Nerissima Serpe: “Vasco made me understand the weight of words”

Sincere Serpe. The third album by Matteo Di Falco, born in 2000, born in Milan and raised in Siziano, aka Nerissima Serpe, is not what many expected. This is why “Nerissima” is interesting. After a long series of bangers, made with Papa V, the rapper presents a more mature and introspective album, after “Denti da latte” in 2020 and “Identità” in 2023. There is no shortage of hallucinatory pieces, a trademark, but the real heart of this third chapter is something else. It is a swim in a dark sea in which there is also a personal version of “Ridere di te” by Vasco Rossi, as well as collaborations with Madame, Kid Yugi, Artie 5ive, Papa V, Latrelle and Promessa. The acid story and the bruised flow remain, but they are at the service, like Fritu’s productions, of a more hidden part of himself, which is revealed.

This is a more intimate, more thoughtful album. Where do you start from in building a record that tells another part of yourself?
The album was born unconsciously, in the last year and a half. To make it happen I actually did as many auditions, if not double, almost. The deepest and most introspective pieces are those that were mostly released in this period of time, which is why the project is more oriented towards that direction. I come from a series of successes, with my partner Papa, purely rap, raw and playful. I needed to resume the discussion from “Identity”. After so many bangers, I think it might be okay to go elsewhere.

But there is also another theme: in rap, opening up is never easy. Shiva recently did it in “Gospel”, you do it here. Is the public able to follow these evolutions or does it prefer the imagery of a superhero and indestructible rapper?
There is certainly still a sort of taboo. Opening up and showing yourself as fragile is much more difficult. And I won’t hide from you that I asked myself questions while I was working on the record and seeing the direction it was taking. So there’s a part of me that’s extremely excited to see how a record like this will be received over time. I want to see the feedback precisely because it’s a different record.

The other side?
He felt it was so necessary that he didn’t worry. There are questions, as I explained, but up to a certain point. You shouldn’t be influenced.

“This love is A Clockwork Orange” you rap in “Tu mi fai”. In the album there is a different story of the relationship with women than usual, more painful, less ironic, less sexual and brazen. What happened?
I want to say one thing: I have always written like this and I have always talked about women in this way too. Then, of course, my writing is mainly rap, but I have never given up on describing women in a certain light. If I think about some of my relationships, my mother, my sister and my cousins… it’s not the first time I’ve exposed myself.

But let’s face it: you are known for the boldest stories.
I came out of a four-year, important relationship. I lived together. It wasn’t something light, but profound. It didn’t end in the best way. And all this probably made it onto the record… I feel like saying this.

You press “play” to listen to “Famiglia” with Pope V, but it’s not a banger that starts, but rather a frank dialogue between friends.
I had a draft, done about a year ago, in which I talked about family. I fixed everything and changed the verse because I wanted to create something that would warm the hearts of the fans, I wanted to tell us from another perspective. A piece was born that talks about us, our relationship and our “extended family”.

You didn’t just cover Vasco’s “Ridere di te”, but you added bars. If we’re here talking about it, it’s because he gave you his approval. What did he tell you?
I know he liked it, that he approved of it and frankly I didn’t even expect it. I was also extremely pleased that he re-shared me on social media. Vasco has practically never collaborated with anyone in the rap world, except with Marracash. The piece was born spontaneously, almost as a game with Fritu and Dibla in the studio. I added bars to “Ridere di te” because I felt I could add something of my own, I don’t dare say “improving” because that would be crazy, the piece is wonderful as it is, but I wanted some personal passages. If Vasco had told me “good, but also not” I would have understood it. And instead…

What does Vasco represent for you?
He is the first artist I listened to when I was little, with my parents. My first concert as a spectator, at nine years old, at San Siro was his. I remember when I listened to “Ridere di te” for the first time, I was in a growth phase in which I was giving more and more weight to the words. “Laughing at you” for me is a dedication and I love that kind of dedications, with an open heart, without masks.

You added bars like “my fear is always boredom.” What did you want to tell more?
I brought my style, I put some rap in there. I took up the theme of the piece, I talked about a state of mind in relation to the relationship with a girl.

In “Communication” with Madame one of the central sentences is “people are alone because there is a lack of communication”.
It was my manager who advised me to pick up this song again, born in 2021. It was already very mature then. We re-recorded it and I asked Madame to collaborate not only because she is very strong, but because she is a great communicator. He has never been afraid to show himself, to tell his story. The piece focuses on that frank, unfettered way of communicating.

In “Chi lo sa” you talk about death, chains, freedom.
That piece is a punch in the stomach for me. When I wrote it I immediately thought: it could serve as an outro to a record. It’s a stream of consciousness. I face giant, existential questions to which there is no real answer. And perhaps this is precisely the magic.

Is “Immortal Music” an ambition as well as a song?
We live in a very fast society where nothing seems to remain, everything flows. Capitalism and materialism drive everything. Well, at least in art it would be important to break out of these patterns, leaving traces.

But isn’t that too pretentious?
But wait, it depends on what value we give to all this. I make music to express myself and to make people feel part of something. And I do it by trying to make an impact over time. Obviously I don’t know if all this will remain, but working to try to make this happen, why would it be wrong? The song also says this: it is a piece of hope amidst the ups and downs of life.

In “Time” you say “the biggest things need time”.
And I really think so. We are all dazzled by numbers. I am too. But it’s the process that matters. Evolution, over time. With these three solo albums of mine I think I have created a picture, I have made a point. It is not a point of arrival, but of departure. I still have a lot to prove.