Clementino, rapper and actor: “Versatile and comical: I don’t do too many things”

Clementine like you’ve never seen before. Bespectacled, stubbly and nerdy looking, clumsy, with a… size problem. Come on, let’s not reveal too much, but the role of the rapper who came from “Nola York” is really curious, as he says, in “Pavement men”, the film by Francesco Albanese will be released in theaters today: a preview with part of the cast tonight at The Space cinemas in Naples and of course Nola.

Finally a comedy, comic role, Clem?
“That’s right, I’ve been dreaming about this role for a long time and almost forgot that I starred in it.”

Forgot?
“The film, produced by Gsnesis, Run Film and Rai Cinema, was shot three years ago between Rieti and Gubbio, beautiful places that also allowed me to be a little tourist, and not only: I brought the entire cast to see the Loredana Berte concert. Naturally, I went on stage with him to have some freestyle fun with him.”

Then let’s start right with the cast.
“It’s a pleasure to work with Francesco Pannofino, a veteran like Fioretta Mari, protagonists like Francesco Ruffini, Herbert Ballerina, and the director himself, a true Neapolitan. Not to mention the beauty of Rocio Muñoz Morales.”

Story?
“I’m Paco, fourth, pavement helper. We are at the time of the World Cup, when men leave women alone to watch matches, and women … Gabriele, Gennaro and Oscar are in terrible shape, they do not know how to get out of debt until they come up with street gigolos. and also attracted Paco. I won’t reveal anything else, also because three years have passed since the shooting, and I still haven’t seen the film. ”

messed up? Tonight you will be in Taranto with the Magna Grecia orchestra.
“Fucked hard, really beautiful: the summer tour was long and not over yet. With Greg Rega, who supported me and my band, I had a great time and every time I saw huge crowds of people, not to mention a full orchestra. Is it easy to celebrate in the square? Yes, because there are no tickets, people come for free. No, because you’re holding thousands of people in place for hours, preventing them from leaving. I succeeded, I would say: children, teenagers, adults and … very adults come to me. Now let’s see how many of them will come to the movies, how many of them will wonder if I’m doing too many things.

Are you doing too many things?
“I do many things: music, television, now also cinema, and I would never rule out theater. Will Smith is one of my role models, he started out as a rapper and now…writes soundtracks for his films. Hip-hop is my language, but I would also like to be a showman, an actor… In America it’s normal, in Italy I don’t know yet if it’s allowed. I do this not to bring home bread, which now seems to me secure, but to have fun, to test myself, to find new tasks in which to try my hand. And this eternal challenge is one of the rules of rap: if you sit down, you are finished.

How did you create the character of Paco?
“How I write my rhymes: I listen, in this case I look, on the street, I watch the characters I meet. Nerd Clementino is a surprise, hopefully, after working as a Lamborghini laborer and waiting for Trudy Styler’s Neapolis to come out, in which I’m the narrator of the porous city’s story. Of course, I also wrote a song for Albanese’s film “Femmena e n’ato munno”, I will release it as soon as possible.”

Football is also at the heart of Caveabouts.

“Yes, we filmed during the European Championship. If we did it today, we would use the Scudetto of Naples. By the way: Forza Azzurri.

What are you doing after the summer tour?
“On vacation I fly to New York to relax, I need to switch off. Then a new record will come out, but before I dig into myself and look for it, I need to fill up. Unless the cinema calls me first. Yes, of course, there is the “Voice of the Elder” and … come on, I’m a versatile guy.

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