Full Details

Monday, October 26

Vivo per Questo--Home Edition: A performance and discussion on anti-racist activism with Italian rapper Amir Issaa
Time:
10:00 am
Presenter:
Amir Issaa
Location:
Zoom
Sponsored by:
European Studies Center and European Union Center of Excellence along with Department of French & Italian

Amir Issaa is an Italian rapper, hip-hop artist, producer,
writer, and social activist who has worked in the Italian
music industry since the late 1990s. Born and raised in
the diverse working-class neighborhood of
Torpignattara in Rome, he is the son of an Egyptian
father and an Italian mother. Issaa was one of the
founders of the Rome Zoo, a collective of rappers and
musicians that helped to define the rap scene in Italy
and launched the careers of many artists. He has won
several awards for his music, in particular for his work
on the 2012 film, Scialla!, which garnered him the David
di Donatello for best song and best soundtrack.
Issaa's work as an activist began as a reaction to his
own family's struggles; his father, an Egyptian
immigrant, was incarcerated for most of Issaa's
childhood. In 2017, Issaa published an autobiographical
novel, Vivo per questo (This is What I Live For), in which
he reflects on his formative years growing up in
Torpignattara and the prejudice and racism that he
faced. Issaa has long been an activist for immigrants'
rights, particularly those of the children of immigrants
living in Italy. More recently, Issaa has been involved in
the Italian Black Lives Matter movement and published
the song "Non respiro" ("I Can't Breathe") in response to
the murder of George Floyd. ​Register Here: https://pitt.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GJDIU1dFTLGApPc0uiu_RQ