The sequel to Sfera Ebbasta’s debut album is a difficult attempt at a meeting between the present and the past of the Trap King
– The expectations that accompanied X2VR were very high, perhaps impossible to sustain: to propose in 2023 the sequel to an album which, eight years ago, had written one of the first important pages of Italian trap, moreover by an artist who in recent periods has been influenced by genres musicals very distant from his first productions, it was probably too reckless a move. With another title, the comparison wouldn’t even have been risky, so different are the sounds and themes of Famoso and of Sfera Ebbasta’s latest singles, but presenting the new album as an ideal sequel to XDVR inevitably leads to a comparison with the 2015 album, as if it were possible to bypass everything that it happened to Sfera and trap in Italy in the period between the two projects. More than a 2.0 version of XDVR, X2VR seeks a meeting point that is difficult to see, in themes and sound, between the Sfera Ebbasta that emerged from the neighborhoods of Cinisello Balsamo and the global star that graces the most prestigious stages. To help us is a phrase from Rkomi in Figlio Unico, from Irama’s album: “If I think about it, it would be much worse to talk about the neighborhood with millions in home banking“. Let’s be clear, Sfera has not lost the ability to tell certain contexts and insights into his experience, but mixing such pieces with others with a diametrically opposite tone, or even suddenly changing mood within the same track, are experiments that can disorient the listener;
– The album opens with “Fragile”, a contradictory song which stands as an ideal sequel to $€ Freestyle and should tell the artist’s ability to still remain himself, but at the same time it appears a little too self-congratulatory and with a sound closest to the most recent productions than at the beginning. “Ciao Bella”, on the beat of a very inspired Charlie Charleslight years ahead of Drillionaire’s productions (which present the same defects as his album), seems to put things back in order, at least until Anna’s entry, which with impressive ease reminds us of the distance between her and much of the rap scenemaking it seem old-fashioned Sfera’s bars, however overall credible. There are many songs that convey the same feeling of incompleteness in the listener, as if there were an idiosyncrasy or a discordant note that prevents them from being fully appreciated: in “G63” it is Shiva who appears inadequate to the mood of the piece, while “VDLC”, tribute to Vida Loca from Club Dogo as well as a very probable hit, it almost seems like a song broken in two between verses and chorus, yet another fusion of the old and the new Sfera;
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– Imagining a new Sfera album totally devoid of overtly commercial tracks was a complicated exercise even for the most hopeful fans; the share that the rapper from Ciny owes to the radio is represented by ” Anche Stasera “, in collaboration with Elodie, a piece that we will hear for months, not very profound but effective and with a certain impact on the mass audience. “Momenti no”, the next track, which features the presence of I haveis diametrically opposed to the previous one: among the most heartfelt of the album from the writing point of view, it does not manage to scratch the hyperuranium represented by Lingerie, the duo’s absolute masterpiece, but he also turns out to be inferior to Hoepresent in Tedua’s album, as if a certainly committed text had not been accompanied by an equally attentive production. The dark and violent atmospheres of XDVReven without the electronics that characterized them even more, they make their way in “Milano Bene”, a piece perhaps a little monotonous but certainly sharp, difficult to understand at first listen, probable hidden gem of the album. X2VR is a product that must be analyzed track by track, there are so many positive and negative peaks that it presents in its various aspects, and drawing an overall balance is really difficult; also “3uphon”, featuring Thasup (not in the best form) and Tony Effe (with the vibes of the best days), delivers one blow to the rim and one to the barrelmixing quotes from XDVR and Crack Musica with a beat that has very little to do with these two records;
– “Complicato”, with Paky, is the least successful collaboration on the album, little helped by a Drillionaire beat that is not at all distinctive, sounding overall like something already heard. The production of Charlie Charles in “Gol”, with Gue Pequeno, is of a completely different level, certainly an enjoyable track but also an important wasted opportunity: at a hypnotic minimal beat which winks at classical music is accompanied one of the weakest lyrics on the album. Even the references to the world of football, which are not too present in Sfera and Gue’s recent production, appear thrown into the dark; In this sense, the comparison with Cvlt, which makes citationism one of his strong points, is overwhelming and without appeal. “Calculators”, the penultimate piece of the album, takes us towards a crescendo ending. Oilier, Babygang e Simba La Rue they blend perfectly with the tones of the track, their bars are credible and do not overshadow those of Sfera, unlike what happens to Anna. It is not a posse track, if anything the opposite, “Calcolatrici” is a cohesive project that could very well be interpreted by a single artist, but which decides to make use of the different characteristics of the 4 rappers involved;
– We purposely left “15 Floors” alone for the final consideration, because there is such a great distance between the last track of the album and all the others. Without mincing words, the song written by Sfera and Marracash on the poignant beat of Charlie and Drillionaire, is a masterpiece. If you are looking for a sequel to XDVR, not a copy of it but its evolution in a modern key and which can be interpreted by the contemporary Sfera, you will find it in “15 Piani”, a piece that gives you chills at first listen but doesn’t tire you even after the tenth, which knows how to tell the reality of the neighborhoods from the inside but at the same time also from the outside, a sign of the time that has passed. Marracash’s verse, the best among those of the guest artists, is first moving, then more powerful, then reflective, and very reminiscent I belong, the featuring with Massimo Pericolo present in Persona, which in turn quotes T’Appartengo by Ambra Angiolini. Can a song like this alone “save” an overall good album, but far from the fans’ very high expectations? Or on the contrary, “15 Piani” (similarly to $€ Freestyle in Famoso) can even become a source of anger and regret, for what X2VR could have been and wasn’t? Only time will give us an answer.