{"id":15170,"date":"2025-11-28T10:56:04","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T10:56:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/?p=15170"},"modified":"2026-01-09T14:31:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T14:31:16","slug":"esa-interview-captain-futuro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/it\/pieces\/esa-interview-captain-futuro\/","title":{"rendered":"Esa: The Relentless Future-Maker of Italian Hip-Hop"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The past crushes those who cling to it, did you know it? <br><br>It weighs like a stone on anyone without a present to stand on, or a future to imagine. But if you\u2019re <strong>Esa<\/strong>, aka <strong>El Presidente<\/strong>, aka <strong>FunkPrez<\/strong>, aka <strong>CaptainFuturo<\/strong>, aka <strong>Prezziny<\/strong>, that burden doesn\u2019t exist. <br><br>You live your passion daily \u2014 the same love that became your profession \u2014 with the exact fire you had on day one. What came before is just fuel, not a museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" src=\"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SB-Blog-Pics-1-1024x538.jpg\" alt=\"Esa FunkPrez OTR Gente Guasta collage cover album inteview\" class=\"wp-image-15175\" srcset=\"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SB-Blog-Pics-1-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SB-Blog-Pics-1-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SB-Blog-Pics-1-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SB-Blog-Pics-1-18x9.jpg 18w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SB-Blog-Pics-1-370x194.jpg 370w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SB-Blog-Pics-1-600x315.jpg 600w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SB-Blog-Pics-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Because of that fuel, people call Esa a <em>legend<\/em>. Hard to grasp, to catch, and follow in his creative realm and path. That&#8217;s probably part of the drill when approaching such a creative mind. <br><br>And unlike most of what gets labelled \u201clegendary\u201d today\u2026<strong>this one is real<\/strong>. If you don\u2019t know who he is, do yourself a favour: <em>Google him<\/em>. If you do know, then you already understand the scale we\u2019re talking about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His output is monstrous: relentless, prolific, completely detached from the shallow glow of the spotlight, yet unmistakably influential. Everyone in the culture (and in the industry) knows who the FunkPrez is, even when he chooses to operate miles away from the hype cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hip-hop as a lifestyle, as a worldview, as a stubborn form of survival and joy: that\u2019s Esa.<br>And this is the conversation that maps his universe: present, <a href=\"https:\/\/captainfuturo.bandcamp.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/captainfuturo.bandcamp.com\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tapes<\/a>, beats, philosophy, and the eternal movement forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\"title=\"Esa - Il biglietto del tram [official videoclip]\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BbENJx1n9qw?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Prezzini Gee, welcome to SB\u2026First fundamental question: 16 tapes in less than a year\u2026<br>You produced a lot this year, too, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We did things, yes\u2026The new Prezzini is like that, a thousand lives in one life.<br>At 20, we were always around with the crew, at 53, I manage kids, like a baby gang (<em>laughs<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How did the decision to make all these tapes in one year come about?<br>I mean, is it creative urgency and discipline, or what?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some time ago, I reopened the studio I had shut down, because, anyway, a lot of things now you can produce comfortably at home\u2026as Al Divino says, with a laptop, you are an industry. <br>If not an industry, at least you\u2019re in the business\u2026I take inspiration from today\u2019s movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just like in \u201993, we listened to Tony Touch and Gang Starr, who, thirty years later, remain the base of what we do. We keep going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, there is a beautiful rap scene, made of artists who rediscovered hip-hop even after the 2000s, from the times of <strong>Stones Throw<\/strong>, <strong>Jaylib<\/strong>, <strong>Madvillain<\/strong>, and so on.<br><br>For the past twenty years, we\u2019ve been witnessing the resurgence of sample-based hip-hop productions, with new heroes as cool as the old school, which, by now, in many cases, has legendary status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, you have people like <strong>Boldy James<\/strong>, YOD, who just made an album with Madlib, or <strong>Mach Hommy<\/strong>, e <strong>Griselda<\/strong>, whom I\u2019ve followed since <a href=\"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/it\/beats\/westside-gunn-griselda-tribute\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"8071\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WSG<\/a> dropped <em>Signor T<\/em> and did 2,000 views on YouTube\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So let\u2019s say that on one side you find street underground rap \u2014 see Roc Marciano, another icon of the new rap \u2014 on the other you can find Blu &amp; Exile, who are like Pete Rock &amp; CL Smooth.<br>So I don\u2019t know, even in the current scene, I find that beautiful variety that characterised hip-hop back then. <br><br><strong>Homeboy Sandman<\/strong> is not <strong>Boldy James<\/strong>, you have Gangsta Rap and Conscious Rap, there is everything. And many of the historical artists from my era \u2014 like Method Man, Jadakiss \u2014 are still in their prime. So if someone follows hip-hop, this is what it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\"title=\"esa aka el presidente _ rocko nella kasbah\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3Xvnbcb5Uwk?