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6->''"He was once Mikimix, insignificant singer, from whose self-disgust today's himself was born"''
7-->-- '''Caparezza''' on himself
8
9Caparezza (born Michele Salvemini on October 9, 1973) is an Italian rapper known for his often political lyrics, serious statements expressed with unusual and ironic metaphors, nasal voice [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and his afro]]. Influenced by Music/FrankZappa, Caparezza is also known for [[GenreMashup genre blending]] [[ConceptAlbum concept albums]].
10
11He began his musical career in 1995 under the name Mikimix, writing melodic rap/hip hop songs with little success; since 2000 he underwent a total change of appearance and style, rejecting his past and openly mocking it.
12
13!! Musicians
14* Diego Perrone – second lead vocals, backing vocals
15* Alfredo Ferrero – chitarra, synthesizer, backing vocals
16* Giovanni Astorino – bass, cello, backing vocals
17* Gaetano Camporeale – keyboard, synthesizer, backing vocals
18* Rino Corrieri – drums
19
20!! Discography
21!!! Studio albums:
22* as Mikimix:
23** ''Tengo duro''[[note]]"I hold on"[[/note]] (1996)
24** ''La mia buona stella''[[note]]"My lucky star"[[/note]] (1997)
25* as Caparezza, demos:
26** ''Ricomincio da Capa''[[note]]Pun between "I'll start over" and "I'll start as Capa(rezza)"[[/note]] (1998)
27** ''Zappa'' (1999)
28* as Caparezza:
29** ''?!'' (2000)
30** ''Verità Supposte''[[note]]"Presumed Truths", with a pun about "supposta" meaning "suppository"[[/note]] (2003)
31** ''Habemus Capa'' (2006)
32** ''Le dimensioni del mio caos''[[note]]"The size of my chaos"[[/note]] (2008)
33** ''Il sogno eretico''[[note]]"The heretical dream"[[/note]] (2011)
34** ''Museica''[[note]]A pun on "musica", "museo" and "sei" (being his sixth album)[[/note]] (2014)
35** ''Prisoner 709'' (2017)
36** ''Exuvia'' (2021)
37
38!!! Live albums:
39* ''Esecuzione pubblica''[[note]]"Public execution"[[/note]] (2012)
40* ''Prisoner 709 Live'' (2018)
41
42----
43!!Provides examples of:
44* FifteenMinutesOfFame:
45** "L'Età dei Figuranti" ("The Age of Figurants") mocks how this concept has become pervasive in television, and how people are willing to do anything for fame and how watchers take TV drama too seriously.
46** In "Cover":
47-->''During class I eat a banana that gives me 15 minutes of notoriety, [[Music/TheVelvetUndergroundAndNico Underground, Velvet]].''
48* AccentUponTheWrongSyllable: Intentional example in "Goodbye Malinconia". "Malinconia" (melancholy) should be pronounced with the accent on the last 'i' (''maleenkoNEEa''), but the song moves it over the 'o' (''maleenKOnya'') making it sound somewhat like the name of a place. This is because "Malincònia" is Italy, the land of melancholy.
49* AfterTheEnd: "Il Mondo Dopo Lewis Carroll" ("The world after Lewis Carroll") pictures a [[Literature/AliceInWonderland Wonderland]] after its wonders are gone.
50* AlbumIntroTrack:
51** ''Habemus Capa'' begins with "Mors Mea Tacci Tua", which is a chaotic remix of the line from "Jodellavitanonhocapitouncazzo" where he mentions how DeadArtistsAreBetter.
52** ''Il sogno eretico'' has a ''double'' introduction: the first part is "Nessun Dorma" ("Let no one sleep", from the opera of ''Theatre/{{Turandot}}''), but the second is "Tutti Dormano" ("Let everyone sleep").
53** ''Museica'' is introduced by "Canzone all'Entrata" ("Entrance Song"). Caparezza introduces the audience to his new album as if it was an art exhibition.
54* AllJustADream: The album ''Il sogno eretico'' is framed as such.
55* AmbiguousSyntax: "Non siete Stato voi" means both "it wasn't you" and "you are not the State". Since "Stato" is written with a capital 'S' and it's an HailToTheThief song, it's very likely that the second meaning is the intended one.
56* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: All three members of the Russian family getting exposed to Caparezza on the TV in "Avrai ragione tu" [[spoiler:turn into Caparezzas at the end.]]
57* AnimatedMusicVideo: For the songs "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH7JyGiIwfw&feature=player_embedded Jodellavitanonhocapitouncazzo]]" (AllCGICartoon), "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjKLIeDJBFc&feature=player_embedded The Auditels Family]]" ([[Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus Python]]-esque animated cutouts) and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC88mrTl7lM&feature=related Cacca nello spazio]]" (an interesting use of StopMotion).
58* AnthropomorphicPersonification: In "Larsen", the title character is a personification of tinnitus. He is portrayed as a [[BirdPeople bird-man]] whose head is that of a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club-winged_manakin club-winged manakin]].
59* AntiLoveSong: In "Ulisse (You Listen)", Caparezza talks about his newfound love Ilaria, mentioning not her charms or looks, but her attitudes toward certain societal and political situations: it is a protest song under the guise of a love song.
60* ArcNumber:
61** In ''Prisoner 709'', the titular 709. References to it are numerous:
62*** Each song has a pair of words associated with it in the form ("X or Y") which have 7 and 9 letters respectively while the "0" stands for an "''o''" ("or");
63*** Tracks 7 and 9 in this album are thematically opposites (a message to the artist's child self and his elderly self, respectively);
64*** The video for the title track was uploaded on September 7, 2017 (or '''7/09'''/2017).
65** In ''Exuvia'', the number 16 (or 7 + 9) has some significance, but its usage is more subdued than its predecessor.
66* ArcSymbol:
67** The Executioner, a shirtless overweight man in dark pants wearing a red, pointy full-head mask, is a prominent symbol for ''Il sogno eretico''.
