While classic mainstream Italian pop sang about picture postcard versions of the city – of pizza, pasta, and mandolins – the neomelodici sang about painful love, poverty, divorce and unwanted pregnancies. Others who don't comply with the mafia have been assaulted or even killed for performing without asking permission from the relevant bosses. This is the world of neomelodico, a subgenre of Italian pop music exclusive to the country's southern regions. Not only was he forced to resign after just nine months due to the collapse of his coalition with the neo-fascist Lega Nord, his principle holding company, Fininvest, was under serious investigation for alleged links with the mafia. In a city like Naples where the unemployment rate is 22%, this genre is seen as a real-life miracle, a golden ticket – and it's easy to see the appeal, when all you need to succeed is a decent voice. It will be accompanied by the comedy of Diego Laurenti, called Iutubber, a well-known Neapolitan web-star, good both to create viral video-reactions and funny musical parodies. It's a torrid summer night in Naples's Spanish quarter; a labyrinth of residential streets in the heart of the old city. It is hardly surprising, then, given the violent reputation of these cartels, that many independent artists from the early days are turning their backs on the genre. Telephone numbers flash up on the screen for those who might wish to book them. Since 2008, the scene has expanded significantly, even earning it the nickname "the market immune to the crisis." At this time the music was a sensation in the urban peripheries but was lacking the interconnectedness and economic power of a scene. A mambo inspired backing track blurts through the speakers lead by a synthesised flamenco guitar. In the South though, it's a huge business. Gigi d'Alessio, one of the city's most famous stars, put it recently in an interview "The neomelodici do not exist. Often referred to as the female Crosby, Stills, and Nash, they have also been compared to Wailin' Jenny's and Joseph. By signing up to the VICE newsletter you agree to receive electronic communications from VICE that may sometimes include advertisements or sponsored content. One rising star Ivan Alaimo put it to me, "This style of music is the voice of the southern people; it expresses the true everyday Neapolitan culture, including joy and freedom right up to social problems such as imprisonment, unemployment and crime in general." Later the Guaijra Project, a band at their first performance in pubblic, with a review of the Neapolitan song in South American salsa. On the 9th of June will be the surprise guest night, the most awaited for this edition of the Napoli PIzza Village. Just how big is difficult to establish given that the majority of sales take place on the black market, though estimates have suggested the industry is worth at least €200 million a year. Following, a Neapolitan voice, that of Gigi Finizio will sing his famous songs. In a city where the state services are laughably inefficient, the justification for this shadow infrastructure has never been far away. With awful results. https://www.vice.com/.../the-dark-and-eccentric-world-of-neapolitan-pop There will be a very promising band called 29 & 30, to follow a musical journey with the artist Anna Capasso that will make us relive the myth of the 80s. Together with them there will also be the association #CuoreDiNapoli, it will be their first appearance in public where they will show how you can build a sense of belonging very strong to their territory. These three women met at CU Denver in the songwriting program, and their love of harmony and folk music is what brought their creativity and souls together. As I always hasten to point out, whenever I speak of Neapolitan songs, there is a great misconception about what they are. They're just Italian singers with the good fortune to have been born in Naples." Nello Liberti's track "O capo clan" is a similarly proud apologia for mob rule: "The boss is a serious man, it's not true that he is evil / If he has committed wrongs it was for necessity and according to God's will". Much like Donald Trump did with his "Make America Great Again" appeal to the Midwest in 2016, so Berlusconi transformed himself into a champion of localism against the centralising agenda of the centre-left state. Scopri cosa fare a Napoli, dove dormire e i migliori posti dove mangiare.Visit Naples vi aiuterà a pianificare il vostro viaggio a Napoli dandovi informazioni utili e consigli su come visitare Napoli nel miglior modo possibile. Finally a lot of laughter with the satire of Lercio, ready to analyze the current Italian society inventing goliardic news. Info, luggage storage, maps, useful numbers... Accedi gratis alle principali attrazioni di Napoli ed ottieni sconti nelle migliori attività. For the Napoli fans there will also be the presence of, A lot of music but also lots of laughter, will be present, At the opening of the fourth evening will be present, To accompany the evening there will be the gag of, On the 5th of June in the evening will sing two very special voices: from the jazz of, In the evening finale, the music returns with, In this evening Le Vibrazioni will perform on stage with their songs, followed by the well-known Neapolitan actress, NEWS: Thanks to the new online booking method, you can already order a menu and skip the line at the ticket offices on the days of the event. "Brava!" "I don't like that world anymore," he told me, "that side of things is really getting in the way of the music. Discounts at the best facilities in Naples. Without doubt this neglects the real experience of the southern Italian suburbs and the distinctive society that this music encapsulates. Now I live in Germany where I perform traditional Italian songs, not in dialect, and people really like it. Finally a lot of laughter with the satire of Lercio, ready to analyze the current Italian society inventing goliardic news. With so many powerful forces seeking to capitalise on this regional pride, it is difficult to see where artistic expression ends and exploitation begins. In the past decade dozens of singers, managers, producers, lyricists and publicists have been arrested for alleged ties to the Camorra. Lisa Castaldi's "Mio Amico Camorrista" is a particularly candid example: "My friend the mobster," she sings, "risks his life and his freedom / But for the people of the streets, there is no other law". And in 2001, against all odds, he returned to power having won the South from his opponents. As the song ends fireworks shoot into the air, leaving behind a cloud of melodramatic smoke. Throughout the 90s numerous clans started businesses as PR agents, managers and record labels. On the 2nd of June: Ultimo, the winner of the Sanremo Festival for the young category will be on stage. While some end up in prison the vast majority are released without charge. "Oh I'd die without you," she sings in a thick dialect, soaked in reverb, "you're my first thought in the morning, along with milk and coffee". Just as Diego Maradona inspired this city's youth in the 80s with the fantasy that football could be an escape from the hell of factory work, so the neomelodici seem to offer an easy route out of the realities of today's precarious poverty. As the money racked up in the Neapolitan music industry, so too did the involvement of the Camorra (aka the Mafia). "Forza Napoli!" Giorgia Todrani, best known as Giorgia (born April 26, 1971) is an Italian female singer, known for her soulful voice, which is aided by a wide vocal range, high belting register and great vocal abilities. Other Neapolitan musicians have attempted to deny the validity of the label altogether. A local Venetian told me of the music, "This is why the rest of the world won't take Italy seriously. For lovers of Neapolitan music, Albanese is commonly considered one of the greatest of all singers of Neapolitan songs, which have a remarkable history all their own. It's not unusual to see photos of singers on restaurant menus: one, two or three to accompany a meal. More recently they have even set up pirate TV channels including 24-hour stations that publicise their artists. Why shouldn't young talented people turn to the Camorra for help when there are no other organisations to support them? Find out how by. I spoke on the phone with Vito, a "fallen neomelodico" who left Naples in the late 2000s in order to escape "the culture of speculation", and all too intimate links to organised crime – "la malavita" as he put it. Following the beautiful voice of the Neapolitan song: Maria Nazionale. Other Neapolitan female voices with the four artists of SesèMamà, before turn off the music with Stani Roggiero and I Bottari de la Cantica Popolare.