Terrasanta: «My ground is ​​street rap, but over time I’m trying to go deeper»

Hi Terrasanta, we are glad to be able to ask you some questions, as we think you are one of the strongest “new” names in the Italian rap underground and beyond. We would like to start by asking you to tell us something more about your history and your Calabrian origins, which you often mention in your songs. Where exactly are you originally from and do you still live there? How do you think your origins influence your music and worldview?

Hi guys, I’m very happy to have a conversation with you and I’m honored that you are appreciating the work I’m doing. I came into the world towards the end of the 80s on the lower eastern Ionian coast of Catanzaro, precisely in Soverato, Gulf of Squillace, pearl of the Ionian Sea. Highway 106, sadly known in national news as “the road of death”, constantly mentioned in my songs since the beginning, it opens my city in two parts like a breach in the holy land of the two seas.

I have currently lived in Basilicata for 7 years. Previously I lived in various Italian cities for a dozen years. The place I come from has undoubtedly influenced my attitude, and I feel obliged to always represent it at my best.

Let us ask you a question: why did you decide to call yourself Terrasanta, what is the story behind your name, how did it come about?

My name comes from the union of two elements, the earth, understood as mother nature and the spirituality hidden behind the places and stories I talk about in my pieces.

At what age did you start rapping and when were you convinced to take this path seriously and did you realize you could have your chance? Is there anyone in particular who encouraged you to make music?

I have been following this culture since the second half of the 90s, I began to approach the world of writing towards the end of the 2000s. From 2015 to 2022 I would have dedicated myself completely to something else. At the end of 2022 I’ll get back on track and start getting serious.

From your point of view, what was it like to start doing Hip-Hop in Calabria, what is the reality of this culture in your area? And what were your first inspirations in the Hip-Hop world and how did you come into contact with them?

You could count the people who used to gravitate towards this culture in my area at the time just on one hand. Apart from small experiences at local jams or summer dance halls, what I remember is that we took trains as soon as possible to leave Calabria and go to events held in other Italian regions. The first Italian rapper who made me passionate about this genre is without a doubt Tormento, Sotto Effetto Stono 96, it is the first Italian rap album I ever consumed.

For now you have made a name for yourself in the Italian underground scene without even having released a full album, but just thanks to some singles, EPs and collaborations with some of the underground producers and rappers, including The Departed Beats, IlTorsolo, Pessimo17, Cease Gunz , Hvgme, Montenero, Riccardino degli Hardworkers and others. In your opinion, what are the projects or verses that have attracted the most interest in your name from your colleagues and “insiders” and have you ever received compliments from someone you wouldn’t have expected in the rap game? How do these collaborations of yours usually come about and with which other names have you developed a relationship of mutual respect?

The fact that I am geographically distant from the current nerve centers in which the situations that gravitate around this culture mostly develop has meant that, with great difficulty, I have succeeded in my own small way and within a couple of years, to create a real remote network, with lots of other exponents coming from every single corner of the peninsula.

All this is a source of great pride for me. I represent for my extended family 106 Finest, Warepublic, Stakanov Boys, Southern Trendkill. I send a hug to every single individual who is down with me on this journey. You know who you are. I’ve released a lot of music in the last 24 months but I think my anthem to date, according to critics, is the single Doug Marcaida.

The latest project in order of release is “Stream Bloody Gore”, an EP produced by Luca Moustaches and in collaboration with another rapper who is making his way in the underground, Effe Kappa. Can you tell us about how it was born and how and why you were inspired by death metal imagery and decided to pay homage to Death’s album “Scream Bloody Gore”?

The SBG project with Luca and Mauro was born spontaneously from the passion that binds us while the concept is a tribute to Chuck Schuldiner (1967/2001) founder and only permanent member of Death, my absolute source of inspiration. It’s a project I’m very attached to and I don’t rule out the possibility of having a sequel.

And what are you waiting for to release your first full-fledged solo project? Are you already working in this sense? Can you tell us something?

Among the various projects I’m working on for 2024 there is also my first official solo album: Nuova Gerusalemme (New Jerusalem), which will see the light towards the end of the year.

If we had to summarize your way of rapping we would define you as a “street lyricist”. Do you find yourself in this definition? And what helps you keep your pen so sharp and your lyrics so deep and cutting?

I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I believe that perhaps it is the fact of never feeling like I have arrived that pushes me to always try to give the best of myself when I approach this discipline. My pen now walks on its own, I don’t know how else to explain it.

My ground is without doubt street rap but over time i’m trying to dig deeper inside myself and so also perfecting my pen.

What usually stimulates your writing beyond real life? Cinema, books, art? Can you give us some examples?

I am a great fan of the films of Martin Scorsese, Brian de Palma, Francis Ford Coppola and Sergio Leone.

My musical inspirations are the 90s Floridian Death Metal scene and the Seattle Grunge scene. The 90s/00s NY rap scene, QB.

I’ve never read many books but I would like to write one someday (HAHAH).

As for Rap, who are your sources of inspiration today? And what are the albums you listened to the most in 2023 that just ended?

The Great Escape by Larry June and The Alchemist and Palermo by Conway The Machine are the albums I listened to the most in 2023. My favorite rapper of those times currently active for 3 years now is without a doubt Boldy James.

In the Italian underground, who are the names that in your opinion besides yourself are most underrated today and/or in your opinion are also ready for a wider audience? And is there a producer or rapper in particular that you dream of collaborating with one day?

I believe very much in the capabilities of Pessimo 17 and I believe that it deserves much more visibility. More than with rappers and producers with whom I collaborate on a daily basis, my dream would be to collaborate with the legendary Italian Death Metal band FULCI.