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, I can produce, mix, master, make the cover, I am a One Man Label, and on top of that, I have a group of people around me in a very organic way, and they\u2019re good artists, many of them emerging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I enjoy working with emerging artists because they willingly jump into the adventure, while, of course, the veterans, the few remaining, the Highlanders of 30-year hip-hop, somehow defend their position in a market that is not easy for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many people of the old guard, with whom we have friendship, respect, and absolute esteem, are much more conflicted about producing new material. I, instead, do it unconsciously, very freely. <br><br>I channel the flow, and I make beats every day. Often friends also come by the studio, each one brings beats, and that\u2019s it\u2026 all these beats need to be rapped on! (<em>laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>When you get to work, how do tracks come to life?<br>Do you have a routine, or do you record freestyle sessions and then that\u2019s the tape?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is no single way to compose things.<br><br>Often, the composition is born from that little rhyme game you invent, and the game is freestyle, one bar at a time. Then you edit, add, cut, and pull out verses that are halfway between freestyle and writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Everything is born from having fun in the studio, because being an underground rap producer won\u2019t make you buy a Lamborghini here in Italy, nor even rent one (laughs, editor\u2019s note)&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the point is always the approach to the beat, the real driving force; the maximum fun is making beats, especially when you make beats you\u2019re not even sure can be rapped on\u2026<br><br>We started from \u201990s beats, which are cult, and then the producers\u2019 skill has been to amaze, with beats that years ago weren\u2019t even considered beats, maybe loops, and sometimes they\u2019re not even perfectly on grid, so it becomes like uneven ground to be tackled with every tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\"title=\"calzone farcito beat tape\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MBqHj-IwUB0?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Quoting you, you started making beats with an Amiga, experimented with several samplers, worked in high-level studios, mastered your albums in America, and so on.<br>How important is the tool you use today?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Compared to the \u201990s, you have a world of solutions at your fingertips. From free plug-ins to cheap bundles, for example. And then what I do isn\u2019t Abbey Road mastering, but it works; you have many great enthusiasts doing excellent work. Even WSG\u2019s stuff, if you look closely, doesn\u2019t always sound excellent, you know?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think it\u2019s cool to go back a bit to the underground studio, with few resources but a lot to say.<br>You can have the most beautiful studio in the world and still not manage to create something interesting, so even big productions often don\u2019t involve you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, sometimes you hear a crazy guy rapping over a weird beat, and it becomes cult, you know?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The technical part is always important, but we live in an era where the internet facilitates communication: if you record a good verse, maybe a thousand people listen to it \u2014 and try finding a thousand people under your house willing to listen to your verse\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A community builds itself like that, even at a distance, but then, when there are events, when the tour comes, you meet live. It\u2019s a beautiful thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" src=\"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/14-1024x538.jpg\" alt=\"Esa FunkPrez shot live during deejay set in Milan, with a background full of records \" class=\"wp-image-15178\" srcset=\"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/14-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/14-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/14-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/14-18x9.jpg 18w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/14-370x194.jpg 370w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/14-600x315.jpg 600w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/14.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This overflowing, unfiltered creativity, in your face: what feedback do you get from those who follow you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Positive!<br>It has become kind of a \u201cNetflix series\u201d effect: once you start watching it, you follow it, it\u2019s eight seasons, you keep going, and maybe not all episodes excite you, but the consumption style is continuous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aside from occasionally reprinting old classics, streaming gives little satisfaction, so the online presence leads to organising the Prez\u2019s live shows, an event where I bring both classics and new things, so it\u2019s all good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>If today you were the age you had when you discovered double-H in the \u201980s, would you get into hip-hop?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, in the same way and even more, because now everything is rap, trap, and that\u2019s fine, there\u2019s even rap on techno\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you start discovering something, you begin with the most famous ones, and if your passion continues, then you dig and find more interesting things, the ones that are not for the masses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, there are many new people, and sometimes \u2014 not knowing the dogmas \u2014 they dive in, and more interesting things are born, compared to those who study too much and end up reproducing a stereotype, which I find boring if you look closely\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you know Ice Cube, for example, you don\u2019t want to hear another 100 Ice Cubes; the best one is already there, always has been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>So do you think there is still something good left after all these cycles, trends, collapses, resurrections?