Born in 1989, he arrived in Italy from Nigeria with his family when he was 2 years old. «I don’t think the activist tag makes much sense. I’m a person who says what he thinks». What is the situation for the streaming industry? «Today, those who make gold records are the playlists on the platforms»
“We, stupid humans, will no longer be needed with AI? I am confused, if in the long run certain jobs will no longer be done by people, we will find other ways to live. With artificial intelligence I ask myself questions about the role of man in the future”. The speaker is Tommy Whereborn in 1989, artist and one of the first rappers to do afrobeat in Italian. Singers, actors, screenwriters and authors have protested (and continue to do so) all over the world because they fear that algorithms and technology I’m looting their work, without any protection of rights. According to Kuti, however, there is another side to the coin. “When I see what AI can do, I say to myself: wow.”
Tommy WhereThe story of Tommy Kuti
Tommy Kuti arrived in Italy with his family from Nigeria at the age of two. He grew up in Castiglione of the Stivierein the province of Mantua, has always had a passion for music. His education includes a degree from Cambridge. «I studied in England and there I discovered hip hop. Music became an outlet for me».
In Brescia he founded the collective Mancamelanin along with other rappers. Once in Universal Music he collaborated with various artists such as Fabri Fibra in the song Hands up. In 2018 he released his first album “Italiano Vero” which contains the single #AFRICAN ITALIAN. His latest single was recently released Milano Be Likewhich appeared at a particular time for the Lombard capital, around which the magic of the past seems to have faded a little.
Read also: Art between past and future. Interview with Vittorio Sgarbi: «We cannot give up our excellence in craftsmanship»
«For me, Milan has slowly become my safe haven – he tells us Tommy Where -. Sometimes I think it’s the only city where I forget I’m black. I like it because people are open and in the meantime I can avoid the average Italian”. As an artist he doesn’t conceive his work without a commitment to social and civil issues.
“Then of course you can be an artist without being committed. In my generation some have lost the desire to express themselves on certain issues. Elsewhere, however, it is completely normal.” Tommy Kuti cited the example not so much of colleagues, but of public figures of the caliber of Kylian Mbappéthe Real Madrid footballer who spoke out during the last legislative elections in France, inviting young people to vote to prevent the far right from winning. “I don’t think the activist tag makes much sense. We are just humans who say what we think.” social they amplify the message and certainly favor the emergence of communities that gather around common missions and values.
In the chat with Tommy Kuti we then addressed the issue of piattaforme streaming and the role they play as a gate to the public, for better or for worse. “It shocks me that so little is said about it: we have found that playlists are what make gold records. We thought that once the era of radio and TV was over, there would be freedom. The truth is that now there are playlist curators”. With AI that for many artists threat the work of creatives, in his eyes the experiences of life lived as a source of inspiration remain untouchable by technology. “I like to stay at home and record. But it’s the experience that gives me inspiration. My greatest inspiration is emotions.”
Last updated: 04/09/2024