68** In ''Exuvia'', the symbol seen on its cover, representing "a change from a previous state to a future state, passing through a set of spirals representing cycles of beginnings and ends".
69* ArtInitiatesLife: In "Canthology", the rapper describes characters and situations described in his songs popping out of his writings.
70* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Deliberately invoked in one song. "Pimpami la storia" ("Pimp My History") is all about this, being sung by the perspective of students who don't give a damn about learning history. More broadly it's about how history is being over-simplified for the masses, or even totally distorted to please ideologies. For instance, one line says the Marshall Plan was made by Music/{{Eminem}}'s grandfather.
71* AudienceParticipationSong: The chorus in "La Marchetta Di Popolino", which parodies typical preschool children's music where the audience of children sing a line. In live concerts, the audience is prompted to sing that line.
72* AuthorTract: For politics, society or anything else really.
73* TheBackwardsR: The video for "Avrai ragione tu", being in part a gentle spoof of Communist iconography, naturally features many of these. It also features V's in place of U's, which is more a Latin type of thing...
74* BaitAndSwitch:
75** "Tutti Dormano" introduces the "dream" explored in ''Il sogno eretico'' with a heavy rock section, which suddenly switches to the proper circus-like comedy backed by a piano tune, the mood that defines the first part of the album.
76** Well into "Comunque Dada", the song tricks the listener into believing it is returning to the chorus, only to go for another verse.
77* {{Beat}}: In "Fugadà", after the lyric that references the hazing involving pushing military newcomers' heads into toilets.
78* BecameTheirOwnAntithesis:
79** Ilaria in ''Le dimensioni del mio caos'', who changes from being a strong-willed, determined hippie who opposes complying with the powerful to being a conforming "simpleton" who does whatever is trendy at the moment, is shallow and has no strong convictions.
80** In "Canthology", this is what Caparezza's narrates happened to the characters from his past songs. For example, Michael Jackson[[note]]"from "Tutto Ciò Che C'è"[[/note]] and Galileo[[note]]from "Il dito medio di Galileo"[[/note]] are hostile toward him, and the bull who wins against the matador in "La Parte Del Toro" becomes complacent with its abuser.
81* BewareTheNiceOnes: From "La Mia Parte Intollerante" ("My Intollerant Side"):
82--> ''But those who are mild like me know that, when your balls go cubic, like a kamikaze drunken on sake, I focus everything around me.''
83* BiggerThanJesus: In "Il testo che avrei voluto scrivere" ("The lyrics I'd want to have written"), Caparezza briefly says he will be this...only to change it to Franchise/HelloKitty instead, predicting the backlash, taking after Music/TheBeatles.
84* BigOlEyebrows: Caparezza likens his eyebrows to those of Creator/FridaKahlo in "Fai da tela".
85* BlackHumor:
86** In "Fuori Dal Tunnel", Caparezza says "I feel tight, like when I screw a [[Franchise/TheSmurfs Smurf]]", followed by a Smurf voice moaning "[[DoubleStandardRapeSciFi Oh, I hate Caparezza]]".
87** In "Confusianesmo", Caparezza says he'd like to reach Music/{{Nirvana}} "but not their frontman".
88* BlankWhiteVoid: The setting of the "Legalize the Premier" and "Ti Sorrido Mentre Affogo" music videos.
89* {{Bookends}}:
90** In ''Le dimensioni del mio caos'', the first track "La rivoluzione del sessintutto" starts with a news anchor closing a reportage on pandas and moving on to a reportage on Caparezza's concert that kicks off the story. The last song of that album, "Bonobo Power", ends with the same news anchor closing the reportage on bonobos.
91** ''Prisoner 709'' is opened with the song "Prosopagnosia" and closed with the song "Prosopagno Sia!", which is a TriumphantReprise of the first song, more upbeat, with larger focus on the instrumentation [[spoiler:and with Caparezza's vocals missing, implying his escape from the prison.]]
92* CallBack:
93** The third album begins with a snippet of a song from the second album that says "mamma quanti dischi venderanno se mi spengo" ("Oh my, they'll sell a lot of records if I pass away"). Indeed the album satirizes, among other things, the concept of DeadArtistsAreBetter (see below).
94** In "Avrai Ragione Tu", Caparezza jokingly apologizes to the Lega Nord party, a throwback to "Inno Verdano"[[note]]"Verdanian Hymn"[[/note]], where he parodies them, as well as club-goers and cool guys, calling back "Fuori dal tunnel" and "La mia parte intollerante".
95** In "Troppo Politico"[[note]]"Too political"[[/note]], Caparezza mentions he has "collaborated with ministers of dark times". The Ministri (Ministers) are a rock band with whom Caparezza collaborated in "Ulisse (You Listen)", and "''Tempi bui''" (dark times) is one of their albums.
96* CamelCase: The album covers render his stage name as "[=CapaRezza=]", however this way of writing is used almost only on Website/ThatOtherWiki (the Italian version). Referenced in "L'Età dei Figuranti" and at the end of "Vieni a ballare in Puglia", when Caparezza gets called "Mr. Rezza Capa".
97* TheCameo:
98** "Vieni a ballare in Puglia" has an intro featuring famous singer Al Bano, who also appears in the video.
99** Caparezza's only film part so far was in Checco Zalone's ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1808015/?ref_=ttrel_rel_tt Che bella giornata]]'' (which incidentally was the ''highest-grossing Italian film of all time'') where he and his band played parodies of themselves; however he really didn't care much about it and went on to his music career.
100** In the video for "Avrai ragione tu (Ritratto)", Giovanni Allevi (pianist, composer and orchestra director, with an iconic afro of his own) briefly appears when he gets name-dropped in the lyrics.
101* CanisLatinicus: ''Habemus Capa'' is a pun between is name and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habemus_papam Habemus Papam]] ("We have a Pope"), that is the official announcement when a new pope is elected. To be picky about Latin declension, it should have been "Habemus Capam"...
