Italian rapper Sfera Ebbasta has announced a new album and released his first single, Lontano — a reflective song about the flip side of fame, negative thoughts, and the loneliness of a person asking themselves "how high is the price for staying on top." The album comes out on December 11 and will be his first under his own name since X2VR. Rolling Stone Italia ↗
In theme and structure, the song recalls Bottiglie privè, which introduced his third album Famoso in 2020. In it, the rapper feels misunderstood — "You don't know how many times I thought: 'No one will understand the real me'" — and talks about a talent that "took me far away, even from the people I loved." He hopes that "God will protect him and steer him away from evil" and that his ex-partner, because of the life he leads, "won't keep him away from Gabriel," meaning his son. Rolling Stone Italia ↗
In the lyrics, which he wrote with producer Drillionaire, he recalls where he comes from: "a place where kids have eyes bigger than their hearts, hoodies two sizes too big for them, and an older brother locked up in San Vittore." He recycles the familiar idea that we only understand the value of what we have once we lose it, adding: "I know how to touch bottom, every night in a blackout, and then touch the sky at sold-out concerts." Rolling Stone Italia ↗
Sfera Ebbasta has been one of the most-played Italian rappers since the mid-2010s. You can find the lyrics to three of his songs on SuperMusic.
Illustrative photo: Sfera Ebbasta in 2022. Photo: Gioele Lizzambri / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sfera Ebbasta returns with a song about the price of fame. New album out December 11
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