Massimo Pericolo
Artist: Massimo Pericolo
Real Name: Alessandro Vanetti
Born: 30 November 1992, Gallarate, Varese
Roots: Brebbia, Varese
Active since: 2016
Style: Raw, autobiographical rap and trap
Debut album: Scialla semper (2019) ↗
Biography
Massimo Pericolo has built his place in Italian rap through blunt honesty, vivid storytelling and a voice that carries both anger and vulnerability. Born Alessandro Vanetti in Gallarate in 1992, he became closely associated with Brebbia, in the province of Varese. The small towns, friendships and frustrations of provincial life form the backdrop to much of his music, giving his songs a perspective rooted in places often overlooked by mainstream culture.
He began experimenting with rap before finding a wider audience, recording under earlier aliases and gradually developing his writing. His arrest in 2014, followed by time in prison and under house arrest, became a turning point in his life. Writing offered a way to process those experiences, alongside difficult relationships, isolation and uncertainty about the future. These subjects would become central to his identity as Massimo Pericolo.
His breakthrough came in 2019 with “7 miliardi”, a fierce introduction that brought him widespread attention. Working with producers Crookers and Nic Sarno, he developed a sound that matched the urgency of his lyrics while leaving room for more reflective material. Behind the confrontational delivery was a writer capable of expressing affection, disappointment and insecurity with striking directness.
That emotional range is one of his defining qualities. His songs move between explosive frustration and quieter observations about friendship, love, money and belonging. Humour and abrasive language sit alongside moments of tenderness and self-examination. Rather than presenting success as a straightforward escape, he explores the discomfort of changing circumstances while remaining attached to the people and places that shaped him.
As his career developed, collaborations with artists including Marracash, Guè, Salmo and Fabri Fibra connected him with several generations of Italian rap. Yet his own identity remains firmly grounded in personal experience and provincial life. His distinctive contribution is the ability to turn those experiences into songs that feel intimate while speaking to a much wider sense of frustration, uncertainty and the desire for a better life.
Albums
Released on 12 April 2019, Scialla semper is Massimo Pericolo’s debut album: a compact, eight-track introduction that combines explosive anger with intimate accounts of friendship, love and provincial life. Its title comes from the police operation that led to his arrest in 2014, connecting the record directly to experiences that shaped his writing.
Crookers and Nic Sarno provide much of the production, creating a restless musical backdrop that gives his distinctive delivery space to stand out. The confrontational energy of “7 miliardi” made an immediate impact, but the album quickly reveals a broader emotional range. “Sabbie d’oro”, featuring Generic Animal, introduces a more vulnerable atmosphere, while “Amici” places friendship and personal bonds at the centre of the story.
Throughout the record, Massimo Pericolo moves between resentment, affection, dark humour and self-examination. His lyrics draw their force from concrete situations and recognisable feelings: having little money, feeling trapped, distrusting authority and wanting a different future without losing the people closest to him. The provincial setting gives these stories a clear identity, far from the glamour often associated with commercial rap.
Brief but sharply focused, Scialla semper established the qualities that would define his career: direct language, emotional intensity and an ability to make personal experiences resonate beyond their immediate setting. Its quieter passages are as important as its outbursts, revealing the sensitivity behind the anger.
Released on 26 March 2021, Solo tutto is Massimo Pericolo’s second studio album. It explores the contradictions of a life transformed by success: financial security and recognition bring new possibilities, but do not automatically resolve loneliness, distrust or the weight of earlier experiences. The writing becomes more inward-looking, examining what changes when survival is no longer the only concern.
Crookers gives the record a cohesive musical identity, building around Massimo Pericolo’s voice with sparse rhythms, unsettling textures and more melodic passages. His delivery remains forceful, but the songs allow greater space for reflection. The result is an expanded sound that preserves the intimacy and rough edges of his debut.
“Bugie” captures the album’s questioning mood, confronting hypocrisy and the distance between appearances and reality. Elsewhere, memories of Brebbia and difficult personal relationships keep the writing grounded in specific places and experiences. His observations often turn back on himself, exposing uncertainty and emotional contradictions rather than offering easy answers.
