Tredici Pietro: “I bring the theme of fallibility to Sanremo”

“The weight of my name is an anvil. I write when I’m useless, that I’m useless. But not nowIn the bars of “Respirare”, taken from his latest album “Don’t look down”, released last year, there is a lot, but not everything. It was necessary to add a piece and close a circle. Tredici Pietro arrives on stage at the Sanremo Festival with a song, “Uomo che cade”which puts the error at the center, exorcising itand at the same time opens the window onto a rebirth. The theme of recognizing one’s boundaries, one’s cracks, also passes throughacceptance of who one is: for this reason the rapper, who takes this name to build his own path away from his father figure, Gianni Morandi, in fact the number “13” represents the group of friends of his adolescence in Bologna, on the covers evening he will sing “Vita” by Morandi and Dalla, from 1988.

He has made peace with his roots. And everything is coherent and connected by a clearly visible red thread. “I’m competing in Sanremo with a song written together with Antonio Di Martino. It was born in two sessions, mainly between May and October 2025, therefore after the release of the album, but it is extremely linked: I still had some things to say and in fact the piece will be part of the deluxe edition of the project (out February 27, ed.) – says Tredici Pietro – in Sanremo there are elements that raise the level, there is the orchestra, a certain type of performance is necessary. So the song was then worked on, also taking into account the arrangement, how it could be presented on that stage.”

The theme arrives immediately, without filters: “‘Falling Man’ claims to talk about fragility, in a super performative world in which we constantly find ourselves confronting. Even the New York Stock Exchange has two days off, if you think about it. We are imperfect human beings: we must work and make mistakesbecause we have to grow, improve ourselves – he continues – the piece talks precisely about the fact that we look up and think we are observing something above us. Yet, if we look carefully, that man up there is falling, in reality he is falling. It’s an easy example to do with athletes: those we take as models have often lost more finals than they have won, they have missed more shots than they have scored“. He takes a moment to breathe and continues his reasoning: “Falling, making mistakes, feeling like a failure, I use this word, is inevitable if you follow a path. If it is not pursued, however, there is non-action, passivity. It’s the rigidity of immobility that doesn’t make you make mistakes. But if you try to do something, sooner or later you will fall”.

There is also a generational element in the song: “I think we have all found ourselves in this situation. When I wrote the song I wanted to capture an aspect that concerns all of us, especially young people: we find ourselves comparing ourselves with perfect bodies, infinite smiles, seemingly impeccable lives that we continually see on social media. We compare ourselves. And we always end up feeling outmatched. But overcome by what? From an image. From something that is not ours. We know ourselves, we know our shadows. Of the others we only see gold, or what looks like gold. And therefore the comparison is distorted. The way I see it, in acting, in making mistakes, there is nothing negative. Indeed: there is correction, there is evolution”.

On Friday evening, Tredici Pietro will perform the song “Vita” by Lucio Dalla and Gianni Morandi, accompanied by Galeffi, Fudasca & band. A meeting between friends and artists with whom the rapper shared stage and studio sessions, all linked by a piece that talks about falls and rises. “I chose another stage name on purpose and for years I made my music, almost secretly. I rapped, I did well in school, girls liked me, everything was normal. When the news came out whose son I was, everything changed – he remembers – I never wanted to highlight this thing at all costs, but this time I wanted to be able to do it in the right way. I wanted to pay homage to my father’s greatness in the most suitable place. Being recognized by great artists like Fabri Fibra, with whom I collaborated, took away all my doubts and reconciled me with my family: what I have done up until today is my path. The issue of the ‘son of’ is not my thing to manage, it’s the world’s stuff, everyone can handle it as they want. I’m proud of what I did and of my father.”