102* ChekhovsGun: In the "Jodellavitanonhocapitouncazzo" video, one scene shows one of the guards in the mental asylum [[WipeTheFloorWithYou cleaning the floor with a mop whose brush looks like Caparezza's hairdo]]. Later, the guards find his dead body in his cell. Before it is buried, though, it's found out that the "body" is actually that very mop wrapped on his clothes, which Caparezza has set up in order to escape.
103* CloseupOnHead: The cover of ''Verità Supposte'', a close up on the left side of Caparezza's face.
104* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: He self-admits to being one in "Jodellavitanonhocapitouncazzo".
105* ColorContrast: [[https://t2.genius.com/unsafe/503x0/https%3A%2F%2Fimages.genius.com%2F9db962b1fc7c774a05b8e593bd595ba6.1000x1000x1.jpg The cover for ''Prisoner 709'']] is black and white, a choice made to convey the album's polar-opposite themes. It also comes right after [[https://t2.genius.com/unsafe/503x0/https%3A%2F%2Fimages.genius.com%2F623f9ab2707c1041cc98a16e3d640c15.1000x1000x1.jpg the most brightly colored cover art in Caparezza's discography.]]
106* ComicallyMissingThePoint: In the Exuvia tour, about the song "La Scelta", Caparezza says that, between being Beethoven or Mark Hollis, he picked "[[TakeAThirdOption Beethollis]]", the reason being: if he chose "Markoven", he'd be confused with Mark Owen of Music/TakeThat.
107* ConceptAlbum: Every single one of his Caparezza career since the third one.
108** ''Habemus Capa'' is themed after Caparezza dying and being reborn in various roles in society.
109** ''Le dimensioni del mio caos'' is a RockOpera born from a story Caparezza wrote about in his book.
110** ''Il sogno eretico'' is set inside a dream where each song leads to the next via skits.
111** ''Museica'' can be seen as an equivalent to Emerson, Lake & Palmer's ''Pictures At An Exhibition'': every track was inspired by a work of art (not only {{paintings}}, but graffiti and [[{{sculptures}} statues]] as well) and the album is structured as if it was a visit in an art museum.
112** ''Prisoner 709'' is more introspective and tackles themes of identity, depression and the contrast between his stage persona and his private self, and is set in a prison from the sentencing to his escape.
113** ''Exuvia'' takes place after evasion from the prison, in a forest where the rapper goes through a rite of passage to leave his past behind and be reborn.
114* ConsciousHipHop: Pre-''Museica'', themes regarding social issues were predominant.
115* ContinuityCavalcade: "Canthology" is this, with most of its lyrics calling back to many of Caparezza's previous songs.
116* CrapsackWorld: The world after the timeline alteration in ''Le dimensioni del mio caos'', which is then under a repressive dictatorship by the Catholic Church and poorer people have no water and are riddled with all sorts of diseases while the wealthy travel to space.
117* {{Crossover}}:
118** While the album version of "Vieni a ballare in Puglia" is performed solely by Caparezza, the video version features the fellow Apulian singer Al Bano.
119** "Goodbye Malinconia" is a duet between Caparezza and Tony Hadley from the Music/SpandauBallet.
120* CrossReferencedTitles:
121** Halfway through ''Museica'', there is the track "Canzone A Metà", meaning "half-finished song", but also "song in the middle", making a connection to "Canzone All'Entrata" and "Canzone All'Uscita" ("song on the entrance" and "song on the exit"), the intro and outro tracks.
122** The titles "La Scelta" and "La Certa" in ''Exuvia'' were deliberately chosen for being similar. "La Scelta" being ''the choice'' the rapper has the power of making as to where take his life next, while "La Certa", ''the certain one'', is death i.e. the unchoosable. The original title for "El Sendero", "La Selva" (''the forest'', or the journey of the past until now), was supposed to make the third member in the triad of similar titles on which listeners would likely confuse one for the others, "getting lost".
123* DarkerAndEdgier:
124** His album "Il sogno eretico", a concept album whose lyrics are more pessimistic and disilluded, and that contains a very political protest track sung in his "real" voice, to signify that he's dead serious about what's singing.
125** Compared to ''Museica'', which was more varied and objective in subject matter, ''Prisoner 709'' is deeply introspective, personal and painful. Apparent in the respective cover arts.
126** A literal interpretation of "Pi Esse" (P.S.), picking up after the fallen Wonderland from the previous track "Il Mondo Dopo Lewis Carroll", describes that "that children's story has become a western movie, the Queen polishes a Winchester rifle...".
127* DeadArtistsAreBetter: Caparezza viciously mocks this concept. He calls his third album "a posthumous album of a still living singer", and actually the first track spoofs people's typical reactions to artists dying (imagining himself as the dead artist). The album as a whole is a concept about him being dead and his spirit still living on until he "resurrects" at the end.
128* DefiantStrip / NakedNutter: In "Avrai ragione tu", Caparezza mentions dancing nude in Moscow's Red Square [[HandOrObjectUnderwear covering his genitals with only a colback]] as an example of his supposed "mad communist behavior".
129* DesignStudentsOrgasm: The cover of ''Museica''.
130* {{Determinator}}: The titular character of "Eroe, Storia di Luigi Delle Bicocche" ("Hero, Story of Luigi Delle Bicocche"), who continues to work even though he's retired to earn a living for his family.
131* DevolutionDevice: The guitar smashed onto the amplifier that turns humans into bonobo monkeys at the end of ''Le Dimensioni del Mio Caos'', [[HumansAreMorons even though the last track would put it as an "evolution device"]].
132* TheDissTrack:
133** Caparezza is featured on the track "Morti Pythons" by Stylophonic where he responds to the rapper Jesto's allegations of plagiarism and insults against him.