Guest appearances from Salmo, Madame, Venerus and J Lord introduce contrasting voices without interrupting the personal narrative. Across the album, aggression shares space with melancholy, and sharp humour sits beside uncomfortable admissions. Massimo Pericolo’s ability to move between these registers gives the record much of its character.
Solo tutto debuted at number one in Italy, confirming the audience he had built with Scialla semper. Artistically, it marks a significant development: a fuller exploration of identity, belonging and the uneasy relationship between outward achievement and private happiness.
Released on 1 December 2023, Le cose cambiano is Massimo Pericolo’s third studio album. Across sixteen tracks, he returns to the province that shaped him, looking at its friendships, limited opportunities and complicated loyalties from a changed position. His own transformation gives the record its central tension: how to move forward while remaining connected to people whose circumstances may have stayed the same.
The production brings together a broader team, including Shune, Crookers, Dardust, NKO and 2nd Roof. Dark, forceful beats sit alongside more spacious and melodic arrangements, allowing the songs to shift between confrontation and reflection. This variety gives the album a wider musical scope while keeping his distinctive voice and storytelling at its centre.
“Moneylove”, featuring Emis Killa, examines the relationship between money, desire and personal values, while “Straniero”, with Tedua, explores feelings of distance and belonging. Other guests include Guè on “Di persona” and Baby Gang on “Senza di me”. The collaborations introduce different perspectives into a record firmly rooted in Massimo Pericolo’s world.
The title track offers a more hopeful direction, suggesting that difficult beginnings need not determine an entire life. That possibility runs through an album still full of uncomfortable memories and unresolved relationships. His writing acknowledges progress without turning the past into a neat success story, preserving the affection, frustration and responsibility he feels towards his surroundings.
Le cose cambiano debuted at number one in Italy, while “Moneylove” also reached the top of the singles chart. The Deluxe edition followed in November 2024, expanding the original project with additional material. Together, these releases develop his portrait of provincial life while giving greater space to the possibility of change.
Massimo Pericolo
Artist: Massimo Pericolo
Real Name: Alessandro Vanetti
Born: 30 November 1992, Gallarate, Varese
Roots: Brebbia, Varese
Active since: 2016
Style: Raw, autobiographical rap and trap
Debut album: Scialla semper (2019) ↗
Biography
Massimo Pericolo has built his place in Italian rap through blunt honesty, vivid storytelling and a voice that carries both anger and vulnerability. Born Alessandro Vanetti in Gallarate in 1992, he became closely associated with Brebbia, in the province of Varese. The small towns, friendships and frustrations of provincial life form the backdrop to much of his music, giving his songs a perspective rooted in places often overlooked by mainstream culture.
He began experimenting with rap before finding a wider audience, recording under earlier aliases and gradually developing his writing. His arrest in 2014, followed by time in prison and under house arrest, became a turning point in his life. Writing offered a way to process those experiences, alongside difficult relationships, isolation and uncertainty about the future. These subjects would become central to his identity as Massimo Pericolo.
His breakthrough came in 2019 with “7 miliardi”, a fierce introduction that brought him widespread attention. Working with producers Crookers and Nic Sarno, he developed a sound that matched the urgency of his lyrics while leaving room for more reflective material. Behind the confrontational delivery was a writer capable of expressing affection, disappointment and insecurity with striking directness.
That emotional range is one of his defining qualities. His songs move between explosive frustration and quieter observations about friendship, love, money and belonging. Humour and abrasive language sit alongside moments of tenderness and self-examination. Rather than presenting success as a straightforward escape, he explores the discomfort of changing circumstances while remaining attached to the people and places that shaped him.
As his career developed, collaborations with artists including Marracash, Guè, Salmo and Fabri Fibra connected him with several generations of Italian rap. Yet his own identity remains firmly grounded in personal experience and provincial life. His distinctive contribution is the ability to turn those experiences into songs that feel intimate while speaking to a much wider sense of frustration, uncertainty and the desire for a better life.
