Born Federico Leonardo Lucia in Milan, socially minded Italian rapper Fedez first made a splash in 2011, when he released the download-only sets Penisola Che Non C'è and Il Mio Primo Disco da Venduto. Signed to the Sony label, his first official album, Sig. Brainwash: L'arte di Accontentare, was issued in March 2013. It topped Italy's FIMI chart and was eventually awarded three-times platinum status. Re-releases of his first two sets caused them both to hit the Top Ten in June of 2013. Fedez served as a judge on the Italian version of X Factor.

His second album for Sony, Pop-Hoolista, followed in October 2014. It also topped the Italian charts, spending the rest of 2014 and nearly half of 2015 charting on its way to a double-platinum certification. In 2017, he scored another number one album in Comunisti col Rolex, a collaboration with fellow Milanese rapper J-Ax. Its pop-rap-EDM sound saw both performers singing and rapping, and the singles "Vorrei Ma Non Posto" and "Assenzio" both topped the chart. ~ Andy Kellman

An Italian rapper and singer with a fluid sound and a striking style, Achille Lauro (born Lauro de Marinis) went from underground rap phenom to hip-hop superstar after unveiling the track "Rolls Royce" at the 2019 Sanremo Music Festival. Emerging in 2012, Lauro issued a pair of mixtapes before releasing his full-length debut, Achille Idol immortale, in 2014. Citing influences that include Vasco Rossi, Kurt Cobain, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Travis Scott, Young Thug, Lucio Battisti, and Rino Gaetano, Lauro's fusion of eccentric alternative rap and fashion made him an underground sensation and ensured him a small but rabid fan base. After diving headfirst into the mainstream with 2019's "Rolls Royce," he doubled down on that success the following year with another Sanremo appearance and the hit single "Me Ne Frego." In 2021 he issued the genre-spanning LP Lauro, which incorporated elements of pop, punk, grunge, glam rock, and electronic music into his already eclectic oeuvre. ~ James Christopher Monger