134** [[CaptainObvious Fictionally]], "Argenti Vive" is Filippo Argenti's -- an acquaintance of Dante Alighieri's -- response to Dante putting him in Hell and damning him in in ''Literature/TheDivineComedy''.
135* DoubleTake: In the "The Auditels Family" video, Caparezza quickly glances through a door in the ghost house where he sees three family members wearing Ku Klux Klan masks before turning back to the camera. They remove their masks before he glances back.
136* EasterEgg:
137** The outro of the song "La marchetta di Popolino" features a skit where a [=You=]Tube comment urges other listeners to visit a website called "staperarrivarelafinedelmondo.com" ("the end of the world is about to come"), which [[https://staperarrivarelafinedelmondo.com/ actually exists]].
138** The bridge in "Non Me Lo Posso Permettere" begins with a Morse code message that, when decoded, reads "tradurre non serve" ("you don't need to translate this").
139** In "La Scelta"[[note]]"The choice"[[/note]], a song in which the lives and opposing career choices of Music/LudwigVanBeethoven and Music/TalkTalk's Mark Hollis are put side by side, Beethoven's "Für Elise" can be played along with the song's verses, while Talk Talk's "Such a Shame" can be played along the chorus.
140* EccentricArtist: Especially pre-''Prisoner 709'', Caparezza used to have such an image.
141* EitherOrTitle: Exaggerated across ''Prisoner 709''. First, every song title has a subtitle in brackets. Second, every subtitle has two parts. Third, that second part is a pair of words of seven and nine letters respectively. For example, the full name of the title track is "Prisoner 709 (The Sentence - Compact or Streaming)".
142* EnemyWithin / JekyllAndHyde / SplitPersonality: "Dualismi" ("Dualisms") features Caparezza portraying his timid and introvert Michele person in therapy trying to free himself from the bold Caparezza persona that takes over him. Although the latter is not "evil", Michele is shown as being scared of him and unwilling to comply with him.
143* EverythingIsAnInstrument:
144** "La Mia Parte Intollerante" samples punching sounds and "oof"s for percussion.
145** In the ''Esecuzione Pubblica'' (live) version of "House Credibility", [[TrashCanBand pots and pot lids]] are used as instruments.
146** "Teste Di Modì" briefly features a riff made from hummingbird noise samples.
147** "Come Pripyat" uses Geiger counter sounds.
148* FaceOnTheCover: Every studio album apart from ''?!'', ''Museica'' and ''Exuvia''. ''Exuvia'' is the first one to not even reference his hairdo, or have a picture of him on the back.
149* FantasticRacism: In "Vengo dalla Luna" ("I come from the Moon") the protagonist is an alien [[CaptainObvious from the Moon]] who suffers from this upon arriving on Earth. The song is clearly a metaphor for actual racism against migrants in Italy.
150* FatherTime: In "Zeit!", Caparezza [[CallingTheOldManOut calls out]] Chronos/Time for losing the influence and power over humanity he had in the past. Considering the song is actually inspired by Creator/FranzKafka's ''Letter to His Father'', this is likely a reference to this character.
151* FetalPositionRebirth: In the end of the "Exuvia" video, the protagonist is lying nude on the ground in fetal position while the scene pans out to reveal he is lying in the center of a giant Exuvia symbol -- which stands for rebirth -- he built out of rocks throughout the video.
152* {{Fetish}}: An early version of "La Grande Opera" ("The great construction"), rather than focusing on corruption and crimes by the construction market, was a very sexual song mostly regarding the lyrical I engineer character's fetish on construction work.
153* FourMoreMeasures: The intro of "Il Dito Medio Di Galileo".
154* FreudianCouch: In "Forever Jung", the line "I take a chaise longue to the studio session", comparing rapping to psychological therapy.
155* GeniusLoci: Played with in the cover for ''?!'', which is Earth with Caparezza's hair and beard.
156* GenreMashup: Caparezza's music has elements of various genres, including AlternativeHipHop, ProgressiveRock, HeavyMetal and, in the case of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahN-bcmT8n0 Argenti vive]]", {{Dubstep}} elements. Not only do his albums use live instrumentation (and not just rock instrumentation, but also horn and string sections), but he also writes sheet music for many of his songs.
157* GenreRoulette: Each song of an album, albeit being rapped, tends to sound unique in comparison to the others. Each song of the first half of ''Museica'' for example, is predominantly or contains elements of: Soviet military music, Brostep-inspired rock, traditional Irish music, hard rock, ''what?'', 60's Music/TheBeatles-inspired beat, blues and ballad respectively.
158* GratuitousLatin: Numerous instances, in album titles, song titles and in lyrics.
159* GriefSong: "Ilaria Condizionata".
160* HailToTheThief: "Non siete Stato voi" is a scathing attack against corrupt politicians.
161* {{Homage}}: His [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCzFtdZpMu8 music video]] for "Abiura di me" (a song apparently about videogames) is a [[IncrediblyLamePun glowing]] homage to TRON, a couple years before ''Film/TronLegacy'' hit the theaters.
162* HiddenTrack: In ''Prisoner 709'', a hidden track in the end comprised of noise can be converted into an [[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS_1afRQDTwDeQs5Kh2UoQXAe_GB37JAz1tNQEgDCqqKt1NpuURPltGHiUN44IaaQCLtys&usqp=CAU image]] which reads a short text comprised of one snippet from each track in the album.
163->Translation: "Here I am on a bed. It may be due to my age, but I don't recognize myself anymore. Blanks in my memory, self-steem going down, who'd have thought? I'll write some lyrics, they'll make me feel good. No, it's not true, I already feel like puking. I dream of being able to walk away, I can't go back anymore. 709 forever."
164* HomoeroticSubtext:
165** In "Vengo dalla luna":
166--> ''I'm willing to remain under only when I fuck.''
167** In the video for "Avrai ragione tu" he tries to make out with a (male) scientist. This happens when the lyrics mention kissing on the lips like Music/{{tATu}} did.
