Ghali: A True Italian
Ghali in Gucci and personal jewelryPhoto: Adriano Cisani
The Sanremo Festival has ended its 74th edition this Saturday. The Festival, since its beginning, has brought on stage the greatest Italian singers. One of the main rules of the Festival has always been Italian songs by Italian singers. The Festival, in general, is a showcase of Italian music for the world to see. The only exception to this rule is the recent addition of the night of Covers, where the artists competing in the Festival can bring covers of any language, with guests from any part of the world.
Ghali with his mother. Via “Rolling Stone”, 2018.
One of the 30 artists that competed this year was the artist Ghali. He is of Tunisian descent but was born and raised in Milan, Italy. He came to prominence around 2016, establishing himself popularly in 2018 with his hit “Cara Italia”. His genres are mainly rap/trap music, but he later went on to make more hit pop music, which increased his popularity in Italy. Even with this change of sound, he has always remained coherent with what he wanted to say. He has always had a message in his lyrics and talked about himself and his reality. As mentioned before, Ghali was born to Tunisian parents, and in Italy, if your parents are not Italian citizens, you cannot become an Italian citizen until you are 18 years old, even if you were born and raised in Italy. In addition to this, you have to have lived also 10 consecutive years in Italian territory, without leaving. And even then, it is not certain you can become an Italian citizen. There is a lot of bureaucracy, so the waiting time can be extremely long. Many countries do not have these rules, for example, in Germany or in the US. In these countries, if you are born there, you are given the right to citizenship. Ghali was lucky enough to gain his Italian citizenship at 18 years old. Ghali is what is called a second-generation. During the Cover night in Sanremo, Ghali brought a medley, which consisted of his 2022 song “Bayna”, which is half in Italian and half in Arabic, his hit song of 2018 “Cara Italia”, and lastly “L’italiano” by Toto Cutugno, which is considered a real anthem of “italianness”, with lyrics representing all the customs and traditions a “typical” Italian has. The choice and order of songs don’t only represent perfectly his Sanremo path but also his entire career’s narrative. The choice of these three songs together was not done randomly; there was a clear idea behind it. Let’s analyze them.
Bayna
Let’s first take a look at the choice of the song “Bayna” produced by Rat Chopper, his guest for the Cover night at the Festival. Ghali, as we said, comes from Tunisian parents, and the choice of singing Bayna was to bring to the stage of the Sanremo Festival something close to him, which represented his roots. The song starts in Arabic, the language he speaks to his parents, to his family. It could be seen as provocative to the typical nationalist view of Sanremo and of politicians carrying on the narrative of what “being Italian” actually means and is.
Via @ghali, Instagram, 2024.
As mentioned above, there is a long bureaucratic path to becoming an Italian citizen, and in the political realm, it has been discussed to change this procedure, with the insertion of the “ius soli”, that is to say, the principle that the nationality of a person is determined on the basis of their country of birth. The left parties of Italy are more in favor of this, while the right parties are more against it, saying that there is no need for a change. Ghali has always stated that he finds this law unfair, that he has felt he has had to prove he was a good Italian. He said this in an interview with Vanity Fair in 2021, and added that when he was 15, he was arrested for a couple of days and was put in a juvenile prison in Milan. In the interview, he admitted he was scared that he would not be able to get his citizenship for those days spent in the juvenile prison. He thinks that if you are born and you grew up in Italy, you should have the right to be Italian. He added, saying that he knows the Italian language better than Arabic, that he grew up with the culture and tradition of Italy, he grew up with Italians, went to Italian public schools, so he can’t believe that for the first 18 years of his life, he wasn’t considered Italian. The choice of bringing an Arabic song was also to show Italy a Tunisian man singing an Arabic song on the most Italian event ever, with all eyes on him at that moment. Furthermore, the choice of the title “Bayna” is not random. Bayna in Arabic means seeing clearly, as if he now sees clearly. He has also given this name to the ship he gifted to the NGO Mediterranea that rescues lives in the Mediterranean Sea, therefore it has an even deeper meaning the choice of this song. A message. The translated lyrics of the Arabic part of the song are the following:
Sadness may have taken over me, time has passed, you thought your coldness would be eternal. You started to blame me, with the soul of my shadow I flew high though the clouds were gloomy, though I was unlucky, looking into the eyes of people who betrayed, I won't forget. But my intentions were always good, just tell me I didn't know and my eyes didn't see a clear path, but it's clear and obvious, nothing is impossible, but it's clear and obvious, this won't last forever.
