Fedez

Fedez
Background information
Birth name	Federico Leonardo Lucia
Born	15 October 1989 Milan, Italy
Genres	Hip hop, pop, political rap
Occupation(s)	Rapper, singer-songwriter
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Tanta Roba, Best Sound, Sony Music Italy, Newtopia
Website	fedezofficial.com

Fedez (2013)

Fedez in concert in 2015 during Pop-Hoolista Summer Tour

Federico Leonardo Lucia (born 15 October 1989 in Milan), known by his stage name Fedez, is an Italian rapper and singer. In 2011, he released the albums Penisola che non c'è and Il mio primo disco da venduto, released as free digital downloads. His first studio album, Sig. Brainwash - L'arte di accontentare, was released in 2013, and it debuted at number one on the Italian Albums Chart. The album, which spawned three singles, including the top ten hit "Cigno nero" featuring Francesca Michielin, was later certified 3 times platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry.

Biography

Federico Leonardo Lucia was born in Milan on 15 October 1989.^[1][2] Before moving to Rozzano, he grew up between Buccinasco and Corsico, in the province of Milan.^[3] He studied at the artistic lyceum, but he left in the fourth year.

Career

In 2011, Fedez recorded his first self-produced album, Penisola che non c'è.^[4] The album, released as a free digital download, was entirely composed of songs about political and social issues.^[4][5] Later in 2011, Fedez signed with the label Tanta Roba, founded by Guè Pequeno and DJ Harsh. The label produced his second free album, Il mio primo disco da venduto, released as a digital download in November of the same year.^[6]

In June 2012, Fedez appeared in a new version of 883's song "Jolly Blue", included in the album Hanno ucciso l'Uomo Ragno 2012, recorded by the band's frontman Max Pezzali to celebrate the twentieth anniversary since the release of their first full-length album, Hanno ucciso l'Uomo Ragno.^[7]

In January 2013, Fedez released his first single for a major label, "Si scrive schiavitù si legge libertà".^[8] The song was later included in the album Sig. Brainwash - L'arte di accontentare, released by Sony Music on 5 March 2013.^[9] The album was also preceded by the top ten single "Cigno nero", performed with Francesca Michielin, which was also certified platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry.^[10][11][12] The album debuted at number one on the Italian Albums Chart, and it was later certified triple platinum denoting sales exceeding 180,000 units.^[13][14] To promote the album, Fedez embarked on a tour starting from 12 April 2013 in Turin.^[15] The album also spawned the single "Alfonso Signorini (eroe nazionale)", whose music video features Italian TV personalities Alfonso Signorini and Raffaella Fico.^[16]

In June 2013, Fedez was also a guest judge during the auditions of the seventh season of the Italian talent show X Factor.^[17] In May 2013, it was announced that Fedez and Victoria Cabello would replace Elio and Simona Ventura as judges on the eighth season of the Italian version of X Factor alongside Morgan and Mika.^[18] His fourth studio album, Pop-Hoolista, was released on 30 September 2014. Predeced by the single "Generazione boh", the record also includes duets with Malika Ayane, Francesca Michielin, Noemi, Elisa and J-Ax.^[19] The album debuted atop the Italian Albums Chart, and it was certified gold one week after its release.^[14][20] In 2015 American singer Ariana Grande released a remixed version of her song One Last Time, featuring Fedez.

Discography

Albums

List of albums, with chart positions and certifications

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions	Certifications
		ITA [20]
Sig. Brainwash - L'arte di accontentare	Released: 5 March 2013 Label: Sony Music Format: CD, download	1	FIMI: 3× Platinum[14]
Pop-Hoolista	Released: 30 September 2014 Label: Newtopia, Sony Music Format: CD, download	1	FIMI: 4× Platinum[14]

EPs

Title	Album details
Pat-a-Cake	Released: 2007 Label: Funk Ya Mama Format: CD
Diss-Agio	Released: 2010 Label: Self-produced Format: CD, download

Mixtapes

Title	Album details
BCPT	Released: 2010 Label: Blocco Recordz Format: Download
Tutto il contrario Remixtape	Released: 2011 Label: Harsh Times Format: Download

Singles

Year	Title	Peak position	Certification	Album
		ITA
2013	"Si scrive schiavitù si legge libertà"	11	ITA: Gold	Sig. Brainwash - L'arte di accontentare
	"Dai cazzo Federico"	—
	"Cigno nero" (with Francesca Michielin)	8	ITA: 2x Platinum
	"Alfonso Signorini (eroe nazionale)" (with Elio)	32	ITA: Gold
	"Bocciofili" (Dargen D'Amico with Fedez & Mistico)	—		Vivere aiuta a non morire
	"Nuvole di fango" (with Gianna Nannini)	9	ITA: Gold	Sig. Brainwash - L'arte di accontentare (Diamond Edition)
	"La cassa dritta" (with Two Fingerz)	—		Two Fingerz V
2014	"Generazione boh"	15	ITA: Platinum	Pop-Hoolista
	"Magnifico" (with Francesca Michielin)	1	ITA: 5x Platinum
2015	"L'amore eternit" (with Noemi)	6	ITA: 3x Platinum
	"Seven" (with Caneda, J-Ax, Gemitaiz, Rocco Hunt, Baby K & Emis Killa)	—		—
	"One Last Time" (with Ariana Grande)	6	ITA: 2x Platinum	My Everything - Italian Edition
	"21 grammi"	4	ITA: 2x Platinum	Pop-Hoolista Cosodipinto Edition
	"Beautiful Disaster" (with Mika)	5	ITA: Platinum
2016	"Vorrei ma non posto" (with J-Ax)	1	ITA: 5x Platinum
"—" denotes singles that did not chart or were not released