168** The video for "La Ghigliottina" is set in a fictional museum where the painting shown relates to the current lyric, while the song is directed at Georges Jacques Danton. At one point, Caparezza tells Danton they can be like many popular duos from fiction and real life, including Music/JohnLennon and Music/YokoOno, while the {{painting|s}} shown is "Art/{{The Kiss|Hayez}}" by Francesco Hayez.
169* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: The entity of Time itself in "Zeit!".
170* HurricaneOfPuns:
171** "Troppo Politico" ("Too Political") uses a buttload of puns on political terms used to express non-political ideas.
172** A certain batch of lines in "El Sendero" subtly include the names of Greek mythological deities and creatures in a normal-sounding sentences.
173-->'' '''Arte, mi de'''vi'' (Artemis) ''guidare, '''fa' uno''''' (faun) ''sforzo'' (Art, you must guide me, make an effort)
174-->'''''Di' a na'''tura'' (Diana) ''di vegliare il mio percorso'' (Tell nature to look over my journey)
175-->''Dalla bor'''sa tiro''''' (satyr) '' fuori un grande corno'' (From my bag I take out a big horn)
176-->''Per soffiare via il mio '''pan'''ico'' (Pan) ''dal corpo'' (To blow away the panic from my body)
177* HymnToMusic: often.
178* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: The subtitles of the songs in ''Prisoner 709'': the first part is a term relating to imprisonment ("The Crime", "The Letter", "The Guard" and so on); the second is a pair of opposite words of seven and nine letters respectively, starting with the singer's two identities at war with each other: Michele (seven letters) or Caparezza (nine letters).
179* IllKillYou:
180** Ultra-Communist!Caparezza toward Scientologists in "Avrai Ragione Tu (Ritratto)".
181** The seller toward the corpse buyer in "Compro Horror" after the latter offers only five euros for the corpse brought in by the former. [[SoundOnlyDeath He goes through with it.]]
182* InherentlyFunnyWords: ''Verità supposte'' literally means "presumed truths", but "supposte" most commonly just means "suppositories" -- thus making an AssShove-invoking pun.
183* InsideAComputerSystem: "L'infinto" plays with this idea.
184* IntraFranchiseCrossover: "Canthology", the first song in ''Exuvia'', rounds up characters and elements from Caparezza's seven previous albums.
185* IWantSong: His early track "Tutto ciò che c'è" is this plus a ton of name-dropping. The lyrics are about him wanting various musicians and celebrities to do absurd and out-of-character things, and contain the line "Music/MichaelJackson dice: Capa sei un genio!" (''Michael Jackson says: Capa, you're a genius!'').
186* LastNoteNightmare: The song "Limiti" from his second album ends with a few seconds of silence... followed by Capa screaming "AIUTO!" ("Help!") in a distorted, screechy voice.
187* LaughTrack: In "Tutti Dormano" and "Chi se ne frega della musica", which are framed as a stand up comedy act.
188* ListSong:
189** "Canzone a Metà" lists various works left unfinished, from Dicken's Dream (the painting which is associated with this song), to Marylin Monroe's ''Something's Got to Give''.
190** In "House Credibility", lethal things that can happen in people's homes.
191** "Eterno Paradosso" ("Eternal Paradox") is a list of paradoxical and contradictory situations in Caparezza's life.
192* LocationSong:
193** "Vieni a Ballare in Puglia", about Caparezza's home region, Apulia.
194** "House Credibility", which is about... inside homes.
195** "China Town", about a metaphorical "ink town", which represents the artist's fantastic world brought to life through writing.
196** "Come Pripyat", once again, conveys its message through a metaphorical/fictional place, a city which stands for Caparezza's past, lively world turned mutated and contaminating.
197* LyricalDissonance:
198** "Vieni a ballare in Puglia" ("Come Dance in Apulia") is a cheerful, lively song...about work-related deaths, devastating fires, deadly industrial pollution and the exploitation of migrant workers, problems that plague Capa's native Apulia. As noted earlier, the ironically uplifting music made several people misunderstand the song's painful message.
199** "Giotto Beat" from the 2014 album as well: as the title says, it sounds like a happy beat song from TheSixties, but the actual lyrics are pretty pessimistic.
200** "Come Pripyat" is closed with a triumphant-sounding trumpet section, while the song's lyrics are anything but triumphant.
201* LyricVideo: For "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBD4zHKK8zA Teste Di Modì]]", "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjbMuymrE24 Troppo Politico]]" and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq3Q5YzA5Zc Confusianesimo]]".
202* MeaningfulName:
203** His stage name "Caparezza" means "curly hair" in Apulian dialect. Did we mention before he's famous for his afro?
204** Larsen, the personification of tinnitus, gets its name from the Larsen effect or audio feedback, whose sound is compared to the perceived sounds of tinnitus.
205* MistakenIdentity: In "Avrai ragione tu (Ritratto)":
206-->I see visions when I'm at the piano
207-->Like you coming closer and asking "[[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Allevi Allevi]], are you playing?"
208* MoodWhiplash:
209** "Non siete Stato voi" in ''Il sogno eretico'' stand out for being the single solemn, completely serious track in a very over-the-top album, that is then followed by the playful "La ghigliottina".
210** In ''Museica'', tracks are upbeat or loud up to "Giotto Beat", which is followed by the softer and darker-sounding "Cover".
211* MostWritersAreWriters: "China Town" is, as he put it, a love letter to the art of writing.
212* MultilingualSong:
213** In the duet between Caparezza and Tony Hadley in "Goodbye Malinconia", the latter sings in his native English language. Give how the song is about Italian youth migrating abroad, this can't but be a fitting choice.
214** Various other songs have their choruses in English, also performed by a featured artist: "Cover", "Prosopagnosia", "Minimoog", "Canthology" (whose chorus draws from The Droogs' song "Get Away").
215** "Legalize the Premier" is in Italian and Jamaican Patois.
