What is kitsch and what is tasteful? Is there really any difference? Sfera Ebbasta’s music makes us doubt there is. His new album, Famoso, is made up of predictable yet emotional melodies and lustful Latino and trap rhythms. Such a mix encapsulates his native Italy: a country of culture watching questionable Berlusconi television, a land of luxury witnessing poverty grow before its very eyes. Sfera Ebbasta is fantastic at illustrating this dilemma as heard throughout his discography. As time has passed, the Milanese rapper seems to have tailored his productions to be increasingly radio friendly. Here he joins forces with J Balvin on Baby and Diplo on Hollywood for results that may induce cringes for some listeners. But Famoso is more than this. Tik Tok, for example, isn’t just your typical rap song. The track features Marracash and Gué Pegueno, two other Italian heavyweights, as they bring together rap’s harshness with menacing layers akin to PNL (a French rap duo). There are incursions towards Italo-disco (Giovanni Re) as well as some very run-of-the-mill and kitsch pop songs (6 AM). Often are we treated to these little flavours that demonstrate the rapper’s stylistic versatility. He stumbles often, but with panache that makes all the difference. © Brice Miclet/Qobuz