Awards and nominations

Year	Ceremony	Category	Work	Result
2013	MTV Europe Music Awards	Best Italian Act[21]	Himself	Nominated
	Italian MTV Awards	InstaVIP Award[22]	Himself	Won
		Superman Award[23]	Himself	Nominated
2015	Lunezia Award	Pop-Rap Award[24]	Pop-Hoolista	Won
	MTV Europe Music Awards[25]	Best Italian Act	Himself	Nominated

References

1. Andrea Laffranchi (16 March 2013). "Il miracolo di Fedez rapper fai da te e re della classifica". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 7 July 2013.
2. "Fedez. Biografia e Discografia" (in Italian). Comingsoon.it. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
3. Paolo Madeddu (14 March 2013). "Il rap italiano ha bisogno di… Fedez! Ecco l'intervista". Rolling Stone Italy (in Italian). Retrieved 7 July 2013.
4. Gloria Riva (13 October 2011). "Impegno Rap". la Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 13 July 2013.
5. Filippo Papetti (26 May 2011). "Fedez - Recensione - Penisola Che Non C'è" (in Italian). Rockit.it. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
6. "Fedez, fuori Il mio primo disco da venduto in freedownload" (in Italian). RapBurger.com. 30 November 2011.
7. Paola De Simone (12 June 2012). "Max Pezzali - Hanno ucciso l'Uomo Ragno 2012 - Recensione" (in Italian). Rockol.it. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
8. Valentina Spada (9 January 2013). "Fedez - Si scrive schiavitù ma si legge libertà. Il singolo on air da venerdì 11 gennaio. Il nuovo album a marzo" (in Italian). Earone.it. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
9. Adelia Brigo (3 March 2013). "Fedez sceglie Varese per presentare il suo nuovo album". Varese News (in Italian). Retrieved 13 July 2013.
10. "Il Cigno nero di Fedez". Il Mattino (in Italian). Retrieved 13 July 2013.
11. "Archivio Certificazioni" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2013. Select Online certifications, Week --, Year ----, and Artist Fedez, then press Avvia la ricerca.
12. "Italian Charts - Fedez - Singles". Italiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
13. "Italian Charts - Fedez - Sig. Brainwash - l'arte di accontentare (album)". Italiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
14. "Archivio Certificazioni" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2013. Select certifications for Album e Compilation, Week --, Year ----, Artist Fedez, then press Avvia la ricerca.
15. Alessandro Alicandri (13 April 2013). "Fedez: il primo concerto del 2013". Panorama (in Italian). Retrieved 13 July 2013.
16. "Fedez e Alfonso Signorini (Eroe nazionale), il video del nuovo singlo da Sig. Brainwash". TV Sorrisi e Canzoni (in Italian). 14 June 2013.
17. "Intervista a Fedez" (in Italian). Sky Italia. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
18. Francesco Chignola (22 October 2014). "Fedez giudice di X Factor 8: l'intervista integrale". TV Sorrisi e Canzoni (in Italian). Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
19. Alessandro Alicandri. "Fedez è Pop-Hoolista: tutto sul nuovo album". Panorama (in Italian). Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
20. Peak positions on the Italian Albums Chart:
    • For Il mio primo disco da venduto and Penisola che non c'è: "Classifiche - Album - Classifica settimanale WK 25 (dal 17-06-2013 al 23-06-2013)" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
    • For all the other albums: "Italian Charts - Fedez - Albums" (in Italian). Italiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
21. "MTV EMA: svelate le nomination, in testa Justin Timberlake e Macklemore" (in Italian). Rockol.it. 17 September 2013. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
22. "MTV Awards 2013: Trionfano Mengoni e One Direction. Tutti i vincitori" (in Italian). MTV Italy. 16 June 2013. Archived from the original on 29 August 2014.
23. Valentina Ciannamea (4 June 2013). "MTV Awards 2013". Cosmopolitan (in Italian). Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
24. "I Premi Lunezia da Fedez a Francesca Michielin" (in Italian). Radio Italia Solo Musica Italiana. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
25. "MTV EMA 2015: Fedez, J-Ax, Marco Mengoni, Tiziano Ferro nominati Best Italian Act! E il quinto lo scegli tu!" (in Italian). MTV Italy. 8 September 2015. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.

External links

• Fedez at Allmusic