Albums
Released on 12 April 2019, Scialla semper is Massimo Pericolo’s debut album: a compact, eight-track introduction that combines explosive anger with intimate accounts of friendship, love and provincial life. Its title comes from the police operation that led to his arrest in 2014, connecting the record directly to experiences that shaped his writing.
Crookers and Nic Sarno provide much of the production, creating a restless musical backdrop that gives his distinctive delivery space to stand out. The confrontational energy of “7 miliardi” made an immediate impact, but the album quickly reveals a broader emotional range. “Sabbie d’oro”, featuring Generic Animal, introduces a more vulnerable atmosphere, while “Amici” places friendship and personal bonds at the centre of the story.
Throughout the record, Massimo Pericolo moves between resentment, affection, dark humour and self-examination. His lyrics draw their force from concrete situations and recognisable feelings: having little money, feeling trapped, distrusting authority and wanting a different future without losing the people closest to him. The provincial setting gives these stories a clear identity, far from the glamour often associated with commercial rap.
Brief but sharply focused, Scialla semper established the qualities that would define his career: direct language, emotional intensity and an ability to make personal experiences resonate beyond their immediate setting. Its quieter passages are as important as its outbursts, revealing the sensitivity behind the anger.
Released on 26 March 2021, Solo tutto is Massimo Pericolo’s second studio album. It explores the contradictions of a life transformed by success: financial security and recognition bring new possibilities, but do not automatically resolve loneliness, distrust or the weight of earlier experiences. The writing becomes more inward-looking, examining what changes when survival is no longer the only concern.
Crookers gives the record a cohesive musical identity, building around Massimo Pericolo’s voice with sparse rhythms, unsettling textures and more melodic passages. His delivery remains forceful, but the songs allow greater space for reflection. The result is an expanded sound that preserves the intimacy and rough edges of his debut.
“Bugie” captures the album’s questioning mood, confronting hypocrisy and the distance between appearances and reality. Elsewhere, memories of Brebbia and difficult personal relationships keep the writing grounded in specific places and experiences. His observations often turn back on himself, exposing uncertainty and emotional contradictions rather than offering easy answers.
Guest appearances from Salmo, Madame, Venerus and J Lord introduce contrasting voices without interrupting the personal narrative. Across the album, aggression shares space with melancholy, and sharp humour sits beside uncomfortable admissions. Massimo Pericolo’s ability to move between these registers gives the record much of its character.
Solo tutto debuted at number one in Italy, confirming the audience he had built with Scialla semper. Artistically, it marks a significant development: a fuller exploration of identity, belonging and the uneasy relationship between outward achievement and private happiness.
Released on 1 December 2023, Le cose cambiano is Massimo Pericolo’s third studio album. Across sixteen tracks, he returns to the province that shaped him, looking at its friendships, limited opportunities and complicated loyalties from a changed position. His own transformation gives the record its central tension: how to move forward while remaining connected to people whose circumstances may have stayed the same.
The production brings together a broader team, including Shune, Crookers, Dardust, NKO and 2nd Roof. Dark, forceful beats sit alongside more spacious and melodic arrangements, allowing the songs to shift between confrontation and reflection. This variety gives the album a wider musical scope while keeping his distinctive voice and storytelling at its centre.
“Moneylove”, featuring Emis Killa, examines the relationship between money, desire and personal values, while “Straniero”, with Tedua, explores feelings of distance and belonging. Other guests include Guè on “Di persona” and Baby Gang on “Senza di me”. The collaborations introduce different perspectives into a record firmly rooted in Massimo Pericolo’s world.
The title track offers a more hopeful direction, suggesting that difficult beginnings need not determine an entire life. That possibility runs through an album still full of uncomfortable memories and unresolved relationships. His writing acknowledges progress without turning the past into a neat success story, preserving the affection, frustration and responsibility he feels towards his surroundings.
Le cose cambiano debuted at number one in Italy, while “Moneylove” also reached the top of the singles chart. The Deluxe edition followed in November 2024, expanding the original project with additional material. Together, these releases develop his portrait of provincial life while giving greater space to the possibility of change.