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, even though the charts go in the opposite direction, the underground keeps cultivating total freedom. There are crazy people around, even in Italy, I must say\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>I think of Nex Cassel\u2019s crew, the guys who built <strong>Armani Doc<\/strong>, and in our crew, I think of <strong>Poppa Gee<\/strong>, <strong>Southology<\/strong>, <a href=\"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/it\/pieces\/looppolo-looppoloteca-interview\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"13499\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Looppolo<\/strong><\/a>\u2026<strong>Creep Giuliano<\/strong>, <strong>Zak Kazawi<\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/it\/pieces\/biga-interview-beatmaking-tips\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"13622\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Biga<\/a><\/strong> with the huge beats, or in Piedmont <strong>Sebastiano Contrario<\/strong>, <strong>Tito Sherpa<\/strong>, <strong>il Torsolo<\/strong>\u2026 and I could go on\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" src=\"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Soul-Supreme-albums-1024x538.jpg\" alt=\"Esa paintings and drawings \" class=\"wp-image-15180\" srcset=\"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Soul-Supreme-albums-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Soul-Supreme-albums-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Soul-Supreme-albums-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Soul-Supreme-albums-18x9.jpg 18w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Soul-Supreme-albums-370x194.jpg 370w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Soul-Supreme-albums-600x315.jpg 600w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Soul-Supreme-albums.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>You are a 360\u00b0 hip-hop artist. You produce, rap, DJ, and paint. And for more than thirty years, you have spread this culture in Italy, when very few of us were doing it. At the same time, you were also one of the first to clash with the industry, influencing it and helping build it.<br>How much of your hip-hop and your vision is in today\u2019s industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m always around playing shows: small events, underground, two\u2013three hundred people, dense atmosphere. And there I do my thing. But sometimes I also end up at big mainstream concerts, the huge ones. And you know what? Even there you find talented people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To get on those stages, you must bring something valid: whoever says there is nothing good in the mainstream is, in my opinion, exaggerating.<br><br>Sure, there isn\u2019t that extra flavour that appeals to those who\u2019ve listened to this culture for thirty years or more. But I, as a spectator, often feel proud. When I bring my daughter or my niece to a concert like that, I think: \u201c<em>Look what the hell we created, having fun in the \u201990s and building everything from nothing.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a real butterfly effect. Actually, a pizza effect: it\u2019s born in one place, improved in another, then comes back even better. That\u2019s hip-hop: a dish that travels, transforms, and returns more powerful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And you know what\u2019s the best part? I used to leave the house as the only idiot in my city wearing a cap. One in ten, if things went well. Today you go to a concert, and you see a thousand Jordans, three thousand caps\u2026 or sixty thousand. And you think: \u201c<em>Damn, how awesome. I wish we had this when we were kids.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This, to me, is the sign that a piece of our vision \u2014 that hunger, that attitude \u2014 is still out there, alive, and keeps growing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" src=\"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Soul-Supreme-digging-in-the-crates-1024x538.jpg\" alt=\"Esa in Milan \" class=\"wp-image-15182\" srcset=\"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Soul-Supreme-digging-in-the-crates-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Soul-Supreme-digging-in-the-crates-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Soul-Supreme-digging-in-the-crates-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Soul-Supreme-digging-in-the-crates-18x9.jpg 18w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Soul-Supreme-digging-in-the-crates-370x194.jpg 370w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Soul-Supreme-digging-in-the-crates-600x315.jpg 600w, https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Soul-Supreme-digging-in-the-crates.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why, while hip-hop was exploding everywhere in the world, did it seem to jam in Italy?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No, it\u2019s not that Italy jammed. It moved forward, too. It\u2019s just that at a certain point, it stayed submerged, relegated to certain circles. It\u2019s normal: not everyone plays giant stages. Not everyone is Nas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the scene keeps going anyway: small clubs, people who want to see, highs and lows, creative moments and dead moments. It\u2019s part of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And look, Andr\u00e9 3000 \u2014 a genius, someone who comes from the Outkast era, pure Golden Age \u2014 once said something perfect: \u201c<em>You do something. The world takes it, reworks it, and after a week gives it back to you a hundred times better.