Giovanni Pellino (born 7 October 1967), best known as Neffa, is an Italian singer-songwriter, rapper, composer, producer and musician.
Life and career
Born in
Scafati, at young age Pellino moved to
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
with his family. In the late 1980s he adopted the stage name Jeff Pellino and was a drummer in several rock and punk bands, notably
Negazione.
In 1991, he joined the hip hop ensemble Isola Posse All Stars and adopted the stage name "Neffa" in honour of Paraguayan footballer
Gustavo Neffa, at the time playing with
U.S. Cremonese
Unione Sportiva Cremonese, commonly referred to as Cremonese, is an Italian football club based in Cremona, Lombardy, which plays in the .
History
Cremonese was in the Serie A in its first season, 1929–30, but entered a long period of decli ...
.
After the album ''SXM'' with the rap group
Sangue Misto, in 1996 Neffa started his solo career, with the successful album ''I messaggeri della dopa'' which was led by the single "Aspettando il sole".
In the following albums he spanned various styles including funky, pop, soul, jazz and R&B, getting his major success in 2001 with the summer hit "La mia signorina" and the relevant album ''Arrivi e partenze''.
The same year he was nominated as best Italian act at the
MTV Europe Music Awards. In 2004 he entered the main competition at the
54th edition of the
Sanremo Music Festival
The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annual ...
, placing ninth with the song "Le ore piccole".
In 2007 Neffa composed the musical score of
Ferzan Özpetek
Ferzan Özpetek (born 3 February 1959) is a Turkish-Italian film director and screenwriter, residing in Italy.
Biography
Ferzan Özpetek was born in Istanbul in 1959. In 1976, he decided to move to Italy to study Cinema History at Sapienza Unive ...
's ''
Saturn in Opposition
''Saturn in Opposition'' ( it, Saturno contro) is a 2007 Italian-Turkish drama film directed by Ferzan Özpetek. The Turkish title is ''Bir ömür yetmez''. It had its United States premiere at Frameline in San Francisco on 20 June 2008.
Plot
A ...
'', for which he won a
Globo d'oro
The Globo d'oro (internationally known as Italian Golden Globe) is an Italian annual film award. It was established in 1960 and it has as jury the Rome Foreign Press Association.
The first awards ceremony took place in 1960 and was won by the film ...
for best score and a
Nastro d'Argento
The Nastro d'Argento, also known by its translated name Silver Ribbon, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani ...
and a
Ciak d'oro
''Ciak'' is a popular Italian film magazine published in Milan, Italy. It is the most popular film magazine in Italy. The title is the Italian word (also spelled ''ciac'', for a film clapperboard.
History and profile
''Ciak'' was established in 1 ...
for best original song ("Passione"). In 2010 he started the musical project Due di Picche with the rapper
J-Ax. In 2016 he returned to compete at the
66th edition of the Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Sogni e nostalgia".
Discography
* 1996 – ''Neffa & i messaggeri della dopa''
* 1998 – ''107 elementi''
* 2001 – ''Arrivi e partenze''
* 2003 – ''I molteplici mondi di Giovanni, il cantante Neffa''
* 2006 – ''Alla fine della notte''
* 2009 – ''Sognando contromano''
* 2013 – ''Molto calmo''
* 2015 – ''Resistenza''
* 2021 – ''AmarAmmore''
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neffa
1967 births
Living people
People from Scafati
Italian singer-songwriters
Italian male composers
Italian songwriters
Male songwriters
Italian drummers
Male drummers
Nastro d'Argento winners
Soul musicians
Italian rappers
Folk-pop singers
Funk musicians