Caparezza
| Caparezza | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Michele Salvemini |
| Also known as | Mikimix |
| Born | October 9, 1973 |
| Origin | Molfetta, Italy |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1996—present |
| Website | caparezza |
Caparezza [kapaˈrɛttsa], meaning "Curly Head" in Molfetta's dialect), is the pseudonym of Michele Salvemini (born 9 October 1973), an Italian rapper. Born in Molfetta, in the southern region of Apulia, Caparezza debuted in 1997 at the Sanremo Festival under the name MikiMix.
Caparezza was born in Molfetta on October 9, 1973. Caparezza’s mother was a teacher and his father was a worker who used to play in a band, so Michele started playing music as a child. He studied accountancy, although he dreamed of writing comics. After completing High School, Michele began to work in advertising, and won a scholarship for the Academy of Media and Journalism in Milan. However, he soon decided to leave the advertising world to fully devote himself to music.
Salvemini began his career as MikiMix, a b boy pop singer, releasing the album La mia buona stella. This early release was not well received; Allmusic gave the album 2.5 stars out of 5. He also anchored the broadcast Segnali di Fumo (Smoke Signals) together with Paola Maugeri on the Video Music Italian channel. After performing in Milan’s pubs, MikiMix made his debut at the Castrocaro Music Festival and subsequently participated in two Sanremo Festivals in the New Generation section, in 1995 and in 1997.
Michele went back to Molfetta thinking of quitting music, but shortly after he decided to make a fresh start, and started composing music in his garage, while he stopped cutting his hair and beard. Salvemini changed his pseudonym from MikiMix to Caparezza ("Curly Head" in the Apulian dialect) and in 2000 published his first album under his new stage name and third overall, ?!, in which he disowns and nearly rejects his MikiMix past, because he considered himself at the time inconsistent and poor compared to his present self. Reviewing the album for Allmusic, Jason Birchmeier wrote "The Italian rapper drops his rhymes with just as much fluency and dexterity as his American peers throughout the album. [...] Caparezza's mastery of the Italian dialect [makes] this album so stunning."
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