Cohort: SOMET 42

Topic of the thesis: From the streets to the fame: performances of masculinity in Italian rap music 

Abstract: This project investigates how masculinity is constructed and legitimized in Italian rap and trap music, with particular attention to narratives of crime and social ascension as alternative routes to masculine recognition. While existing scholarship has primarily examined Italian rap in relation to socio-economic marginality, the role of masculinity remains comparatively underexplored. The project conceptualises masculinity as a structuring element of rap music and explores how rap narratives construct situated forms of masculine identity. Building on previous research on misogynistic expressions in Italian rap and trap lyrics, the study broadens the analytical focus to examine masculinity in its wider social and cultural dimensions. Particular attention is devoted to two recurring narrative topoi: the portrayal of crime and violence and the pursuit of economic success and social ascension. Although these narratives may appear opposed, the project argues that they emerge from the same conditions of structural marginality and constitute alternative routes through which masculine legitimacy is claimed and recognized. Drawing on sociological theories of masculinity and symbolic recognition, the project examines how particular masculine performances acquire legitimacy within the rap scene. Methodologically, the project adopts a mixed-methods design combining computational text analysis and qualitative interpretation. A corpus of approximately 13,000 Italian rap and trap songs, collected through Spotify metadata and Genius lyrics archives, will be analysed using topic modelling, dictionary-based methods, and supervised machine learning techniques. These analyses will be complemented by close reading and thematic coding of selected lyrics, allowing for a contextual interpretation of figurative language, symbolic meanings, and narrative complexity. By examining the forms of masculinity that emerge within narratives of crime and social ascension, the project contributes to understanding how young men negotiate status and recognition under conditions of socio-economic marginality. Italian rap thus becomes a privileged site through which to investigate the relationship between gender, culture, and inequality in contemporary society.

Research interests: Gender and Sexuality Studies; Media studies; Digital and Popular Culture

Graduated from: University of Turin, Collegio Carlo Alberto

Degrees obtained: BA in International Sciences, Development and Cooperation; MA in Sociology

E-mail address:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.