216** "Kitaro", musically based on the theme song of the ''Manga/GeGeGeNoKitaro'' anime, includes some excerpts in Japanese from it for its intro and chorus.
217** "È Tardi" and "Forever Jung" feature verses in English sung by American rappers Michael Franti and DMC respectively.
218** "El Sendero" has its chorus sung in Spanish, drawn from the song "La Selva" by Mexican artist Mishel Domenssain, featured on the track.
219* MultipleReferencePun: In "''Prisoner 709''", 709 is derived from:
220** the idea of "7" and "9" representing opposites that are explored through the album;
221** "0" conveying the idea of a music disc between said opposites, and which may be read as both the English "0" and Italian "''o''" ("or") to give it another interpretation as "seven OR nine";
222** the code 709, which identifies a type of envelope especifically for sealing [=CDs=].
223* MundaneMadeAwesome:
224** [[Music/SpandauBallet Tony Hadley]] driving a truck at the end of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lmVZstFqlU "Goodbye Malinconia"'s video]].
225** A negative case is "House Credibility", all about minding the listener that staying at home is DEADLY through various over-the-top examples of household dangers.
226* MurderBallad: "Sono Troppo Stitico" ("I'm Way Too Mean") is narrated by a man who wants to find a way to kill his girlfriend "legally", although the point of the song is to bring to light the large amount of dangerous instruments and substances people are exposed to daily.
227* MushroomSamba: Toward the end of the album ''Prisoner 709'', "Minimoog" has Caparezza in the prison infirmery for procedures and being administered tranquilizers. The subsequent tracks are... curiously psychedelic and trippy — musically and lyrically — and very unlike the rest of the album.
228* MusicIsPolitics: Referenced in his song "Chi se ne frega della musica" ("Who gives a damn about music"). He implies that videos, song charts, producers, talk shows are all that is important in the music business, and nobody gives a damn about the ''music'' itself.
229* MyCountryTisOfTheeThatISting: A recurring theme, most notably in "Vieni a ballare in Puglia" (about his home region of Apulia specifically) or "Goodbye Malinconia".
230* NatureIsNotNice: "Contronatura" ("Unnatural").
231* NewMediaAreEvil:
232** "L'Età dei Figuranti" is an attack to the concept of FifteenMinutesOfFame. People are desperate to be seen even if they don't deserve it, even at the cost of embarrassing themselves, all while spectators are take TV drama way too seriously.
233** "The Auditels Family" reprises the topic through a deeper perspective: the cultural impoverishment brought forth by modern television is intentionally lead by the powerful, who want to keep populace uninformed and blissfully ignorant. The [[https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auditel Auditel]] (a society which deals with television audience data) is presented as a dark secret sect, which controls television by promoting garbage shows and countless advertising, all while shutting down educational or "inconvenient" programs.
234* NewSoundAlbum: ''Prisoner 709'', which was produced after Caparezza developed a case of tinnitus, is less concentrated on social consciousness and issues, becoming instead a deeply introspective, psychological work. The very name of the album signifies his own condition as a "prisoner" within his own mind, caused by his ailment. The following album ''Exuvia'', intended as a "sequel" to the previous album, revolves around his longing for freedom from his mental prison.
235* NoOSHACompliance: "Vieni A Ballare In Puglia", as explained in LyricalDissonance above.
236* NonHumanHead:
237** In the video for "Dalla Parte Del Toro"[[note]]"Rooting for the Bull"[[/note]], the bull character is represented by a man wearing a bull mask.
238** As noted before, Larsen in "Larsen" is a human figure with the head of a bird (a club-winged manakin, specifically).
239* NudeNatureDance: Near the end of the "Exuvia" video, the protagonist starts taking his clothes off and running around the forest in the nude.
240* OOCIsSeriousBusiness:
241** In "Non Siete Stato Voi", Caparezza uses his normal voice to gravely denounce a number of political issues with no "fun filter" like his music usually does.
242** From ''Prisoner 709'' on, Caparezza's usage of his exaggerated nasal voices and stage persona zaniness decreased as his song topics became more personal and tragic. The first track of that album is rapped entirely in his normal voice--a rare feature up to that point--, establishing this new direction.
243* ObsessionSong: "Ti Clonerò" ("I'll Clone You") simulates this... except it's actually about pirating music.
244* ObviouslyNotFine: The sulky chorus in "Il circo delle pantegane"[[note]]"The circus of the sewer rats"[[/note]]:
245-->''You ask me "how's it going?"... It's going fine...''
246-->''You keep asking me "how's it going?"... It's going fine...''
247-->''...the life in the circus of the sewer rats...''
248-->''...the life in the circus of the sewer rats...'' *deep sigh*
249* OneWomanWail: "Fugadà" includes these for the voice of nature.
250* OdeToSobriety: "Fuori Dal Tunnel" was mistakenly believed to be an anti-drug usage message by a large portion of listeners.
251* ProfaneLastWords: The bug at the end of "Gli insetti del podere" ("The bugs of the croft") is shot to death while letting out a "''vaffanculo''" ("fuck you").
252* PunBasedTitle:
253** Absolutely everywhere. Caparezza is very fond of puns and wordplay, and almost every title of his songs reflect this. Case in point: his album ''Il sogno eretico'' ("Heretic Dream"), a pun on "Erotic dream".
254** His 2014 album ''Museica'' takes the cake: the songs therein are inspired by works of art, and the title is a pun on "museo" (museum), "musica" (music) and "sei" (six, as this is his sixth album).
255** Since "otto" means "eight" in Italian, the song "Giotto Beat" may be another great example: as a reference to Giotto the artist (the lyrics talk about "perspective"), as a play on words to "8-bit" (Donkey Kong is mentioned), and a reference to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8_%28forum%29 G8 summit]] ('''G-otto'''), especially the one that took place in Italy in 2001 where several protesters were brutally '''beat'''en by police officers. And it's also a throwback to the ''beat'' songs from TheSixties.
