Picciotto

Christian Paterniti aka “Picciotto“, born in Palermo in 1983. For the past 12 years, he has been the frontman of the group Gente Strana Posse. With nearly 300 concerts under his belt, he has collaborated with various groups such as 99 Posse, Assalti Frontali, Zion Train, the Argentine Actitud Maria Marta, and the French rapper Keny Arkana, with whom he shared the stage during her Italian tour. His rap is a strong social critique, born and developed in occupied social centers, expanding and refining over the years on various stages across the peninsula. It is a natural consequence of his social commitment. For over a decade, he has been involved in “creative writing” workshops centered around rap and projects to counter school dropout, working in schools and various neighborhoods in Palermo. He strives to raise awareness among minors, former inmates, and young dropouts about writing and music as powerful means of redemption and emancipation.

In January 2015, “Piazza Connection” was released, his first album as “Picciotto.” He increasingly experiments with the art of storytelling, convincing himself to write a sort of “audio-video concept” in rap, where the characters in each song are connected by the subtle line between degradation and redemption because it is within that boundary that “Picciotto” is born, grows, and works.

In December 2017, Picciotto became the first person from Palermo to win the national award “Musica Contro Le Mafie,” ranking first among 400 participants with the song “Amarcord 2.0.” He concluded 2018 with the “Pigna d’Argento,” awarded to him by the Regional Sicilian Academy for his civil, social, and cultural commitment.