Armed struggle is back in style

Engagement and dilution in P38’s representation of a troubled past

Authors

  • Fiamma Mozzetta John Cabot University Author
  • Peter Sarram John Cabot University Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/pomh.28203

Keywords:

Italian history, Italian protest music, P38, performativity, digital activism

Abstract

The ‘years of lead’, or anni di piombo, represented a dense moment of political and social tension in Italian history (from the late 1960s well into the 1980s) marked by widespread political violence, terrorism and intense conflict between armed revolutionary left-wing groups, clandestine left-wing organizations, such as the Red Brigades, as well as right-wing paramilitary organizations, the latter often linked to state actors. P38 is an Italian hip hop collective founded in 2020 whose songs and live performances construct an unmistakable visual and thematic parallel with militant left-wing organizations of the 1970s. Their debut record Nuove BR (New Red Brigades, 2021) is a direct reference. Notorious for wearing ski masks during their performances, the group hides behind pseudonyms (Yung Stalin, Jimmy Penthotal), and its name evokes the Walther P38 (the weapon employed by extra-parliamentary left movements). In line with the key themes of this special issue, this article examines how P38 selects and uses different, old and contemporary, musical and extra-musical elements (style, music, lyrics) by simultaneously engaging with and diluting established historical narratives, from the tradition of Italian protest music to a more locally specific interaction of rap music and hip-hop culture, passing via the dynamics of a larger global contemporary history of musical and political protest, rupture and dissent.

Author Biographies

  • Fiamma Mozzetta, John Cabot University

    Fiamma Mozzetta is a lecturer at John Cabot University (Rome, Italy), where she teaches Popular Music and Mass Culture, Pop Music, Gender and Sexuality, and Introduction to Visual Communication. She holds a PhD in Music from Goldsmiths, focusing on pop historical consciousness, memory and heritage.

  • Peter Sarram, John Cabot University

    Peter Sarram is Associate Professor in the Communication and Media Studies department at John Cabot University (Rome, Italy). His research and teaching revolve around questions of popular culture, social identities, technology, and forms and practices resisting domination. He is co-editor of The Aesthetics and Politics of the Online Self: A Savage Journey into the Heart of Digital Cultures (Palgrave, 2022) and is currently working on a history of music video as form, medium and technology. His performances as sound curator and mixtape artist are practiced under the names Harold Buddha/fIRE Extinguisher.

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Discography

Gaber, Giorgio. Io se fossi dio. F1 Team Records, 1980.

Masi, Pino. Lotta Continua. Lotta Continua, 1971.

P38 La-Gang. Nuove BR. Sud Est Records, 2021.

Pietrangeli, Paolo. Mio Caro Padrone Domani Ti Sparo. I dischi del sole, 1971.

Published

2025-03-05

How to Cite

Mozzetta, F., & Sarram, P. (2025). Armed struggle is back in style: Engagement and dilution in P38’s representation of a troubled past. Popular Music History, 16(1-2), 114–137. https://doi.org/10.1558/pomh.28203