256* ReferenceOverdosed:
257** He applies a metaphor to his lyrics and takes it up to eleven, for example the songs "Abiura di me" (about his will to improve as an artist) and "La marchetta di Popolino" (about narrow-minded people) are disguised as huge amounts of videogame and Creator/WaltDisney references.
258** "Cover", the first single of his 2014 album, is a long list of references to notorious album covers, which mirror his personal growth as a man and an artist.
259** The video for "Avrai ragione tu" contains several references to Russian and Communist-style iconography, including a parody of the famous video by Eduard Khil (a.k.a. the Trololo Guy).
260* ReligionRantSong:
261** Caparezza is critical of religion, as seen in songs such as "Non Mettere Le Mani in Tasca"[[note]]"Don't put your hands in your pockets"[[/note]] and "Il Dito Medio di Galileo"[[note]]"The middle finger of Galileo"[[/note]].
262** "Messa In Moto"[[note]]a double entendre that usually means "Set in motion" but here also means "Mass on a motorcycle"[[/note]] calls out Christians' habit of praying.
263** "Confusianesimo", which is about Caparezza wanting the comfort spirituality may give him, snarkly mocks religions throughout, and ends with him ultimately rejecting the idea of seeking to be religious, considering it to be one more layer of imprisonment among all others.
264* RetroUniverse: The "Avrai ragione tu" video appears to take place in the late 20th century, during the Cold War.
265* RevolutionariesWhoDontDoAnything: The main topic in "La Ghigliottina" is calling out useless symbolic protests that won't change anything in society.
266* RockOpera: ''Le dimensioni del mio caos''. A time traveling hippie ends up conforming to modern society, and the album ends with an alternate history where prehistoric Bonobos surpass humans on the evolutionary scale.
267* RockersSmashGuitars: Caparezza smashes his guitar at the end of a concert in the narrative of "Le Dimensioni del Mio Caos". Luigi the construction worker does the same near the end of the story.
268* RunningGag:
269** In the ''Esecuzione Pubblica'' concert, during the performance of "Kevin Spacey", Gaetano Camporeale pulls out a rifle and "shoots" "Kevin Spacey" when the lyrics mention [[spoiler: the killing of his character in ''Film/AmericanBeauty'']]. Later, during an act preceding "Abiura di Me", the band members wearing VideoGame/AngryBirds costumes are being "launched" by Caparezza from a large slingshot, until Gaetano pulls the rifle again and shoots one of them dead.
270* {{Sampling}}: Various examples.
271** A notable usage is his early track "La fitta sassaiola dell'ingiuria", based on a few lyrics of a song by Italian folksinger Angelo Branduardi. Funny thing is, the sampled lyrics at one point refer to the singer's hairdo - both Capa and Branduardi have, or used to have, a ''huge'' afro.
272** "Campione Dei Novanta"[[note]]"Champion of the 90's"[[/note]] uses two remarkable samples: the first is from the 1992 song "Zighidà" by the band Statuto; and the other one is from the 2018 song "Campione" by Chef, which says "call me a champion". Their inclusion is derived from a double entendre on the word "''campione''", which means both "champion" and "sample", the Zighidà sample being literally a "sample of the 90's" and the Campione sample refering to itself as a sample.
273* SavingTheWorldWithArt: Caparezza mocks this idea quite a few times, saying that, although songs of his bring light to some issues, he is an artist and can't actually fix the issues he talks about (and doesn't want to be considered someone who will). One example from "Sogno di potere":
274-->''If I were king I'd be Ludwig II in Bavaria [...]''
275-->''If they told me "the whole population is starving",''
276-->''I'd say "I'm sorry, at least you have art."''
277* SdrawkcabName: The song "Azzera Pace": "è Caparezza" ("[he] is Caparezza"), when spelled backwards, reads "azzera pace" ("[he] ends peace"). Accordingly, in this song Caparezza talks about how his nonconformity and urge to do the opposite of what is usual makes him end the peace of others around him (and his own peace as well).
278* SdrawkcabSpeech: In "Il dito medio di Galileo", the chorus, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukVGCIdmskk when played backwards]], will sound vaguely like "How much of a slave religion makes you. I know, it is deep, but the darkness will create its light". This interpretation, despite being totally unintentional, was found and published by Caparezza himself, as he wanted to play with ''Il sogno eretico''[='=]s general blasphemous themes.
279* SelfDemonstratingSong: "Canzone a Metà", a song about leaving things unfinished, ends abruptly in the middle of a sentence.
280* SelfDeprecation:
281** He mocks his Mikimix persona in a few songs. In addition, he sometimes says he is not an artist, he can't sing, and so on. His earlier work had many instances of him mentioning he comes from the gutter.
282** Once, during a concert, he tried to give a speech, but was constantly interrupted by [[ItMakesSenseInContext the doorbell]]. The video feed (in daylight - "What kind of time zone do they have out there?") showed himself, with an annoyed expression, still ringing.
283-->'''[=CapaRezza=]''': [{{Beat}}] ''Pretend that I'm not here, I know that guy, he never shuts up...''
284** From "Autoipnotica":
285--> ''I am a seagull that laughs after shitting on my monument.''
286* ShoutOut: Too many to list.
287** "Cover" references various iconic album cover artworks.
288** In "Teste Di Modì":
289--> (in English) ''[[Music/{{Eminem}} Would the real Modigliani head please stand up?]]''
290** The video for "La Scelta", where Caparezza experiences a time loop while wearing a yellow raincoat, likely throws a shout-out to ''Series/Dark2017''.
291* SingerNameDrop
292* SlasherSmile: Filippo Argenti during the last shot of the "Argenti Vive" video.
293* SomeOfMyBestFriendsAreX: "L'Uomo Che Premette" is about this kind of rationale, and begins with:
294--> ''I start off by saying I have many gay friends.''
