Who is Bassi Maestro? Biography of the rapper

Davide Bassi in art Bass Master, was born in Milan on August 3, 1973. Still quite young, at the age of 12, he began his career as a DJ: the first performances and musical productions date back to 1987/88, when Bassi was still a teenager. He has specialized in hip hop over the years and has recorded numerous solo albums and side projects.

In 1990 and 1991, when he was a minor, he competed in the semi-finals of the DMC, reaching third position twice. In 1992, the first demo was released. “Solo Rage” followed a year later by a second production “Bastian vs”. In 1995, he became part of the “MixMen” collective along with OTR, Dj Zeta and Davo, and the following year, together with DJ Zeta, he founded the “Sanobusiness enterprise”, dedicated to independent production (there are dozens of exclusive mixtapes), in which they will join begins its activity in 1998 Rido and Supa (Supercush), better known as Cricca dei Balordi, collaborate on numerous projects and live performances together with Dj Gruff and Kaos, including the memorable first Turin edition of the hip-hop village (95).

Between 1995 and 1998 Bass Master releases a series of albums (the first official recording “Against the Fans” dated 1996) and productions with his Sanobusiness group and the Area Cronica collective founded by Sottotono (with whom he will collaborate until 2001), for which his first important work comes out in 1998. “Group photo”.

In 1998 he opened his first recording studio in Milan. “Fortress of Sciences” after a few years of home recording; in 2008, the studio will change its name and headquarters to a larger and superior location: a few steps away from Piazzale Loreto, the “Press Rewind Studio” will appear.

In 2000, after creating jingles, mixing and theme songs for Radio Deejay and 101 Network, Bass Master

together with Sottotono he hosts the program “Nel vortice” on the Radio Italia Network, also dealing with the technical aspect. Since 2002, he has also been involved in audio pre- and post-production, as well as producing pop and house music, working on the recordings of Syria, Trikariko and Alexia, for which he makes various remixes and arrangements. From 2002 to 2004, with his partner Rido, he created The Show Off, a weekly program that, following the example of the American Lyricist Lounge, brings together the best of the Milanese underground every Wednesday night and beyond, offering authentic hip-hop, exclusive live performances and host-to-person battles. and producers.

In 2003 Bass Master participates in the Sanremo Festival, accompanying Syria in the performance of the song “L’amore è”, written by Lorenzo Giovanotti. In 2004 he produced the first album MondoMarcio and later worked with Virgin and Warner on the first official Italian rap projects (Amir, Inoki etc.) as a producer and sound engineer.

Since 2006, he has also produced all the albums of the reggae artist Babaman, one of the main underground phenomena of recent years, and the Monkee Business mixtape series to voice Italian underground works.

Bass Master supports the profession of DJ and performer, at the moment he has more than 10 active solo albums. Among them are “Foto di Gruppo”, “Classe 73”, “L’Ultimo Witness” and “Hate”, all records that have contributed to the history of hip hop in Italy. In the meantime, Bassi has constantly maintained his profession as a DJ, working as a resident in some of the most famous venues in Milan (Rolling Stone, Casablanca, Hollywood, Atlantique, De Sade, Divina, etc.) and throughout the peninsula.

Over the years, the works made in collaboration with other artists are countless: among the most important names on the scene are La Pina, Sottotono, CorVeleno, Flaminio Mafia, Mondo Marcio, Fabri Fibra, Dogo Club, Amis Killa, Piotta and many others. In 2007, he collaborated with the duo Crookers on the song “Limonare”. In 2008, a new collaboration was born with the famous Dj Spiller, who remixed the song “Teen Drive In” (together with Useless Wooden Toys).

Between 2008 and 2009 Bass Master Every Monday afternoon, he hosts Sky’s “Hip hop tv” live program “Open mic” during which he commentates on the hip-hop music scene. During this period parallel work continued and the Crossover project was released with partners Zeta and CdB, as well as the concept album “The Dublinerz” with friends Supa and Lord Bean, followed by a successful mini-tour.

Signs the official Italian version of Bob Sinclair’s “La la song” single, remixed by Fabio B., and creates the title track and breaks of the “Deejaycalls summer” program hosted by Linus and Savino in the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

In the last two years Bass Master focuses his interests on the American scene, expanding his DJ sets and productions abroad: he plays at some of the most famous underground venues in New York and Chicago (Sutra, Double Door) and produces bands such as Coolio, Rakim, Busta Rhymes, Talib Kweli, SS, Joel Ortiz, Jim Jones, Lloyd Banks, Chico Debarge and others.

He also collaborates with the historical band The Beatnuts, of which he is the official DJ for numerous international tours: in the summer of 2011, the tour covered most of the main European cities and was a great success. Over the past 15 years, Bassy has officially opened for The Roots, Cypress Hill, De La Soul, MOP, Questlove, Nicki Minaj, Onyx, Big Daddy Kane and other major international artists. In December 2010, a four-handed work with Dj Shocca (Unlimited Struggle) was released: the album called “Musica che non sitouch” was at number one on the official Italian iTunes chart for a week, reaching number two.

Between the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012, two new albums were released that were very successful with the public and critics: “Tutti a casa” and “Stano tutti bene” with important collaborations, for example, with L’Aura, Gue Pequeno and Salmo . .

Also in 2012 Bass Master together with rapper Gemon he releases the EP “Per la mia gente”, completely produced by Marco Polo, the world famous Canadian beatmaker. In the same year, he was a DJ and music consultant for the entire first season of the TV show “The Salad That the Devil Liked”, which aired on the RSI La1 channel in Switzerland.

Last try since 2013 “Look at the sky” free download street album, distributed independently in concert and for sale on Bassi’s website, in which he collaborates with old acquaintances and some of the most promising names of the new Italian hip-hop scene, including Gemitaiz, Emis Killa and MadMan. Since September 2013, every Wednesday night he has hosted the hip-hop program “Microphone Check” on Radio3i, Ticino’s first private broadcaster. In November 2013, the EP “Come and take us” was released with Mondo Marcio, followed by an official tour.

Also in 2013 Bass Master starts collaboration with Dj Filo and promotes the first Italian concert format with 45rpm records, “Sette Inch” is born, he also collaborates with the jazz trio “Loop Therapy”, performing the song “Sweet Baby” contained in the album “Opera Prima” . ”, as well as a special concert for Radio 2 in honor of the Guru. In the spring of 2014, Bassi is participating as a DJ on the official European tour for the “Port Authority 2” album, along with producer Marco Polo and New York rapper Hannibal Stax (Gangstarr Foundation), who moves to the most important cities in a month. with half of Europe including Paris, Prague, Vienna, Berlin and Zurich.

Also in 2014, a collaboration with the Machete team began, for which he does several mixes in the studio and two verses for the Machete mixtape 3 and Bloody Vinyl 2 projects. In early 2015, the weekly “Tonight’s the night” podcast and web series “Down with Bussy” began, in which Bussy, assisted by producer Bosca, meets with characters, musicians, and artists associated with the hip-hop scene; the new project downwithbassi.com is a fully managed site full of exclusive content, music and curiosities.

2015 saw the birth of “ComEra Records”, the all-vinyl record label founded by Bassie, which was inaugurated with the first 45 rpm album “Rock On”, followed by several releases including pressings “Hate”, “Italian Rapper” . and “Wounded Tongue” by Lord Bean. 2016 sees Bass Master on tour with Dj Shocca to promote the project “ROCDINIAK” (released on vinyl for ComEra/Unlimted Struggle this summer) and is still working on the release of a new LP scheduled for 2017, the clip “$$$” is released in December, the first official single, anticipating the album .

(last updated: August 22, 2023)