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s true: you squeeze an idea, you throw it into the circle, someone absorbs it, re-proposes it, maybe more refined technically. That\u2019s how rap moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I destroyed it when it was time to destroy it. Late \u201990s, 2000s, with Fish\u2026 we made real chaos.<br>But it\u2019s all a cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\"title=\"Esa _ Ma ce la Fai !? _ prod by Fritz Da Cat _ 2016 #novanta\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-q8FkbHkDOM?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A few days ago, I was re-listening to one of your 2016 albums. You\u2019ve always maintained consistent level of productivity.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I never stopped. And I know artists who do triple: people who release two, three, four albums a year for twenty-five years. Some twelve in a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The underground crowd knows. Those who don\u2019t know: just listen. I have both long-time fans and new kids following me, precisely because I keep putting myself in the game. I can\u2019t please everyone \u2014 but that\u2019s exactly the point: if you want to please everyone, do another job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>At one point, you stopped rapping to paint.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, a whole year dedicated to painting. It gave me a lot. But then I missed my voice in the circle.<br>Not in the mainstream \u2014 I\u2019m not interested in reaching that \u2014 but in the real conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I hear a lot of beautiful things. I respect those who work well, even if it\u2019s not my style.<br>But that point of view\u2026mine\u2026was missing. And artistically, if you have a thought, you must put it out into the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I came back. I left behind a bit of the extreme virtuosity \u2014 I bring that out when needed \u2014 and I brought everything back toward fun: party, sociality, mood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Battle rhymes? They escape sometimes, but they create an ugly energy if they are the centre of the party. I can\u2019t just do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\"title=\"Esa aka El Presidente \/\/ RADIO IN VETRINA DESIGN WEEK\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xhkDwlL_1N0?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>You have an enormous musical culture. Beyond rap: what do you listen to today? Three albums ESA recommends.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I listen to everything, because to make beats, you must eat the world. Today I listen to a lot of Japanese jazz, \u201960s Italian music, soul, weird stuff\u2026 It works like this: I put on three records. On the third, I find something I like. I turn off the turntable. I turn on the SP. And I make a beat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Guilty pleasure? That thing you\u2019d never tell anyone\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ah, easy: <a href=\"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/it\/beats\/dollar-bin-poetics-mixtape\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1158\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the dollar bins<\/a>. Dilla said it too: go to the dollar crates.<br>What people threw away because it took up space \u2014 that\u2019s where the magic is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gaslamp Killer once said one of his favourite records he ever dug was Anima Latina by Battisti.<br>Masterpiece. He may have paid a hundred dollars for it, coming all the way here. I instead buy fifty records for two euros, Italian \u201960s 45s that they practically throw at you.<br>And inside I find gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then it happens that some Australian writes to you: \u201cHow the hell did you find this Neapolitan music?\u201d And you think: man, here they throw it away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s beautiful like that: you bring into the world something that represents your corner. Your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What\u2019s the question you never want to be asked?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The one about the past, always and only about the past. I was part of magnificent, legendary periods\u2026 but they are gone. I want to talk about today. About new things. That\u2019s why I appreciate that you listened to recent stuff before interviewing me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>To close, one piece of advice for the new generations?<\/strong><br><br>Have fun, and to hell with the money. Make money if you can, but think about living well, live intensely.<br>And don\u2019t chase anyone: find your voice. It\u2019s the only thing that always pays off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\"title=\"pioggia e creativit\u00e0 _ equazioni artistiche #prezzyprezzypodcast ep 000\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JZsbUo5r5LE?list=PLiTZsyr1Llb6TJlc7oZZR1ayB-swZrjVn\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The past crushes those who cling to it, did you know it? It weighs like a stone on anyone without a present to stand on, or a future to imagine. But if you\u2019re Esa, aka El Presidente, aka FunkPrez, aka CaptainFuturo, aka Prezziny, that burden doesn\u2019t exist. You live your passion daily \u2014 the same [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":15188,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[3369],"class_list":["post-15170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pieces","tag-interviews"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15170"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15187,"href":"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15170\/revisions\/15187"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strettoblaster.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}