From Bari dreaming of Milan - An Interview with Sgamo

In the jungle of Milanese nightlife, in order to emerge artistically, a correct dose of luck, perseverance and talent are all necessary , but above all the ability of knowing how to tell a personal and authentic story.

This could be enough to describe the story that for some years has been linking Alessandro "Sgamo" Nuzzo to the city of Milan. After 3 years of partying and clubbing, aiding in the growth of Milanese streetwear culture, Sgamo chose to pay homage to his journey. Thanks to a collaboration with Laced Up Community and nss, crowned by the drop of an exclusive tee, which will speaks to inspiration, the passion for the Nike Air Max 95, the gravity towards Milan and the Propaganda crew.

If you were born in Bari, precisely in Japigia, the last neighbourhood in the south of the suburbs, it is normal that at a certain point even your comfort zone begins to shrink, especially if, despite the sea, the landscape around alternates houses without balconies and abusive terraces. The research first brought the 1990 class DJ to Rome then London, Paris and Switzerland, to find stability in Milan, the city to which the title of the mixtape at the base of the t-shirt project is dedicated as well: "Music for when you want to go to live in Milan".

Whether it is a point of arrival or passage Sgamo does not know yet, certainly this project encompasses the passion of the Milanese music scene, the youth cultures born in recent years and the sense of community, which has brought the southern province closer Italy to the metropolis. 

# 1 We know you're from Bari, what were the biggest difficulties once you moved to Milan, what aspects of the city helped you as a DJ?

After each stage of my journey, wherever I went, the advice of friends who told me "why don't you go to Milan?" - " You can only do creative jobs and grow in Milan” echoed in my head. The difficulty initially was to find ways to pay the rent, to successfully do this I had to work hard and wait for my moment.

So after a couple of right coincidences and choices, the odds were in my favour and I finally did it, I took a single trip in October 2017 that took me directly to a sort of Purgatory. From that moment it was a follow-up to nights with nitro and strategic afternoons. I remember perfectly when I opened Facebook, I identified the events that I had to appear and by analyzing the chances of the night lines, I magically appeared in 3 events in the same evening and joined more hands together than possible.

Milan has a very intersected network of contacts and as far as I am concerned, even though no one knew everything I had already done up to that point, in hindsight it was not difficult to impose my vision within a short time, and as soon as I got to I was able to develop my status in the city and it grew rapidly. 

# 2 Why did the mixtape take this name? How did the inspiration behind the t-shirt come about and what is the meaning of the graphics?

In 2016 I published a trilogy of mixtapes, all three accompanied by some illustrations that were inspired by the situations I was going through at the time. Having never approached life as a musician, I have always paid close attention to my musical selections and how to present them.

In the spring of the same year, a friend who was traveling let me live by her for weeks, at the same time the boys of Propaganda helped me to rebel as much as possible.

Returning home after the unsuccessful experience, I decided to dedicate the cover illustration to them. There was the cathedral, an air max and the snake logo that embraced the whole thing. One of the best drawings from Francesco.

It therefore seemed right to celebrate the positive trends of the last few months, with a t-shirt that graphically explained the claims I used for the mixtape and today, three years later, it is as if everything was aligned.

#3 Which artists have inspired you the most during your musical journey?

The artist who made me change the approach I had to music was definitely Lil Wayne, I think he is the true genius transporter of all that imagery of the second half of the early 2000s, his creativity had no limits at the time, he is among some of the greatest rappers ever on the podium with Juelz Santana and Gucci Mane.

In Italy I also became passionate about the complexity of Dargen D’Amico's lyrics, especially in collaborations with Crookers, I owe him for all that patience and the ability in allowing me to discover the meaning of certain words and feelings. In the same years, I fell in love with Rusko, DJ and English producer, seeing him live was the turning point in my path.

Growing up again I studied the steps of those who were before and I discovered Dj Screw that 20 years ago had put Houston on the map with his highly popular style, the chopped & screwed. Today his vibe has inspired myself as well as many others, including the creations of other artists who have changed the game like Drake, Kanye West, Shlohmo, Jamie XX.

As for the new European school of DJs, the energy of Jarreau Vandal is a real inspiration for me.

# 4 How much does your passion for fashion influence your evenings and DJ sets?

I have always been fascinated by the more urban streetwear of the 2000s. For an almost spontaneous self-affirmative process, if you want to emerge often you decide to invest your first earnings in flashy and expensive clothing. It happened around the time with Air Max, the Gucci belts the Burberry hats and at the same time in the hip hop scene with Fubu, Polo, Von Dutch, Ed Hardy, Evisu, Bape. Today it probably happens with other marks like Off-White, Palm Angels, Vlone.

Fashion entered our game, multiplied the number of interested parties but lowered their search depth.

# 5 We know about your love for the Air Max 95, what does this sneaker have over the others?

Airmax95 is a portrait of the impact that London has had on me. It was 2013 and I was in a tornado of different sensations, all the roadmen with whom I closed the right deals had one. Just 150 pounds in a sneaker shop with the wall full of different colours and you were the King of the sidewalk. The airmax95 is the only shoe that every time I see it makes me say "wow", I would have had about sixty and today when I put on a different shoe the people who follow me write comments like "Why did you leave the 95?"- It's fun!

# 6 How is your collab with Laced Up and nss? What is your general relationship with the street and sneaker communities?

I've lived the Laced Up Community almost from its genesis, it had another name and was composed of a few hundred users. Today we are almost more than 10,000 and I will have met at least 500 guys, located throughout Italy.

They were really among the first to believe in my project when I was in the mood under my feet after returning for the first time from Milan.

It's great that starting from your own room/phone you can build communities that go beyond any barriers and can be a voice for all fans. To be honest, though, I think that today the community game has turned a bit upside down. As for the parties, there was an explosion of very young people who wanted only to make profits from the trends of the moment. Fortunately, with the veterans we are still very close and thanks to these friendships it was possible to collaborate with nss, whom I thank for this space granted to me and for having supported the cause.