295* SomewhereAMammalogistIsCrying: "Bonobo Power" plays straight the stereotype attributed to bonobos as an altruistic, empathetic and hedonistic species, presenting them in a positive light compared to humans. In reality, it's a bit more complicated. Compared to common chimpazees, bonobos do stand out as a much more peaceful species, as their communities are much more cohesive and seldom degenerate into infighting. Their culture of sexual freedom is also factual. But aggressivity towards bonobos of other communities or other species is generally comparable to that of common chimpanzees, only slightly less frequent at best.
296* SophomoreSlump:[[invoked]] The hook of "Il secondo secondo me":
297--> ''The second album is always the most difficult in an artist's career.''
298* SpokenWordInMusic:
299** "Bonobo Power" has the rapper saying the song's verses in a spoken fashion through a muffled speaker filter as to sound like a zoo guide giving info on bonobo monkeys.
300** "Cose che non capisco"[[note]]"Things I don't understand"[[/note]] is presented as a game show, complete with a non-singing host.
301** "Non me lo posso permettere" has a brief intro in which Caparezza dismisses his orchestra because "he can't afford it".
302** In "Non siete Stato voi" as a whole Caparezza's tone is solemn, but musically rather flat, so much that "reciting" would be more accurate than "singing".
303** Two of the skits in ''Exuvia'': "Marco e Ludo" and "Ghost Memo".
304* SplitPersonalityTakeover: ''Prisoner 709'' has as its core idea Michele Salvemini's feeling that the Caparezza persona is taking over his actual self, and the prison setting takes inspiration from the StanfordPrisonExperiment, as the subjects for that experiment similarly had their assigned roles dominate their personalities.
305* SpontaneousChoreography: In the video for "Non me lo posso permettere", the auction attendees break into dancing after the seller (played by Caparezza) stops [[RetailRiot their riot]] by slamming his hammer on the table.
306* StanfordPrisonExperiment: One of the primary inspirations for the concept of ''Prisoner 709''. Caparezza's alias as Prisoner 709 is inspired by Prisoner 819 in that case, and the infamous chanting "Prisoner 819 did a bad thing!" is referenced in the intro of the song "Forever Jung".
307* SurprisinglyGentleSong: "China Town" is a soft ballad and a rare case of a Caparezza song completely devoid of conflict.
308* TeenageDeathSongs: "Compro Horror", a song about the fact crime news are presented as entertainment, mentions mainly teenagers being murdered.
309* TestosteronePoisoning: "Un vero uomo dovrebbe lavare i piatti" mocks the concept, sarcastically listing things that only "real men" do (like being violent, treating women like objects, being sexually promiscuous, never showing emotion) and then saying that what a real man should actually do is to wash the dishes.
310* ThatManIsDead: Caparezza toward his Mikimix persona, mostly in his first album but also in "Campione Dei Novanta":
311-->''Put my old self in the 27 Club.''
312* TheUnpronounceable: His first album is called ''?!'', although [[https://images.genius.com/4af94e05ea75e385e4f64c0bab952688.1000x1000x1.jpg its cover]] results in "Caparezza?!".
313* ThinkMusic: "Cose che non capisco", being 'set' in a game show, has its instrumentals modeled after this.
314* ThisIsASong:
315** In "Comunque Dada":
316-->''This song is ready-made, born already done''
317-->''and it sounds like drawing a moustache on the Mona Lisa,''
318-->''more obnoxious than a swarm of redshanks,''
319-->''but it makes my life more pleasant!''
320** The chorus in "Il testo che avrei voluto scrivere":
321-->''The lyrics I'd want to have written are certainly not these!''
322** "Ti Fa Stare Bene" ends with:
323-->''This song is a bit too radio-friendly... who cares, as it will make you feel fine.''
324* ThisLoserIsYou: Many songs include disparaging comments about:
325** his fandom's behaviour (e.g. "Annunciatemi al Pubblico"[[note]]"Announce Me to the Audience"[[/note]], "L'ottavo, Capitolo" [[note]]The eighth one, I give up[[/note]]);
326** the listeners in general (e.g. "Fuori Dal Tunnel", "Mica Van Gogh"[[note]]Not Van Gogh[[/note]], "Eyes Wide Shut").
327* TitleTrack: In ''Habemus Capa'', ''Prisoner 709'' and ''Exuvia''. Also partially ''Il sogno eretico'', which has "Sono il tuo sogno eretico".
328* TriumphantReprise: "Prosopagno Sia!" to "Prosopagnosia" in ''Prisoner 709''. See {{Bookends}} above.
329* UnusualEuphemism: "Dancing" in "Vieni a ballare in Puglia". It becomes clear if you pay attention to Al Bano's intro. [[spoiler:It means "dying".]]
330* {{Troll}}: In some songs, such as "La Legge Dell'Ortica" and "Azzera Pace", Caparezza says he enjoys making people mad.
331* WalkingSpoiler: "Kevin Spacey" is all about purposely spoilering as many movies as possible, especially those featuring the actor in question. Hands down, the biggest example of assholery in music ''ever''. Appropriately, Caparezza introduces the song claiming that it's the only reason why one should hate him, not [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking his politics or his voice]].
332* WholePlotReference: "Nel Paese dei balordi" ("In the Land of the boorish") is a DarkerAndEdgier take on ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio'': Pinocchio is the son of an AbusiveDad and his mother fleed the house because of the mistreatments, [[SonOfAWhore working as a stripper]] with the name of "Blue Fairy"; Lampwick is a [[ArtisticStimulation drug-addicted artist]]; Mangiafuoco is a telemarketer and a tax evader; the Fox and the Cat are a pair of financial speculators who try to trick Pinocchio. The "marionette" represents social rejection and the BecomeARealBoy storyline is a metaphor for the simple desire to have a normal life.
333* ZombieApocalypse: In the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdVaHCCxHMw&feature=related video]] for "Vieni a ballare in Puglia". As always, there's a second meaning: the pollution and chemicals from factories are what turned people into zombies.

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