DJ Gruff

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DJ Gruff, also known as Gruffetti (real name Sandro Orru, born in Sardinia) is an Italian hip hop artist. He was one of the first pioneers of hip hop in Italy, entering the scene in 1982, and today is still regarded as one of the most representative DJs of the Italian hip hop scene. Aside from being a turntablist he also performed as a MC, and he is famous to have coined many words which make up Italian hip hop slang.

1 Biography and early works
2 Solo musical career
3 Articolo 31 controversy
4 Italian Wikipedia controversy
5 Discography
6 Links

[edit] Biography and early works

Born and grew up in Sardinia, Gruff later moved in Turin, where he first discovered rap music. He first begun to act as a break dancer and DJ as early as 1982, when hip hop was still practically unknown in Italy. Later he moved to France where he worked along with a number of French artists. He came back to Italy and in 1991 he joined the crew Isola Posse All-Stars.

Today DJ Gruff lives between Japan and Sardinia.

[edit] Solo musical career

Gruff musical debut in the Italian rap scene is with the Sangue Misto hip hop band (together with Neffa and Deda, two other notable Italian hip hop characters). The work he did with Sangue Misto made him nation-wide famous in Italy.

DJ Gruff official solo debut is Sfida il Buio (1992), rapidly followed by La Rapadopa in 1993: both works are today regarded as milestones in the genre. After the album Zero Stress in 1998, Gruff produces I Tre Tocchi, a trilogy that marks a stylistic evolution in Italian turntable scene.

A bit later the LP Il Suono della Strada comes out, along with a single of the same name. The guitarist of Casino Royale, Pardo, participates to the album: this marks the beginning of the collaboration of DJ Gruff with the band, with a mix of rap and drum'n'bass sound.

The last widely circulated Gruff album is O tutto o niente (1999). Later DJ Gruff dedicates himself to the production of underground projects (Puruchan battle breaks, Tiffititaff, The Worst Hits of Gruffettalco and many others). He also produced a couple of songs for the soundtrack of the Italian film Zora the vampire.

Aside working as a solo artist, Gruff is also a member of the turntablist collective Alien Army.

[edit] Articolo 31 controversy

DJ Gruff has always been known for his cleverly written but sometimes extremely harsh lyrics, often attacking the so-called "suckers" (rappers who are seen as harming the scene through the over-commercialization and exploitation of hip hop culture) in the hip hop scene. In 1998 he gained notoriety when he wrote the song 1vs2 that was a direct and namecalling verbal assault against Articolo 31 -a very famous Italian commercial pop-rap band. Articolo 31 members brought Gruff in court, and successfully had the song pulled. The song nevertheless leaked on the Internet, and it is famous among the Italian hip hop scene followers. The song Sucker per sempre ("Sucker forever") is another implicit violent attack at "suckers" that many see directed at Articolo 31, although devoid of any direct or clear reference to them.

[edit] Italian Wikipedia controversy

In May 2006 DJ Gruff registered to the Italian Wikipedia and gently but firmly asked to eliminate his encyclopedia page, for reasons unclear. After a brief discussion, one of the admins eventually accomplished his request.