I got a headache. If the aim of Glocky with Free$tyle was to create a physically repelling experience, then the target was hit.
An hour of sound saturation, a continuous accumulation of frequencies, reverberations and distortions that tests the listener's endurance.
I listened to it until the end, despite the temptation to turn everything off after a few minutes. Not out of masochism, but out of curiosity. Because I believe that a critic should at least try to cross even what is apparently most distant from him, without taking refuge in the comfortable prejudices of those who dismiss an entire scene with disdain.
I therefore tried to enter the world of Davide Antonio Granelli, aka Glocky. Born in 2004, not exactly the latest arrival, with a past in the Square Kidz collective and a solo path that has already brought him to the center of the new Italian trap.
A universe built on hypertrophic bass, videogame textures, beats compressed to the point of saturation and a filtered, deformed voice, often swallowed up by the production. A precise aesthetic choice, of course, but which ends up transforming each element into an indistinct mass where the sound prevails over the song and the impact on the narrative.
The problem emerges even more clearly in the lyrics. The repertoire is the now consolidated one of a certain contemporary trap: drugs, dealing, sex, money, ostentation, domination, irreverence, verbal violence. It is not the representation of discomfort, nor the distorted photograph of an emotional periphery. It is rather a continuous exasperation, an imagery taken to excess without a real narrative tension or a real point of introspection that seeks a saving glimmer of dystopian situations.
In the press release Free$tyle it is presented as «the most mature and personal project of his career», a work capable of overcoming the boundaries of contemporary trap through experimentation and artistic vision. I struggle to recognize this evolution. Maybe I should read the lyrics carefully since I don't understand what he's slurring, maybe it's a generational limit, maybe I'm simply out of the aesthetic trajectory of this new scene. But the sensation is that of being faced with a language that confuses extremism with research and volume with urgency.
Some important names on the scene also arrive to support Glocky: the “old-young” Guè, Tony Effe and DrefGold, together with the French Jeune Morty. Collaborations that broaden the scope of the project and certify the dialogue between Italy and the international scene.
Free$tyle it is a manifesto of permanent excess, an hour of doubled energy flow in which everything is pushed beyond the limit until it loses definition.
If this is the future of music, perhaps I willingly remain anchored to the present.
But I'm old…
TRACK BY TRACK
The album opens with Yes or Noa song that immediately introduces one of the central dualities of the project. Through a simple but direct question, GLOCKY puts the listener in front of a clear choice, anticipating the contrast between two opposing dimensions that runs throughout the album.
Work it is the first collaboration of the project and sees the participation of Guè. A song with an immediate impact, which could be defined as a real banger, but which maintains full coherence with the sonic vision of the album, fusing attitude, experimentation and the artistic identity of GLOCKY.
With Casino a more intimate and sentimental component emerges for the first time. The artist addresses his interlocutor directly, creating a personal atmosphere in which the emotional dimension takes the center of the narrative.
Mix & Match the project's sound research path continues. GLOCKY reflects on his own condition and experiences with an irreverent and self-confident approach, alternating awareness and provocation.
Pick U Up represents one of the most melodic moments of the album: a sentimental song characterized by an immediate refrain and the ability to tell a closer and more personal side of the artist.
Kiss-N-Tell hosts the international collaboration with Jeune Morty, one of the most interesting names on the new French scene. The song becomes a meeting point between two musical realities, uniting their respective identities on an innovative and contemporary sound.
Like No continues the more introspective path of the album, carrying forward the melodic side of the project and showing a more sincere and vulnerable dimension of GLOCKY.
Shirt Off fits within the sound universe of FREE$TYLE while maintaining the artist's strong attitude and the search for new expressive solutions that runs through the entire project.
Cardi B it is the second Italian collaboration on the album and features Tony Effe. The song highlights the chemistry between the two artists, through a meeting between two strong personalities who compare themselves on a new sound for both.
Acting Weird represents a parenthesis with a particular character within the album: as the title suggests, GLOCKY shows an unpredictable and unconventional side, experimenting with a different approach compared to the other tracks of the project.
There My Bestie it tells the most sentimental side of the artist through a rhythmic production and a melody destined to remain imprinted, demonstrating how immediacy and emotion can coexist even within a complex sound.
Majestic it is an exercise in style that embodies GLOCKY's full artistic awareness and his relationship with music. A song that represents the artist's creative freedom and the desire to express himself without filters.
GLOCKY it is a symbolic track of the project, built on the rage sounds that represent one of the main evolutions of its path. The title itself becomes a declaration of identity, underlining the role that the artist claims in the new scene and in the way of interpreting this language.
Fruittella highlights GLOCKY's vocal research, with a chorus that highlights the melodic strength and potential of the song right from the first listen.
Narco$ it is a banger with an experimental character, in which a melodic refrain and a more playful atmosphere coexist, confirming the artist's ability to move between different registers without losing recognizability.
Try again represents another highly personal moment on the album. Through an innovative sound, GLOCKY directly addresses the protagonist of the song, giving space to the emotional component of the project.
Being us >3 it tells of a more sensitive and reflective dimension of the artist, in which GLOCKY talks about his own lifestyle and the meaning of belonging to a world built through shared experiences, bonds and identities.
See U Later it is the last collaboration on the album and features DrefGold. A meeting awaited by the public, born after months of previews and spoilers, which confirms the artistic and personal affinity between the two artists.
Do Something shows another facet of GLOCKY: that of an artist always looking for new stimuli, incapable of stopping and constantly projected towards change. The song also introduces a different vocal approach, characterized by the so-called deep voice.
No discounts it is one of the most fragile moments of the project. GLOCKY puts the sentimental component at the center by recounting personal difficulties and awareness, showing a more vulnerable side of one's journey.
Closing the album is RAP – 3the outro which represents a declaration of love towards rap, a fundamental element of GLOCKY's artistic identity. A song in which the artist retraces his relationship with this culture and reiterates his desire to continue experimenting and pushing the genre in new directions.
SCORE: not evaluable
TO LISTEN NOW
Work – of course – No Discounts
TO BE SKIPPED IMMEDIATELY
All. I don't save anything!
TRACKLIST
Yes or No
Work
Casino
Mix & Match
Pick U Up
Kiss-N-Tell
Like No
Shirt Off
Cardi B
Acting Weird
My Bestie
Majestic
GLOCKY
Fruittella
Narco$
Try again
Being us >3
See U Later
Do Something
No discounts
RAP – 3
