Sottotono

Emerging in 1994, the Italian rap duo Sottotono, also known as Undertone, made their entry via the hip-hop compilation Nati Per Rapppare (Born for Rap). There the relaxed rhymes of MCs Fish and Tormento quickly found favor with Italy’s expanding hip-hop listenership. Their first album, Sopratutto Sotto, surfaced the same year, while Sotto Efetto Stono arrived in 1996. By then the pair’s fusion of Warren G-style West Coast delivery and soul-inflected grooves recalling Bone Thugs-n-Harmony had solidified as their hallmark sound. They altered course slightly on 1998’s Sotto Lo Stesso Effetto by incorporating the hard-edged drum’n’bass then in vogue, and Tormento simultaneously began displaying an unsuspected gift for singing. The duo stayed visible in the Italian hip-hop circuit, linking up with kindred MCs such as Leftside and Lyricalz. In February 2003 they issued Vendesi, a retrospective that added one new cut, “(Sei Tu) Che Mi Dai.”