With this song, he is also referring to a time he had disappeared a bit from the spotlight, where he admitted he took some time off to find himself, traveling the world, meeting new people, and discovering new places. He took time off to, in fact, see clearly. Later on, he starts the part in Italian, that goes:
Mediterranean
Between you and me the Mediterranean
In these two verses, he shows his two countries, Italy and Tunisia, divided just by the Mediterranean Sea. This also represents how close geographically Northern Africa is to Italy, but also culturally. Nevertheless, people from Northern Africa are treated so poorly in Italy, alienating them when there is just a small slice of sea separating the two. Here he also condemns the treatment of immigrants arriving by sea in the Mediterranean, highlighting how the two lands are so close, yet, people in Italy and Italian politics are against their arrival, not even willing to save these dying people in the sea.
Via @ghali, Instagram, 2024.
The song continues:
The familiar face of a stranger
Orphan as a new atheist
Here instead, he highlights how, in Tunisia, people look like him. Something that growing up, he did not feel he had in Italy. He has furthermore admitted, in the interview with Vanity Fair in 2021, that throughout his childhood, he did not see many foreign kids, or second-generation kids. He has always felt different. However, he admitted to having an immediate connection with the few kids he saw that were of foreign origins because there was a common feeling, a common struggle. That’s why there is also the use of the sentence “the familiar face of a stranger”, because not even knowing them, he knows they have a common struggle, a common reality, of being a second-generation in Italy. In the next verse, he uses the metaphor “orphans as a new atheist”, as to say, everything you thought was true in life, completely changes, and it is suddenly not true. That is what happened to him when he first saw other children like him, second generations, in school. Or also, when he would go visit his family in Tunisia. There he realized that Tunisians aren’t actually as Italians and the Italian media describe them. This made him see more clearly, highlighting the fact of how populations are described by the media is actually not true, people cannot be categorized.
The song then continues:
Imagine the Quran on the radio
They don't speak well of us on the news
Cursed that day at the stadium
These verses revolve around the prejudices towards Arabs. There is this groundless racist fear in Italy, but also in general in Europe, towards Arabs. Arabs and the Arabic language are seen as scary. Here Ghali imagines the Arabic language on the radio. He chooses the Quran and the radio because there is a famous religious radio in Italy dedicated to the Catholic Church and its prayers. Therefore, he says, imagine if there was something like that, but with the Quran, with the Muslim religion. Would people react the same way? Would people remain indifferent as they are in having a 24h radio of the Catholic church? Another interpretation of these verses could be that he imagines a reality where Italy also has a radio for other religions, a multicultural Italy. The artist uses the radio as a metaphor to represent Italy, the Italian population. The choice of religion, and not just the Arabic language, is also to show something peaceful, something personal, spiritual. He could’ve used the sentence “imagine Arabic music on the radio”, but no, he chose the Muslim religion, to show how the religion per se is peaceful. How the moment of prayer is the same for all, an internal spiritual vocation. He continues condemning the Italian media, saying how Arabs are always displayed negatively in the media, and that they therefore fuel the idea of the dangerous aggressive Arab male.
Via @ghali, Instagram, 2024.
