AMIR ISSAA BIOGRAPHY
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,
and then as a writer for Roma’s graffiti crew The Riot Vandals.
He is among the founders of the legendary Rome Zoo, a group made of Rome’s rap artists such as Colle
Der Fomento, Cor Veleno, Flaminio Maphia, Piotta, and many more.
His passion for hip-hop allows Amir not to feel the emotional distress caused by the legal troubles of his
father, who was incarcerated when Amir was still a child. Rap becomes a positive relief valve, and thanks
to it Amir is able to tell his personal stories to the rest of the world.
In 1997, Amir records the first mixtapes, but his proper debut comes two years later, when he raps on
“Preparati”, from Colle Der Fomento’s Scienza Doppia H, an album that is still widely considered as
one Italian rap’s masterpieces. In 2000, Amir was on the cover of the Italian hip-hop magazine Aelle,
nominated as one of Italy’s most interesting emerging artists. The same year, Amir forms a new group,
Due buoni motivi, in collaboration with Roman rapper Supremo 73, releasing their first official record, a
3-track vinyl produced by Unic Records and an EP titled Meglio tardi che mai, published in 2002
.
An
other important step in Amir’s career has been his collaboration with Anglo-Italian beatmaker Mr. Phil
,
w
hich led to the release of the LP Naturale, published by independent label Vibra Records in 2004. Th
e
re
cord contains important featurings from artists such as Primo, Sparo Manero (a.k.a. Il Turco), Mayla
y
Sparks, and from New York rapper Afu Ra.
In 2005
, Amir starts working on his first solo album, Uomo di Prestigio; initially produced by independent
Canadian label Prestigio Records, the album is later published by Emi/Virgin in 2006. The first single,
“Shimi”, sees the collaboration of Italian-Egyptian female singer Nefer. Uomo di Prestigio saw among its
producers important figures in the Italian rap scene, such as Bassi Maestro, Shocca, Mace, Sanobeat,
Michel, Wiskbeatz, Squarta, Mr Phil, DJ Kemo, Vago, and MCs such as Tormento, Cor Veleno, and
Santo Trafficante. For the first time, Air discusses the theme of Italy’s second generations—children
who were born from immigrant families and were raised in Italy. Emi/Virgin’s specific marketing strategy
managed to attract the attention of the media not just in Italy, but internationally. In 2007, Stephen Faris
wrote an article about Amir on the English magazine Monocle, and the following year And Krnonos
International’s journalist Seema Gupta wrote a piece on Amir.
At this point, Amir’s passion for hip-hop turns into a proper musical career, leading to the release of
several mixtapes, EPs, and full-length albums in the following years, with “Cinque del mattino”, and
“Inossidabile” becoming classics songs in the genre.
His own experiences during a difficult childhood inspire Amir to help other kids improve their own
situation; together with his activity as a rapper, Amir collaborates with several no-profit associations like
Save the Children, Centro Astalli, the Community of Sant’Egidio (with which, in 2010, promotes a
music workshop in the youth detention center of Casal del Marmo, in the outskirts of Rome), and UNAR,
Italy’s National Union for Anti-discrimination and Anti-racism, that chose Amir as a spokesperson for one
of its anti-racist campaigns.
Amir has always played a decisive role as an activist in the campaign for the law on citizenship for Italy’s
sons of immigrants. Collaborating with Change.org, in 2012 Amir launched an online petition and a song,
“Caro Presidente” (“Dear President”), where he invited the President of the Republic to consider the
theme of Italy’s law on citizenship. In just a few days, the petition was signed by thousands of people,
allowing Amir to further solidify his role of representatives for so-called “New Italians”. Some of Amir’s
songs’ lyrics—such as “Straniero nella mia nazione”, “Non sono un immigrato”, or “Ius Music” have
been studied and are mentioned in several textbooks. Example include Cross Generation Marketing
