Caso Perso – “Passo Falso” (video)

In the rising flood of young Italian rappers taking grabs at microphones and samplers in a bid to exercise all that restless energy, comes Caso Perso (real name Alessio Saioni). At a mere 22 years old, the rapper betrays the tell-tale signs of a young musician just learning the ropes of his art and succeeding on the strength of sheer will and positivity (despite his moniker, which means “Lost Case”). It’s got to be the bottled charisma he keeps sipping on because our Italian here has enough charm to float a boatload of MCs. Caso Perso’s appeal lies not in his delivery (which is tight and fluid, nonetheless) but in his can-do-anything attitude, which adds a vibrant colour to the routine proceedings seen here in this video.

Heavily informed by the flash and glamour of American hip-hop, “Passo Falso” sees the rapper spitting rhymes in earnest passion, his genial bravado hiding some rather clever (sometimes poetic) turns of phrases further obscured by the grind and thump of a now familiar hip-hop groove. There are a few cheeky digs at his American counterparts, namely the use of vocoders (which Perso deliberately overuses to ironic effect) and the Auto-tune fuckery rampant in much of the bling-hop heard today. He even works the machismo angle with aplomb, laying down the mannerisms with skill, good-natured humour and a knowing, inward smile. All in good fun and full of youthful exuberance.

Make of it what you will, but there’s no denying a hopeful, quick-witted kid grabbing the mic and winging it on inspiration and gumption alone.