Lastly, with the verse “cursed that day at the stadium”, the artist is talking about a specific episode that happened to him personally. In the autumn of 2021, Ghali went to watch an AC Milan football match, and close to him in the stands was also present the politician Matteo Salvini, president of the Lega Party, a right-wing nationalist party against ius soli, against immigration, who has fueled the narrative of the dangers of Arabs and Islam in particular, calling them invaders, with racist and derogatory use of language on social media and in electoral campaigns. That day at the stadium, Ghali took a video of Salvini, insulting him heavily, and was in the end escorted away by the police. All of the supporters in the stadium went against Ghali’s insistence that day, booing and whistling him. The artist uses the word “cursed” to blame himself for what had happened that day because he fell into the trap of showing an “aggressive” side of him, exactly what politicians like Salvini think of Northern Africans, and could use for their propaganda. Ghali regrets falling into this trap.
The song then continues:
Now, upside down, everything is clearer
Second mom
You're my second mom
There's no son who doesn't make mistakes, no
You dream of America I dream of Italy
The new Italy
In these verses, he shows his love towards Italy. In the first verse, Ghali uses the term “upside down” to show how he is seeing things from another perspective. He calls Italy his second mom, personifying the country. He displays his love towards the country, almost as the love you have towards a mother, therefore making him a son of Italy, and just as a son would do, he makes mistakes. This goes back, for example, to the episode at the stadium towards Salvini, or his mistakes done as a teenager, admitting that it is normal to make mistakes in life, it’s human. He purposely binds himself to Italy, as a mother and a son, a bond so strong that cannot be broken in any way, just like him, with everything that this country makes him and people like him feel, he can’t but unconditionally love Italy. He finishes saying “you dream of America I dream of Italy” to say that while other Italians dream of leaving the country, using America as the final destination, “the American Dream”, he instead dreams of Italy. Doing so he shows that Italy can become a land of prospects, a land for everyone, just as the United States was at the beginning of the 20th century for many Italians migrating there to find more and better life opportunities. Ghali here shows how he is deciding that he wants to stay in Italy, that’s how much he loves the country. He then chooses the words “new Italy” to describe how he dreams of a change in the country. Almost as his ideal version of Italy. A utopian Italy. A change where people like him can feel accepted and treated as any other Italian.
Cara Italia
The second song of his medley during the Cover night of the Sanremo Festival was “Cara Italia”, one of his most popular hits, released in 2018. This song was one of his first nationally popular songs, where Italy saw his style of mixing all of his cultural baggage, with his Arabic insights in the sound and in the lyrics. With this song, he shifted to a more pop sound, however, the other night, with the help of the orchestra, he had made it softer and more intimate, glorifying the lyrics. In the song, he talks about his personal story, full of his own emotions, dedicating however his love towards Italy. The lyrics go:
A bit Italian, a bit Tunisian,
She’s from Puerto Rico, if it happens, for Trump it’ll be a mess
What kind of politics is this?
In these initial verses, when he says “for Trump it’ll be a mess”, it’s to highlight the prejudices of politicians and people have towards people of color. He condemns the typical vision of some politicians who say that a mix of cultures and nationalities is bad, who advocate for the importance of keeping the nation “pure”. The song continues:
What’s the difference between left and right?
