Friday 18^th October 2019 from 6:00 pm to midnight, at Palazzo Velli, the heart of Trastevere in Rome. Drago will present the publication of Crash Kid – A Hip Hop Legacy with an exhibition, DJ set and the book launch.

Together with the authors Napal and Ben Matundu, we wish to celebrate the success of a project that has kept us busy for more than one year. This book is the culmination of a period of historical and emotional research and it is through this tribute that we intend to honour and celebrate one of the key figures in the history of Roman and Italian Hip Hop: Massimo Crash Kid Colonna.

Through more than 320 never published before pages and 400 images, the book displays a collection of photographs and texts that document the birth of the Street Culture in Italy. This spans a period from the early Hip Hop concerts of the 80s, to the birth of the “Zulu Party”, gatherings which provided real meeting points for the pioneers of this rising movement. In a collection of more than 400 speeches, the art and the development of this subculture are explored, plus the story of its movement from the underground to the mainstream hip-hop culture that we know well today. All exclusively produced by the people who knew Massimo and who were themselves the protagonists of this movement.

“I remember when Afrika Bambaataa came to Rome for the first time. It was in 1985, a very special evening. Massimo and I went to see him together, and after the concert we went to Galleria Colonna and we danced all night. Massimo would fuel everyone, he loved Hip Hop and was a real b-boy. And those catchphrases of his…He always joked, he was like a child.” – Jimmy Fernandez

The artist made his debut in Rome in 1983 as a break-dancer, laying down the foundations of what is today recognized in Italy as the Hip Hop movement. Crash Kid – A Hip Hop Legacy – documents the rise of Crash Kid’s breaker and writing career through the unpublished images from the artist’s archive and includes contributions from other leading figures of the Italian and international street scene. The portrait really goes to show the influence the artist had on the whole Hip Hop scene and confirms him as a legendary reference point for everyone.

Massimo Colonna, aka Crash Kid (Rome, 7 October 1971 – Milan, 1 November 1997), was an Italian dancer, one of the pioneers of break dance and the Roman and Italian Hip Hop scene, militant in the Special Breaking Crew (Group founded by Ice One) from the age of only 13 years. Friend and collaborator of Davide Headz (Kid Head) and Dj Baro, he represented Italy in numerous conventions in Europe, becoming an example for hundreds of B-boys of the following generations. Founder of the Passo sul Tempo crew, he won the prestigious Battle of the Year in 1995.

In the context of Palazzo Velli an exhibition will also be presented, made with a selection of original shots and several unpublished images collected in the volume. There will be a video section with original images never shown to the public until today.