Cor veleno

Cor Veleno emerged as one of Rome’s defining hip-hop acts when MCs Primo Brown and Grandi Numeri linked up with producer and beatmaker DJ Squarta. The trio first surfaced on the city’s vibrant rap circuit in 1993 through the Zulu Party ’93 initiative, then spent the next twelve months performing live alongside Ice One, Frankie Hi-NRG MC, and Sangue Misto. Subsequent years brought further team-ups and shared projects with Ice One and Piotta. In 1997 Primo and Grandi appeared on the widely circulated compilation La Banda der Trucido, contributing the track “21 Tyson,” a recording that quickly attained landmark status in Italian hip-hop. The single received extensive radio play and found its way onto numerous other key anthologies. Their follow-up release, “Incompatibile,” recorded for Piotta’s Comunque Vada Sara un Successo, achieved comparable reach and visibility. Steady momentum from these singles led to opportunities on bigger stages, including an invitation to join the Supercafone Summer Tour, where the group supported De La Soul, Wu-Tang Clan, and additional acts. Their first album, Sotto Assedio, arrived in 2000 and featured the breakout single “Dove Pui Respirare,” which entered heavy rotation on national television and radio outlets. Continued placements on prominent compilations sustained listener interest while the band prepared its sophomore effort, Rock n Roll, issued in 2002. Two years afterward came the third album, Heavy Metal (2004), highlighted by “Potente in Culo” and “Le Guardie, i Pomieri e l’Ambulanza,” both of which ranked among that year’s most enduring street anthems. Nuovo Nuovo, released in 2007, met with immediate acclaim as the trio operated at peak creative capacity and the Italian hip-hop scene reached unprecedented commercial heights.