The ministers change, but it’s always the same
In these two verses, he is condemning the fact of how, with all the different governments in Italy throughout its history, regardless of what party and morals they followed, nothing has changed for people like him, for second generations. Furthermore, he highlights the fact that discrimination and racism have always been present in the country, also regarding the ius soli. The law has never been adopted by any government, even with left-wing ones that have promised to bring it to Italy. The lyrics then continue:
There are some people who are behind, like in the Middle Ages
The newspapers exaggerate, they talk of the foreigner as if he’s an alien
Without a passport, searching for money
I feel lucky
At the end of the day I’m so lucky
Here, the artist condemns the prejudices still present in the country, not willing to accept that a Tunisian boy or man is Italian. Speaks their same language. That’s what he means by Middle Ages. Furthermore, he condemns also the media, and how they portray immigrants, as if they’re not human, not even animals, that’s why the choice of the word “alien” is important. In the line “without a passport, searching for money” instead, he is trying to say how, at the end of the day, where you’re from is not important, everyone is trying to survive in the same way, represented by the sentence “searching for money”. In addition, he sings that he feels lucky, probably looking back at his past, but also looking at his present. He feels lucky compared to other people in his situation and how their present has turned out. He admitted in various interviews how he grew up on the streets, and that he feels lucky on how he was able to get out of them, unlike some of his friends from his old area, a periphery of Milan, where they ended up either in prison or drug dealing. He has said that he always felt different from his childhood friends, he always wanted to go live in the big city, learn about the world. His parents were also very important figures to him. The time he was arrested at 15, he admitted that he promised himself he would never put his mom in that position again. Ghali grew up without a father. His father was arrested when he was just a child. He did not want to become his father, especially in his mother’s eyes. The lyrics then continue with:
When duty calls
I answer “I’m here”
You tell me “listen to your mom”
1, 2, 3 I’m already there
When they tell me to go home
I answer “I’m already home”
I love you, dear Italy
You’re my other sweet half
In these verses, Ghali goes back to the role society puts on immigrants or second-generations. There is almost the sense of having to prove yourself as a good citizen in order to have respect, or be considered Italian, or simply not to be considered a threat. He represents this concept when he says that “when duty calls I answer ‘I’m here’” to show how as a second-generation person or immigrant you should always behave well, almost as a military, at the service of your “hosting” country. The scrutiny is much more towards second-generations and/or immigrants. This is seen also when he sings “1,2,3 I’m already there”, in the sense that he immediately responds to the orders of Italy, where the country here is representing the general population, and the politicians of Italy. Once again, using the language of military, having a military servitude approach.
Scene of his music video of “Cara Italia”. Via Wikipedia.
The next verse goes “When they tell me to go home, I answer ‘I’m already home’”. This is to show the continuous narrative of political propaganda, where some politicians say that foreigners should go back to their home country, but Ghali rightly says that he is already home. He was born and raised in Italy. There’s nowhere else he could call home. And lastly, he just sings “I love you, dear Italy, you’re my other sweet half”, demonstrating how regardless of all of this, he loves his country, almost as a lover, his other half.
L’italiano
Ghali concludes the medley with an Italian classic, “L’Italiano” by Toto Cutugno. He admits it’s a really important song for him since it’s the song his mom would sing to him all the time when he was small. The chorus goes:
Let me sing
With my guitar in my hands
Let me sing
I’m an Italian
Let me sing
With my guitar in my hands
Because I’m proud
I’m an Italian
A true Italian
In his performance during the Cover night, he emphasizes the final line “a true Italian” repeating it various times, looking towards the audience almost as if he wanted to challenge them. This was to enhance the fact that him as well is a true Italian. Born and raised. He might not look like what some people and politicians would like him to look like as an Italian, but this is also a reality of Italy, he is also a true Italian. He also represents Italy. No population should be standardized to one stereotyped look or sound. With this medley, but more specifically with this song of Toto Cutugno, Ghali wanted to represent all the Italian second-generations, who have been told “you are not Italian” just like he has heard continuously growing up. No better words can describe the grandeur and the significance of Ghali’s performance during the Cover night better than his own ones, with the post on Instagram the day after, that say the following:
“Bayna has allowed me to keep my promise to sing in Arabic on the stage of Sanremo. Thanks to Bayna and Mediterranea we saved lives in our sea. Cara Italia brought some Arabic in all the Italian homes. L’Italiano of Toto Cutugno is the only Italian song that my mom would sing to me when I was a child, and it’s the last memory I have of my parents together. I always think I represent those hood kids with parents who have struggled so hard to raise them. I love and believe in this country […]. I was born in Italy. My children will be Italian. I will die in this country. I am also an Italiano Vero”.
