Sfera Ebbasta

Gionata Boschetti (Italian: [ˈdʒɔːnata boˈsketti]; born 7 December 1992), known professionally as Sfera Ebbasta (Italian: [ˈsfɛːra ebˈbasta]), is an Italian rapper. He rose to prominence after the release of XDVR (2015), recorded with the collaboration of producer Charlie Charles and DEACC, which achieved commercial success in Italy. This success was replicated with Sfera Ebbasta (2016), Rockstar (2018) and its re-issue Popstar Edition (2018), and Famoso (2020). He was the best-selling artist in Italy of the 2010s and currently holds the record for most songs reaching No. 1 in the country (24).

Sfera Ebbasta was born in the Milanese town of Sesto San Giovanni, but grew up in the neighbouring town of Cinisello Balsamo. His parents separated two years after his birth, and his father died when he was only 13. He dropped out of school at the age of 14.

The rapper began his musical activity by uploading videos on YouTube between 2010 and 2012, without any success. In this period he started getting into contact with producer Charlie Charles, met while trying to illegally enter a Hip Hop TV concert in Milan. Thus, they formed the collective Billion Headz Money Gang, better known by the acronym BHMG. On 15 September 2013, he published Emergenza Mixtape Vol. 1.

Since November 2014, he has produced several pieces in collaboration with Charlie Charles and published them on YouTube with their videos. After the release of the song "Panette" he began to be contacted by some record labels.

On 11 June 2015 he made his debut with the first studio album, XDVR (standing for "per davvero", "for real" in English), made up by some of the singles published in the previous months, as well as other unpublished ones. Initially released as a free download, the album was reissued in a reloaded version on 23 November through Roccia Music, an independent record label of Marracash and Shablo, and distributed in the national sales circuits; in addition to the songs already present in the original, the tracklist included the unreleased "XDVRMX" (with Marracash and Luchè), "Ciny" (referring to his hometown Cinisello, of which a video clip was also shot) and "Trap Kings". The album had success in the underground musical scene and greatly increased the popularity of trap music in Italy, also receiving excellent feedback from the specialized critics; however it was also the subject of numerous criticisms as various songs spoke of life in suburban neighborhoods (mainly inspired by the street reality of his city, Cinisello Balsamo), including criminal activities and consumption of drugs such as codeine and marijuana.

On 20 January 2016 the video of the unreleased track "Blunt & Sprite" was published on YouTube, while during the same year Sfera Ebbasta featured in a track of the album Anarchie by the French rapper SCH, positively impressed by listening to the rapper's pieces during a stay in Italy: he also made the track "Cartine Cartier", produced by Charlie Charles and DJ Kore, extracted as a promotional single of the album.

On 9 September 2016 the rapper published his first solo studio album, the self-titled Sfera Ebbasta, distributed by the record Universal (in collaboration with Def Jam) and anticipated by the singles "BRNBQ" (which received a golden record certificate for over 25,000 copies sold), "Cartine Cartier" and "Figli di papà", the latter a platinum-certified record for having sold over 50,000 copies. In this album the rapper detached himself from the more gangsta themes of XDVR to open himself to wider topics. Supported by a promotion also at a television level, participating in broadcasts such as Matrix Chiambretti on Canale 5 and the radio program Albertino Everyday, conducted by Albertino on Radio Deejay, the album received great success in Italy, debuting at the top of the album charts, as well as entering the charts of various European countries; the album was also certified as a gold record by FIMI for having sold over 25,000 copies. Between October 2016 and March 2017, the rapper promoted the album through the Sfera Ebbasta Tour, performing in various cities of Italy.

On 10 March 2017, Sfera Ebbasta released the single "Dexter", produced by Charlie Charles and Sick Luke.