\">La mia pelle<\/a>,&#8221; or \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZHUw8zd0FrY\">Ius Music<\/a>\u201d). The law reform is still in progress.<\/p>\n<p>Amir debuted his musical career in 1999 by rapping in \u201cPreparati\u201d, from Colle Der Fomento\u2019s <em>Scienza Doppia H<\/em>, an album that is still widely considered as one of Italian rap\u2019s masterpieces. Collaborations mark the beginning of his career in the early 2000s: Supremo 73, Mr. Phil, Primo, Sparo Manero (a.k.a. Il Turco), Maylay Sparks, and New York rapper Afu Ra. In 2005, Amir starts working on his first solo album, <em>Uomo di Prestigio <\/em>(re-issued by Emi\/Virgin one year later), followed by\u00a0<em>Paura di nessuno <\/em> (2008),\u00a0<em>Duepuntozero<\/em> (2009), <em>Radio inossidabile <\/em>(2011), <em>Quando hai perso tutto<\/em> (2018), among others. The single that launched him is a very personal and alternative reading of Italy&#8217;s capital (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-udDHcYbjFA\">Questa \u00e8 Roma<\/a>, 2008), while a recent single that confirmed his interest in collaborations and politically committed music is <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GB4MngjiiBY\">Non respiro<\/a>,<\/em> co-performed with David Blank. Written by Davide Shorty, the song is a commentary on the death of George Floyd and has become a sort of anthem for Italy&#8217;s BLM. See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amirissaa.com\/\">samples of Amir&#8217;s songs<\/a> on his official website (Spotify list on the right).<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Video: Amir Issaa, David Blank, Davide Shorty - Non Respiro\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GB4MngjiiBY?feature=oembed\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen style=\"width: 500px; height: 281px; border: 0px solid #000;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>His songs are part of several movie soundtracks, most notably Francesco Bruni\u2019s movie <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Fs5R4aj8LDc\">Scialla!<\/a> <\/em>(2012) composed with The Caesars, and nominated for David di Donatello and Nastri d\u2019Argento awards. As of now, Amir is the only rapper to have walked the red carpet of the Venice Film Festival. He has also acted in docu-films (Francesco Barnabei\u2019s <em>La Luna che vorrei<\/em>) and participated in TV programs (<em>Guerrieri, Questioni di famiglia, <\/em>and <em>Nemo<\/em>).<\/p>\n<p>He is the author of the memoir <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chiarelettere.it\/libro\/vivo-per-questo-amir-issaa-9788861909717.html\">Vivo per questo<\/a><\/em> (Chiarelettere, 2017), as well as of the book <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.addeditore.it\/catalogo\/educazione-rap\/\">Educazione Rap<\/a><\/em> (Addeditore, 2021), focusing on his socio-political activity in schools, universities, prisons, conferences, TED talks, etc. <em>Vivo per questo <\/em>is forthcoming in English as <em>This Is What I Live For: An Afro-Italian Hip-Hop Memoir <\/em>(edited by Clarissa Cl\u00f2 for San Diego State University Press). See<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amirissaa.com\/libri\/\"> Libri section<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amirissaa.com\/scuola\/\">Scuola section<\/a> on his official website.<\/p>\n<p>Amir is also an author: (2017), his personal and artistic autobiography, is a testament to the challenges and imagination of the second generation in Italy, while his second book, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.addeditore.it\/catalogo\/educazione-rap\/\">Educazione Rap<\/a><\/em> (2021), looks at rap as a poetic linguistic exercise as well as a shared experience of social impact across borders.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Organized and sponsored by the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/\">\u00a0Inserra Endowed Chair<\/a>\u00a0In collaboration with the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/modern-languages-and-literatures\/programs-of-study\/italian\">Italian Program<\/a>\u00a0(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/modern-languages-and-literatures\">Dept. of World Languages and Cultures<\/a>) at Montclair State University.<br \/>\nIn partnership with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\">Cali School of Music<\/a> at Montclair State University as part of the Hip Hop Residency Week Program. See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/cali-residencies\/\">full program<\/a> and bios of artists and scholars Rahzel, Jon B., Sonita Alizadeh, Toni Blackman, and Dr. Elliot Gann. Co-sponsored by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stonybrook.edu\/italianstudies\">SUNY Stony Brook.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-216827\" href=\"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/2022-23-events\/afro-italian-rapper-amir-issaa-workshop-and-concert-oct-3-2022\/inserra-logo-new-2022-2\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2022\/08\/Inserra-Logo-NEW-2022.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"187\" height=\"157\" \/> \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2022\/03\/Cali_MSU_Combined_21_22.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"328\" height=\"110\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/news.stonybrook.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Stony-Brook-University-logo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"313\" height=\"115\" \/><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-216827\" href=\"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/2022-23-events\/afro-italian-rapper-amir-issaa-workshop-and-concert-oct-3-2022\/inserra-logo-new-2022-2\/\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Further resources<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Amir Issaa&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amirissaa.com\/biography\/\">full bio <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amirissaa.com\/biography\/\">list of prizes<\/a> (see bottom of page)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2022\/07\/ARTICOLI-E-SEGNALAZIONI-AMIR-in-US.pdf\">Articles about Amir Issaa&#8217;s music and activism + list of videos shot during workshops<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2022\/07\/TUTTI-I-VIDEOCLIP-MUSICALI-DI-AMIR-ISSAA.pdf\">List of music videos<\/a> by Amir Issaa<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2022\/09\/Amir-testi-tradotti-x-us.pdf\">Lyrics of ten select songs<\/a> (with English translation)<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.raiplaysound.it\/audio\/2022\/08\/Fahrenheit-del-18082022-70fa45e7-0d9a-4daa-bc1b-26bf3e628c82.html?fbclid=IwAR0jpQcL07GqkoAOmjoB_g6mVXkufBiyBr6JgpNSGE00MlbmaNvuk1ZPJhM\">Interview at Fahrenheit<\/a> with Amir Issaa<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.repubblica.it\/cronaca\/2022\/08\/17\/news\/rapper_violenti_lanalisi_di_amir_issaa_questi_sono_veri_criminali_un_modello_per_i_ragazzi-361976033\/\">Interview on La Repubblica<\/a> about recent acts of aggression by trappers in Italy (only for subscribers)<\/p>\n<p>Short link: <a href=\"https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/AmirMSU\">ht<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/AmirMSU\">tp:\/\/tinyurl.com\/AmirMSU\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><strong><span class=\"prpl-button\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2022\/09\/AmirIssaaFinal-Inserra.jpg\">FLYER<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Monday Oct. 3, 2022\u00a0 8pm CONCERT by Amir Issaa, followed by a Q&amp;A &#8211; Leshowitz Hall, inside Chapin Hall\/Cali School of Music at Montclair State University &#8211; see map) Lyrics in Italian and English will be provided to the audience (see also pdf here) 5:30pm Potere alla parole\/Power to Words: A WORKSHOP in Italian led [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":216743,"parent":216789,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-216741","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/216741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216741"}],"version-history":[{"count":55,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/216741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":216992,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/216741\/revisions\/216992"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/216789"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}